Assessing and Addressing Antipsychotic Utilization Among Medicaid Youth: A Researcher-State Policymaker Collaboration

1.  Assessing and Addressing AntipsychoticUtilization Among Medicaid Youth:A Researcher-State Policymaker Collaboration Stephen Crystal Center for Education and Research on Mental Health Therapeutics Rutgers University Presentation for Session on Collaboration Between Researchers and State Policymakers: A Model for Healthcare Improvement AHRQ Annual Meeting September, 2009

2. AP Use in Medicaid Youth: Clinical and Policy Challenge Increased use of atypical antipsychotic (AAP) medications for a broadened range of patients and indications, often off-label, has raised a range of policy challenges for payers, patients and clinicians (Crystal et al, Health Affairs, 2009). Particular concerns about increased use among youth, with growing evidence of risks including metabolic effects, uncertainties about long-term effects on brain development. First-generation APs largely reserved for adults with schizophrenia and other severe psychotic disorders, but this changed following advent of the AAPs, perceived as much safer. In 2000s APs most expensive class of medication in MA.

3. AP Use in Medicaid Youth: Clinical and Policy Challenge Results from CERTs consensus meeting, expert survey, early data analyses and information on other mental health treatment challenges presented by mental health CERTs at Seattle meeting with Medicaid Medical Directors Learning Network. MMDs prioritized the issue of APs in youth as top priority for a collaborative project.

4. Annual Antipsychotic Use Rates by Gender, Age Medicaid FFS Youth* Ages 6-172001 - 2004 _____________________________________________________________