African-Americans and Hispanics with major depressive disorder are less likely to get antidepressants than Caucasian patients, and Medicare and Medicaid patients are less likely to get the newest generation of antidepressants.Researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health examined data from 1993 to 2007 to try to understand the antidepressant prescribing patterns of physicians. They looked at two things: who received antidepressants, and what type of antidepressant was prescribed.
They found that race, payment source, physician ownership status and geographical region influenced whether physicians decided to prescribe antidepressants in the first place. Age and payment source influenced which types of antidepressants patients received.