Antipsychotic drugmakers target marketing dollars at DC Medicaid psychiatrists

According to new GW School of Public Health Report

2012-09-27

(Press-News.org) Washington, D.C.–The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) has released a study by George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services (SPHHS) indicating the high levels of marketing by antipsychotic drug manufacturers to Medicaid psychiatrists in the District of Columbia.

Antipsychotics are one of the top-selling drug classes; In 2010, top antipsychotic manufacturers spent more than $25 million on marketing in Washington DC. Among 26 psychiatrists receiving at least $1000 from top antipsychotic manufacturers in 2010, 7 (27%) were Medicaid providers. Medicaid psychiatrists, however, received a disproportionate, share of industry largesse, receiving two-thirds (66%) of gifts and payments. In 2008 (the most recent data available), antipsychotic use by Medicaid recipients was especially high in the nation's capitol, with approximately 1 in 10 recipients receiving a prescription – a rate five times higher than the total national population.

A large proportion of Medicaid recipients are children under the age of 18. Antipsychotics can cause sedation, weight gain, diabetes, and other adverse effects. Previous studies have shown a high rate of inappropriate off-label use (for conditions the FDA has not approved). Some adverse events may be more likely to occur in children and young adults.

Lead researcher Susan Wood, PhD, Associate Professor at SPHHS, said, "Pharmaceutical marketing affects which drugs are prescribed. Prescribing decisions can have a profound effect on both state coffers and population health."

"Antipsychotics are clearly being used in patients who are not psychotic," said Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, collaborator on the report and Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center.

### The report is in fulfillment of AccessRx, the District of Columbia's 2006 law requiring public disclosure of pharmaceutical marketing expenditures spent on all health care providers by every pharmaceutical company that markets in the District. The DOH's Health Regulation and Licensing Administration commissioned the study by SPHHS on the 2010 data. The amounts paid by antipsychotic manufacturers to DC Medicaid and non-Medicaid psychiatrists are included in the report, along with the effects of the new public records on prescribing and marketing trends.

Access to the report is available on DOH's web site, http://doh.dc.gov/node/158762

About the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services:

Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education that we have since expanded substantially. Today, more than 1,100 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than 40 nations pursue undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level degrees in public health. Our student body is one of the most ethnically diverse among the nation's private schools of public health. http://sphhs.gwumc.edu/

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