 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Elizabeth T Momany, PhD1, Beth R. Troutman, PhD2, Gary R. Gaffney, MD2, Sharashchandr S. Shetty, PhD1, Peter C. Damiano, DDS, MPH1, Edward L. Schor, MD3, and Margaret C. Tyler, MSW1. (1) Public Policy Center, University of Iowa, 227 South Quad, Iowa City, IA 52242, 319 335-6812, elizabeth-momany@uiowa.edu, (2) Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, 1882 JJP, 200 Hawkins Dr, Iowa City, IA 52242, (3) Assistant Vice President, Child Development and Pediatric Care, The Commonwealth Fund, One East 75th St, New York, NY 10021
Children in foster care have higher rates of behavioral/emotional problems than similar children not in care. Concerns are being raised about these children’s access to mental health services. This project examines the use of psychotherapeutic medications by children in foster care, including the prevalence of use of categories of medications. 808 children under 18 years old, who had been in foster care at least six months were included. Using Medicaid administrative data, medical and pharmaceutical claims were compiled for these children for January 2000 through August 2001. Pharmaceutical claims were reviewed by a psychiatrist, psychologist and pharmacist to determine the number of children on a psychotherapeutic medication. In addition, we utilized the medical claims to determine whether children who were on both Methylphenidate and Clonidine had an EKG within the study period. Of the 808 children within the sampling frame, 337 (42%) children had filled a prescription for some psychotherapeutic agent within the study period. The most highly prescribed medication class was antidepressants (203 children). To date we have identified 42 children who filled a prescription for Methylphenidate and Clonidine in the same month. None of these children had an EKG during this time. This study suggests that children in foster care have a high rate of psychotherapeutic medication use. Available data allows a review of psychotherapeutic prescribing for children in Medicaid, and can be used to identify opportunities to improve the quality of care available to these children through the development of guidelines to monitor responses to medication.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Child/Adolescent Mental Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.