Identifying the effects of scientific information and recommendations on physicians’ prescribing behavior

We investigate how the prescribing behavior of physicians reacts to scientific information and recommendations released by public authorities. Taking example antidepressant drugs, we use French panel data on exhaustive prescriptions made a representative sample general practitioners more than 110,000 depressed patients between 2000 2008. New results revealing an increase in suicidal thinking among children taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were reported 2004 prompted release new guidelines health identify effect this unexpected warning physicians’ drug choices while addressing possibility that heterogeneity may be correlated with unobserved physician characteristics. While decreased average probability SSRIs, find responses very heterogeneous larger if had higher preference for SSRIs before warning.