Well darn, I was trying not to post on this because I know the blogosphere has been all buzzed up with this article the past week but it’s hard to let it go, you know?
In case you have not seen it already, the article in question is from the New York Times on December 11, 2009.
Here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/health/12medicaid.html?_r=1&em
The premise of the article is that kids on Medicaid (and just for the record, all foster children in the United States are on Medicaid) are prescribed antipsychotics at 4 times the rate of children not on Medicaid.
After reading the article, this is what really gets me (and I know it’s bothered more than a few other people as well):
Because there can be long waits to see the psychiatrists accepting Medicaid, it is often a pediatrician or family doctor who prescribes an antipsychotic to a Medicaid patient — whether because the parent wants it or the doctor believes there are few other options.
[...]
“Maybe Medicaid kids are getting better treatment,” said Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, a child psychiatrist and professor at the Stony Brook School of Medicine. “If it helps keep them in school, maybe it’s not so bad.”
Oh my Lord, seriously? Yes, if only we could all get Medicaid and get a psychiatric diagnosis for our kids from a family doctor that is not trained in psychiatry and then have said doctor prescribe mind altering/psychotropic drugs with potentially long lasting (if not permanent) debilitating side effects for our children. Oh, if only we could all receive that great treatment.
Eeek.
And Dr. Carlson is on the Scientific Advisory Committee for CABF (pointed out by Stephany on Soulful Sepulcher).
Gad zooks.
So, where is the hope for the kids of our country and the parents of kids with struggles who put their faith in doctors? And where is sanity to be found in our mental health system?
Luckily, it’s in doctors like Dr. Derek H. Suite of the Bronx. Dr. Suite, psychiatrist, explains his position:
Too often, Dr. Suite said, he sees young Medicaid patients to whom other doctors have given antipsychotics that the patients do not seem to need. Recently, for example, he met with a 15-year-old girl. She had stopped taking the antipsychotic medication that had been prescribed for her after a single examination, paid for by Medicaid, at a clinic where she received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Why did she stop? Dr. Suite asked. “I can control my moods,” the girl said softly.
After evaluating her, Dr. Suite decided she was right. The girl had arguments with her mother and stepfather and some insomnia. But she was a good student and certainly not bipolar, in Dr. Suite’s opinion.
“Normal teenager,” Dr. Suite said, nodding. “No scrips for you.”
Whew.
A little piece of hope.
3 Comments
Yeah, I noticed some of those errors in logic when I read that article too.
Doesn’t bode well for our mental health system does it?
The girl in the quote was diagnosed as bipolar in one doctor visit and given antipsychotics that she remained on until luckily she saw a better doctor. The boy later in the article was diagnosed and given antipsychotics at 3 years old and has been on then until present time, despite incurring weight and heart issues [that he now has at the ripe old age of 10 years old]. He will most likely now always be on these meds because his brain has developed with them and his brain now depends on them to function. No one will ever know what kind of a person he would have been off of them.
Is this the best we as a country have to offer our children?
Pathetic.
It is hard enough to keep our children stable with resources, intelligence and contacts. If one is poor or has a disability (mental or otherwise) it is almost impossible. I read this article as well and, again, was reminded of the inadequacies and inequalities of the system. I feel more responsible to speak out given we are the “lucky” ones in a very unlucky system. Ryan is a great kid!! I love that age between child and adolescent. So sweet and so funny!
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