Anthony Rothschild, MD, Discusses How Healthcare Barriers Can Keep Patients From Antipsychotics

Anthony J. Rothschild, MD, says that barriers to expensive antipsychotic drugs are shortsighted. He adds that the American Psychiatric Association, in accordance with some in Congress, recently rejected a CMS decision that would have restricted the number of antidepressants and antipsychotics Medicare beneficiaries could receive.

Dr Rothschild is professor and Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Endowed Chair of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School; director, UMass Medical Depression Center and Center for Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment, and program director, Mood Disorders Comprehensive Consultation Clinic at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

“The bottom line is—whether it’s the state’s Medicaid or the federal government on Medicare—is that the amount of money you save on the price of the pill is small compared to the amount of money you might save by giving effective medications, because people are using less healthcare services, both mental and physical,” says Dr Rothschild.