Psychiatric drugs - DHS prescribes more oversight and follow-up for youngsters under its care
Children in state foster care who are on psychiatric drugs would receive more oversight under a new plan to make sure they're on the right medications and getting the mental health help they need.
The draft proposal by the Oregon Department of Human Services could affect more than 2,000 foster children who receive psychiatric medications.
State officials last spring adopted new rules regarding psychiatric medications and foster children.
But The Oregonian reported in November that state law and rules governing the use of psychiatric medications in foster care are often ignored and that hundreds of children are taking multiple prescriptions with little or no state scrutiny.
READ MORE @ THE OREGONIAN
Showing posts with label foster care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foster care. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Concomitant Psychotropic Medications Overprescribed in Foster-Care Youth: Presented at AACAP
Nearly 20% of youths in foster care receiving psychotropic medications received two or more such drugs in the same drug class, in a study presented here at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).
Professionally developed monitoring guidelines would help to validate any necessary prescriptions for multiple psychotropic medications, noted lead author Julie M. Zito, PhD, MS, Associate Professor in Pharmacy and Psychiatry, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Dr. Zito and colleagues selected a random sample (n = 472) from a total of 32,135 Medicaid foster-care enrolees in Texas in 2004. All subjects were 19 years of age or younger (64% over the age of 10; 5% were age 4 years and under) and all received at least one psychotropic drug in the study year (2004).
The psychotropic drugs were classified under 8 drug descriptions: anticonvulsants; alpha agonists; antianxiolytics; antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, other); antipsychotics (atypical and conventional); ADHD drugs (amphetamines, methylphenidate, atomoxetine); lithium; and miscellaneous.
READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE
Professionally developed monitoring guidelines would help to validate any necessary prescriptions for multiple psychotropic medications, noted lead author Julie M. Zito, PhD, MS, Associate Professor in Pharmacy and Psychiatry, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Dr. Zito and colleagues selected a random sample (n = 472) from a total of 32,135 Medicaid foster-care enrolees in Texas in 2004. All subjects were 19 years of age or younger (64% over the age of 10; 5% were age 4 years and under) and all received at least one psychotropic drug in the study year (2004).
The psychotropic drugs were classified under 8 drug descriptions: anticonvulsants; alpha agonists; antianxiolytics; antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, other); antipsychotics (atypical and conventional); ADHD drugs (amphetamines, methylphenidate, atomoxetine); lithium; and miscellaneous.
READ MORE @ DOCTOR'S GUIDE
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