Many Medicaid-enrolled children who were treated for ADHD did not receive recommended followup care
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Report in brief
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General. Office of Evaluation and Inspections, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, August 2019
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Aftercare Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity -- drug therapy Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity -- therapy Follow-Up Studies Medicaid Behavior Therapy Child Medication Therapy Management Quality Indicators, Health Care Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why OIG Did This Review. Children with ADHD have higher rates of repeating grade levels, dropping out of school, and receiving hospital care. Childhood ADHD is also associated with negative outcomes in adulthood such as increased rates of other mental health problems, criminal behavior, and increased risk for suicide. The annual societal costs of ADHD are estimated at up to $266 billion from loss of productivity, as well as spending in the healthcare, justice, and educational systems. An estimated 13 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children are impacted by ADHD. Treatment involving behavioral therapy, medication, and followup care can help improve these children's outcomes, long-term prognoses, and quality of life. OIG conducted this review in response to a congressional request to evaluate pharmaceutical and behavioral therapy treatment of Medicaid-enrolled children with ADHD. How OIG Did This Review. We reviewed Medicaid claims data, fiscal years 2014 and 2015, from all States and the District of Columbia for Medicaid-enrolled children who received treatment for ADHD. We examined whether children received: (1) timely followup care with practitioners after being newly prescribed an ADHD medication, (2) timely followup care after ADHD hospitalizations, and (3) behavioral therapy in addition to ADHD medication. We also interviewed professionals to understand the impact ADHD has on children. What OIG Found. Over 500,000 Medicaid-enrolled children who were newly prescribed an ADHD medication and over 3,500 children who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of ADHD did not receive followup care within the timeframes outlined in the national quality measures. Additionally, over 54,000 children did not receive any behavioral therapy as recommended by professional guidelines. What OIG Recommends. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommends that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) work toward improving health outcomes by developing strategies to increase the number of children who receive timely followup care for ADHD. We recommend that CMS accomplish this by working in three ways: (1) Collaborate: CMS should collaborate with partners to develop strategies for improving rates of followup care for children who receive treatment for ADHD. (2) Assist: CMS should provide technical assistance to States to implement strategies for improving rates of followup care for children who receive treatment for ADHD. (3) Analyze: CMS should analyze the effectiveness of strategies for improving rates of followup care for children who receive treatment for ADHD. CMS concurred with all three recommendations.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (37 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101757607 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101757607