The last summary of the VA's patient population we had, from Ed at Pharmalot, put the total at 530,000 patients.
So, you do the math, and figure out your own percentage of VA consumers being poisoned with these drugs.
Off-Label Use of Antipsychotic Medications In The Dept of Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
And remember, we're not talking about One A Day Vitamins here, unlike the Quacks peddling them.
Abstract:
"This study aimed to determine the prevalence of prescribing
antipsychotics to adults without schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and
to identify factors associated with such off-label use.
Patients with at least one prescription for an antipsychotic medication
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during fiscal year (FY)
2007 were identified in national VA administrative databases. Rates of
off-label antipsychotic use were determined along with average doses.
Multivariate logistic regression models identified sociodemographic and
clinical characteristics associated with off-label use.
Of the 279,778 individuals in FY 2007 who received an antipsychotic
medication, 168,442 (60.2%) had no record of a diagnosis for which these
drugs are approved. The most common mental illness diagnoses among
patients given prescriptions for antipsychotics off label were
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, 41.8%), minor depression (39.5%),
major depression (23.4%), and anxiety disorder (20.0%). Among VA
patients with mental illness other than schizophrenia or bipolar
disorder, the proportion who received prescriptions for antipsychotic
medications ranged from a low of 9.1% among patients with adjustment
reaction; to about 20% for those with depression, dementia, or PTSD; and
to a high of 40.7% among patients with other psychoses. Doses were low,
with over half of patients who received off-label quetiapine,
risperidone, or first-generation antipsychotics receiving doses below
those recommended for schizophrenia. In logistic regression models,
patients diagnosed as having other psychosis or dementia had the highest
odds of receiving an antipsychotic medication off label.
Off-label use of antipsychotic medications was common. Given that these
drugs are expensive, have potentially severe side effects, and have
limited evidence supporting their effectiveness for off-label usage,
they should be used with greater caution."
Read the entire study or download a free pdf of it at the link.
No comments:
Post a Comment