Systems of Care Yakima: another winner from 1 Boring Old Man

The Eagle Nebula as seen by Herschel and XMM-Newton

VIA 1 Boring Old Man

Posted on Thursday 2 February 2012

a couple excerpts:

"In response to a request from Senator Grassley, the Government Accountability Office did a survey [12/01/2011] of the medication of Medicaid covered children with psychotropic drugs in five States [Florida, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, and Massachusetts], separating Foster Children and non-Foster Children:

"No matter what your beliefs about ADHD or your thoughts that there are high rates of mental disorder in Foster Children or Medicaid Children, it’s inconceivable that the figures in those tables are justified by any rational medical rationale – particularly those second tables [which should be filled with zeros]. So there’s no question that the GAO findings are consistent with anything that has to do with the practice of sensible medicine. My impression is that this kind of over-medication of kids is largely the result of a subgroup of doctors who prey on Medicaid by seeing tons of these patients. But I don’t really know that in any real way. And those Call-Notes in the Janssen Trial gave me the willies about over-prescribing Atypicals.

"But it’s the APA response that bugs me [below]. This statement, "New research on alleged overuse of psychotropic medications in both nursing-home and foster-care settings signals a need for better training of nonpsychiatric physicians and increased funding to bolster the mental health workforce" puts the blame on others. I expect that there’s plenty of blame to go around but that we psychiatrists and child psychiatrists own a significant share in our own right. And I didn’t care much for this one either, "While APA acknowledged in its statement in conjunction with the Senate hearing that children in foster-care systems experience high rates of mental illness, it voiced support for the GAO’s recommendation that HHS issue formal guidance to state Medicaid and child-welfare agencies on best practices for monitoring the prescription of psychotropic medications for foster children." Medicine has been traditionally self regulating. I don’t hear the APA’s response as having any acknowledgement of that function. It’s a politically correct response with all the forcefulness of a feather.

"The problem here is not that people need just "formal guidance to state Medicaid and child-welfare agencies on best practices for monitoring the prescription of psychotropic medications for foster children." What’s needed is active censure of these practices with consequences from the APA on its members, the Certification Boards on their practitioners, and Licensing Boards on licensed physicians. Chronic, unjustified, overmedication of children is malpractice, not ignorance of guidelines. And, by the way, what is the APA for if not to set the tone for rational practice? If the APA doesn’t do it, sooner or later someone else will [and actually should]. There is outrageous information in this report that needs to be dealt with…"

(emphasis mine) read here

All I can say is THANK YOU, I knew that I couldn't be the only one who knows that increased 'oversight' will NOT change anything; much less stem the the tide of fraud and malpractice that 'mental health treatment' consists of... And KUDOS to this writer for acknowledging there is plenty of blame to go around, both for the sad facts in the GAO's report and the failure of the APA to regulate it's member's prescribing practices which are harming so very many.

GOOD JOB! Thanks again...