Why Medication Sometimes Isn't the Answer by Tiffani Tobin, PA-C

As prescribers at Providers for Healthy Living, we strive to practice evidence-based medicine (EBM). What is evidence-based medicine? EMB is the conscientious, explicit, judicious, and reasonable use of modern, best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients (1). This means that each time we evaluate a patient, we integrate our patient's wishes, our own clinical experience and expertise, and the best modern evidence before making a treatment recommendation.

Sometimes, this recommendation may include pharmacologic therapy (medication), and sometimes it may not. For example, current evidence suggests that pediatric patients with anxiety benefit from a 12-week course of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety prior to trying any medication.

Research also shows us that insomnia is often best treated with CBT for Insomnia rather than with medication. And, sometimes behavioral changes to correct unhelpful or harmful behaviors are necessary and we know medications won't make a difference, so we might recommend individual and/or family therapy to address the concerning behaviors. Should therapy interventions fail to provide relief of symptoms, we then will turn to possible pharmacologic options as a last resort.

In all cases, our goal is to find the best-fit treatment while using as little medication as possible.

REFERENCE - (1) Masic I, Miokavic M, Muhamedagic B. Evidence Based Medicine - New Approaches and Challenges. December 2008. Acta Inform Med.