The journal of mental health policy and economics
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J Ment Health Policy Econ · Jun 2008
Effectiveness and cost of atypical versus typical antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia in routine care.
In two recent randomised clinical trials, a meta-analysis and in an effectiveness study analysing routine data from the U.S. Veterans Administration the superiority of the newer atypical drugs over typical antipsychotic drugs, concerning both their efficacy and their side-effect profile, has been questioned. ⋯ The non-significant differences in the effectiveness of atypical compared to typical antipsychotics according to severity of disease should be investigated in a prospective observational study or in a randomised clinical trial.
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J Ment Health Policy Econ · Jun 2008
Caring for children with mental disorders: do state parity laws increase access to treatment?
High prevalence rates of mental health disorders in childhood have garnered increased public attention in recent years. Yet, among children diagnosed with serious mental health problems, a majority receive no treatment. Improving access to mental health services for children with behavioral and emotional disorders constitutes an important policy concern. ⋯ Since other research has shown that state parity laws are helpful in reducing the family financial burden of caring for a mentally ill child and do not drive up total health care costs, these policies serve a vital function. However, given persistent access problems in the child population, research aimed at increasing rates of mental health services use is needed. In addition, future research on parity laws should consider whether, conditional on having a visit, children in parity states are likely to have more visits compared with other children.