How do PDMPs work? To search for a patient in a PDMP, all you need to do is enter the person’s name and birthdate and click the search button. The PDMP will generate a patient activity report that will tell you what controlled substances the patient has picked up and where. The report gives you lots of detail, including the address of the patient; the drug names, doses, quantities, and refill information on any controlled substances that have been dispensed; and the applicable prescriber names, DEA numbers, pharmacy names, dispensing dates, and prescription numbers.

We’ve been hearing for some time now about the FDA’s plans to revise the long-standing categories A, B, C, D, and X designations for risk of using medications in pregnancy. The new rule (referred to as PLLR for Pregnancy and Lactation Labeling Rule) was proposed in 2008, finalized in 2014, and implementation began during the summer of 2015.

Since 2011, 3 new antidepressants have been approved by the FDA, and another (ketamine) has been generating buzz as a potential off-label medication for depression. In this article, we’ll take a step back and review the data on vilazodone (Viibryd), levomilnacipran (Fetzima), vortioxetine (Brintellix), and ketamine.

The opioid antagonist, naloxone, was first approved for opioid overdose treatment in 1971 and is available as an inexpensive injectable generic. In recent years, emergency responders have been using more easily administered intranasal version of naloxone.

On September 17, the FDA approved cariprazine (Vraylar) for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. There’s already some buzz about whether this medication has advantages over other atypicals for treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Narcolepsy affects about 1 out of 2000 people, for a prevalence rate of 0.05%. This puts it officially in the category of rare diseases. So why are we asking you to read about such a rare disorder? Partly because there’s a lot of comorbidity between narcolepsy and most psychiatric disorders. And partly because Jazz Pharmaceuticals is placing lots of ads in psychiatric journals urging us to diagnose more narcolepsy so that we’ll use their new drug Xyrem.

In January of this year, the FDA approved the stimulant lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) as the first drug with an indication for binge eating disorder (BED). Patients are hearing the buzz and may be asking you to prescribe it, but you may have some questions first.

Why has Vyvanse become by far the most prescribed stimulant in the United States? Great marketing? A great product? Some combination of the two?