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Article: Medicaid coverage of newer psychotropic medication.
- Article from:
- Health and Social Work
- Article date:
- August 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 National Association of Social Workers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Approximately 5 million people in the United States suffer from severe mental illnesses such s schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and severe forms of panic and obsessive--compulsive disorders (National Advisory Mental Health Council, 1993). These mental illnesses can run a chronic course and disable the daily living activities of individuals.
Of the many treatment approaches available for severe mental illness, pharmacotherapy or drug treatment first introduced in the 1950s has been the most helpful in ameliorating symptoms caused by such disorders. The newer psychotropic drugs introduced in the mid-1990s have especially been found to be more ...