May 17, 2004 - Psychotropic Drugs for Children Outpace Medications for Asthma

A major national pharmacy benefits manager, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., said in a report released today that for the first time, spending for psychotropic drugs has exceeded the cost of antibiotics and asthma medications for children under the age of 19. Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer for Medco, said analysis of patient drug usage records for 300,000 children showed 17 percent of total drug spending for the age group was for behavioral medicines, compared with 16 percent each for antibiotics and asthma drugs, 11 percent for medications for skin conditions, and 6 percent for allergy medicines. Overall, 5.3 percent of children took some type of behavioral medication in 2003. A startling 49 percent rise in prescriptions for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs for children under the age of 5 accounted for most of a 23 percent increase in usage of such drugs by all children, with newer, longer-lasting medications that can be given just once a day seen as more popular than older twice-a-day medications such as Ritalin. The report is expected to be posted on the Medco website at www.medco.com.