I'm hoping this is a victory for accountability:
From the Boston Globe:
"Following the death of a 4-year-old Hull girl from an overdose of psychiatric drugs last December, state officials have set up a unique early-warning system to spot preschoolers who may be getting excessive medication for mental illness. In just the first three months, the system has flagged the cases of at least 35 children for further investigation, and the number is sure to rise.
The state Medicaid program is analyzing records of 82,900 children under age 5, looking for those taking at least three psychiatric drugs or a single prescription of a powerful antipsychotic drug. Mental health professionals will review the care of these children and, if necessary, contact the prescribing doctor for an explanation, say officials of the state insurance program for lower-income families, known as MassHealth."
Read the rest of the Article here:
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/articles/2007/10/07/mass_tracks_children_on_psychiatric_drugs/?page=full
1 comment:
Here is always my question with these studies: are we over-medicating kids (the answer is probably yes.) But is the reason because people just hand out too many pills? Or is it more complex? Are the strains of childhood and adolescense in America at this point so intense that the medication really helps the kids get through what is expected of them. So, then the medication would really be more a symptom of something deeper wrong with our culture, rather than just a few over-zealous shrinks.
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