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Sound Off on Psych MedsAdvocating for prudent medication use

Antipsychotics were most commonly prescribed to youth 19 years and younger for an off-label use – disruptive behavioral disorders.

Authors identified youth 19 years and younger in Texas Medicaid who took an antipsychotic medication between January 1, 1998, and December 31,…

Medicaid’s cost for ADHD drugs rose dramatically in the past decade, mostly driven by off-label use of antipsychotics for ADHD in youth.

This study examined ten-year (1996 and 2005) trends in medication use in 107,486 children (3 to 17 years old) diagnosed with ADHD…

Over two thirds of off-label antipsychotic prescriptions in children are for uses where there is only uncertain evidence of efficacy.

The authors used nationally representative data from 4,800 physicians in the IMS Health National Diagnostic and Therapeutic Index from 1995-2008. The number…

Over 40% of medicated foster children were receiving polypharmacy of 3 or more psychotropic drugs.

The authors examined Medicaid data for a random sample of 472 medicated youth in foster care aged 0 through 19 years in…

There has been a significant increase in the percentage of children receiving polypharmacy with antipsychotic medications.

Researchers examined physician survey data based on 27,979 child patient visits involving youth aged 6 to 17 years recorded in the National…

Antipsychotic polypharmacy is common in youth in Medicaid, despite there being little evidence supporting this practice in children with severe emotional disturbances.

Investigators evaluated antipsychotic polypharmacy for children (6 to 12 years old) and adolescents (13 to 17 years) enrolled in Florida’s Medicaid fee-for-service…

Youth in foster care are more likely to receive multiple antipsychotics and for longer periods of time than other children enrolled in Medicaid.

Researchers examined 2003 insurance claims data for 16,969 youth 20 years and younger continuously enrolled in a Mid-Atlantic state Medicaid program; all…

Children in foster care use psychotropic drugs at an extremely high rate.

Researchers examined prescription claims data between September 1, 2004 -August 31, 2005 for children enrolled in Texas foster care. Of  the 37,052…

In the Tennessee Public Insurance Program (TennCare), antipsychotic use in children 2-6 years old nearly doubled between 1996 and 2001.

Investigators examined 5 years of pharmacy claims (1996-2001) for children 2 to 18 years old enrolled in TennCare (Tennessee’s program for Medicaid…

In the Texas Medicaid program there was a 494% increase in the rate of youth receiving atypical antipsychotics between 1996-2000, with a 609% increase in children 5 to 9 years.

Investigators examined antipsychotic use among children and adolescents in the Texas Medicaid program examining prescription claims data during a 5 year period…