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Abstract
Benzodiazepines present significant risks to clients if they are not safely and properly prescribed. Community Services Northwest is a community mental health agency that sought to improve its prescribing practices of these medications. Methods: Guidelines for the prescribing of benzodiazepines were created and disseminated among staff. A new documentation format was created to improve the documentation of prescribing decisions and the use of the format in new client intakes was tracked for two separate data periods. Qualitative interviews were done between periods to assess the ease and usefulness of the format. Results: The guidelines were approved by the Medical Director and will be used by the student PMHNP preceptor to train new students. Use of the documentation format did not meet expectations during data collection periods but was felt to be useful by the majority of the LMP’s. Conclusions: The prescribing of benzodiazepines in the United States is under increasing pressure to be reduced and it is difficult to change provider prescribing practices, but improving documentation of practice decisions can be a way to initiate small changes that lead to improved practice.