Friday, December 23, 2011

CMS Finds Overpayment for Antipsychotic Medications

Physicians too often violate federal standards designed to prevent overmedication and inappropriate use of drugs, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Testifying before a U.S. Senate panel recently, high-ranking government officials said that in the six months between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2007, 51 percent of the Medicare reimbursement claims for atypical antipsychotic medications were erroneous and cost the program $116 million. The report also found that 83 percent of all reviewed Medicare atypical antipsychotic drug claims for older adults living in nursing homes were for off-label uses. The officials said that more care must be taken to keep physicians from prescribing such medications, although the panel’s chairman noted that the drugs can be beneficial “when properly prescribed,” according to an article published in Health Care Daily Report.

Source: http://www.bna.com/officials-antipsychotic-drug-n12884904634/

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