Off-Label Use of Atypical Antipsychotics

Licensed indications for medicines were designed to regulate the claims that can be made about a medicine by a pharmaceutical company. Off-label prescribing (i.e. prescribing a drug for an indication outside of that for which it is licensed) is legal and an integral part of medical practice. In psychiatry, off-label prescribing is common and gives clinicians scope to treat patients who are refractory to standard therapy or where there is no licensed medication for an indication. However, efficacy or safety of such off-label use may not be established.