May in National Mental Health Month in America, and it is important to understand both prevention and treatment of mental health problems. Mental health measures such as Antidepressant Medication Management and Adherence to Antipsychotics as well as the Concurrent use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines measure are currently used in EQuIPP® today.
According to the CDC, there were 56.8 million visits to physician offices with mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders as the primary diagnosis. The number of visits to emergency departments with mental disorders, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental as the primary diagnosis reached 4.9 million. 1 In 2019, 19.2% of U.S. adults received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months, including 15.8% who had taken prescription medication for their mental health and 9.5% who had received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional.2 The CDC is currently conducting studies on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Quality Corner Show podcast explored the theme of mental health in November of 2020 as our first series of the second season. This is a great time for pharmacists to look back at episodes covering mental health first aid, quality measures, and gaps in mental healthcare. Below you will find Episodes 1 -4 of season two which can be listened to using the embedded media players.
1“FastStats – Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Mar. 2021, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mental-health.htm.
2“Products – Data Briefs – Number 380 – September 2020.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db380.htm.
