Study: Despite Suicide Risk, Patients On Antidepressants Get Less FollowUp

[HuckleB]

New Study: Despite Suicidality Risks, Patients On Antidepressants Have Received Far Less Follow-up Care Than Is Currently Recommended

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=49251&nfid=nl

" Despite concerns about suicidal thoughts and behavior for patients using antidepressants, a new study in the August issue of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Managed Care shows that few patients on these drugs received even the minimum level of follow-up care. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a "black box" warning, the strongest alert possible, on all antidepressants for increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and adolescents, and has issued a public health advisory about those risks for adults.

Current FDA guidelines for both pediatric and adult patients recommend at least weekly face-to-face visits with a health practitioner during the first four weeks of antidepressant treatment, then every other week during the next four weeks, and then a visit after 12 weeks. But according to the study by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS), nearly half of all patients have no follow-up visits during the first month of taking antidepressants, and fewer than 18 percent of patients see a practitioner specifically for mental health follow-up care during that time period.

The new study found that few patients were monitored closely during the first three months following the start of antidepressant therapy. The study, which reviewed medical and pharmacy claims of 84,500 pediatric and adult patients, found that less than 15 percent of patients received the FDA's current recommended level of follow-up care in the first four weeks of drug treatment, 18 percent at eight weeks, and 23 percent at 12 weeks.

´ "This study brings to light potentially serious inadequacies in the follow-up care of patients on antidepressants," said Dr. Glen Stettin, senior vice president of clinical solutions for Medco and lead author of the study. "Not only is close monitoring needed to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes including suicidal tendencies, but also to assess a patient's response to the treatment, make adjustments to drug dosages when necessary and help manage side-effects that can lead to poor compliance or the discontinuation of therapy, which can have extremely negative consequences as well."

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Sorry about the bad headline, but the original didn't come close to fitting...