Background: To strengthen the position of physicians regarding harmful use and dependence on prescribed drugs, a guideline was issued by the German Medical Association in 2007.  A study among participants in training to qualify in 'primary care addiction treatment' was conducted.  The utilisation of the guideline, its relevance to routine care and self-estimated changes in drug prescribing were examined.

Methods: All 542 participants in training courses between 1.9.2008 and 31.12.2009 were asked about participation in a survey 12 weeks later.  A total of 267 took part in this investigation.

Results: 60.7% of GPs who received the guideline made use of it beyond the training course.  Of 178 physicians who stated that they prescribed psychotropic medications, 56 reported changes in their drug prescribing.  A higher probabilty of changes in drug prescribing was found where a higher percentage of new information had been obtained from the guideline.

Conclusions: The interest in the guideline beyond the training course and the extent of self-reported changes in drug prescribing should encourage its use in training activities in a systematic way.