Story perspectives

Australia Calls Six-Month Reviews for Long-Term Antidepressant Use

6/3/2026

Summary

Story summary

Australian researchers have called for six-month reviews of long-term antidepressant prescribing.
Nearly four million Australians—about one in seven—use antidepressants, with a third staying on them for more than a year.
General practitioners write 92 % of these prescriptions, often without fully meeting guideline criteria.
New guidelines advise shared decision-making, gradual hyperbolic tapering and use of tools such as the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines and the RELEASE toolkit.

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Story summary

Australian researchers have called for six-month reviews of long-term antidepressant prescribing.
Nearly four million Australians—about one in seven—use antidepressants, with a third staying on them for more than a year.
General practitioners write 92 % of these prescriptions, often without fully meeting guideline criteria.
New guidelines advise shared decision-making, gradual hyperbolic tapering and use of tools such as the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines and the RELEASE toolkit.