Thursday, October 09, 2003

Managing Psychotropic Drug Costs: Will Formularies Work?
Health Affairs article available in full text through Medscape - "In this paper Haiden Huskamp explains that in the past payers have been reluctant to restrict the choice of psychotropic drugs through the use of formularies, because these drugs play a pivotal role in treating severe mental illness and allowing patients to return to productive life. However, as the price tag for this class of drugs continues to rise, it becomes a natural target of cost containment for insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. Huskamp examines whether the use of formularies for psychotropic drugs has promise or whether it has the potential to harmpatients and reverse some of the remarkable progress in mental health treatment that is partially attributable to the broad use of these drugs." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].