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Children and Pschotropic Meds

Posted by ChrisK on March 20, 2000, at 6:24:06

Interesting article in the 3/20/00 Albany Times-Union about the government getting involved in patient care.


White House looks at children, drugs

Hillary Clinton leads initiative to change treatment of kids with behavioral disorders

WASHINGTON -- The White House will announce a major effort on Monday to reverse a sharp increase in the number of preschool children using Ritalin, Prozac and other powerful psychiatric drugs, administration officials said Sunday.

As part of the initiative, they said, the government will inform parents and teachers about the risks of such drugs, the Food and Drug Administration will develop new drug labels, the National Institutes of Health will begin a huge nationwide study of Ritalin use in children under age 6, and the White House will hold a conference this fall on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in very young children.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and federal health officials plan to meet today with parents, psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, nurses and social workers to discuss the issue.

Then the administration plans to issue a statement declaring that "the use of medication is not generally the first option for a preschool child with a psychiatric disorder.''

In a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers reported that there had apparently been a sharp increase in the number of preschoolers taking psychotropic drugs, particularly stimulants like Ritalin and antidepressants like Prozac.

In an interview, Dr. Steven E. Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said, "As a rule of thumb, doctors, psychologists and social workers should attempt to modify the behavior of a child and deal with family crises before drugs are prescribed.''

The government has prepared a new guide for parents on the treatment of young children with mental disorders. "When medication is used, it should not be the only strategy,'' but should be part of an overall treatment plan, the guide says.

Administration officials said the initiative was inspired mainly by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who they said wanted to announce steps after seeing public concern about the use of powerful pills to treat toddlers with behavioral disorders.


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