Full access
Government News
Published Online: 4 June 2004

Advice for Advocates

Publication: Psychiatric News
Volume 39, Number 11
https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.39.11.0390005a
PDF/EPUB
At the APA annual meeting presentation titled “Medicaid Policies on Outpatient Prescription Drugs: A Survey and Discussion of Advocacy,” Chris Koyanagi, policy director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, advised mental health advocates to encourage states to do the following:
•
Include more than one drug in a class on a preferred drug list (PDL).
•
Permit “grandfathering” of medications that are not on PDLs for people with chronic conditions.
•
Consider making the use of PDLs voluntary for physicians.
•
Promote appropriate cost savings, such as the use of generic drugs, when substantiated by expert opinion.
•
Consider pooling prescription-drug purchases with those by other states to gain additional rebates.
•
Target polypharmacy when it is misused. Missouri and Massachusetts state officials use Medicaid prescribing data to identify physicians whose prescribing practices are expensive and of questionable efficacy and to direct voluntary, educational efforts to them (Psychiatric News, November 21, 2003; May 16, 2003).
•
Avoid the use of limits on the number of prescriptions that can be filled in a given period. In New Hampshire, costs exceeded savings by a factor of 17 when state officials put a limit of three per month on prescriptions for antipsychotic medications. The additional costs were in the form of emergency mental health services, partial hospitalization, and visits to community mental health centers, according to the September 8, 1994, New England Journal of Medicine.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric News
Psychiatric News
Volume 39 • Number 11 • June 4, 2004
Pages: 5

History

Published online: 4 June 2004
Published in print: June 4, 2004

Authors

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share

×

As described within the American Psychiatric Association (APA)'s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences. Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.