Government
Spending on mental health drugs outpaces overall drug expenditures
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 11, 2005
The past decade has been marked by a dramatic rise in spending on prescription drugs. But while overall spending on prescription drugs grew an average 12% a year between 1991 and 2001, spending on mental health-related medications increased 17.1% a year, according to a new study in Health Affairs.
The report attributed that growth to a combination of factors, including the introduction of many new psychotropic medications, the closure of psychiatric hospitals and a managed care-driven shift away from inpatient services.
Spending on mental health and substance abuse services grew on average 5.6% over the same period compared with 6.5% for all health care services.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/04/11/gvbf0411.htm.
