Drug use patterns in severely mentally ill Medicare beneficiaries: impact of discontinuities in drug coverage.

Detailing the effects of discontinuities on prescription drug coverage for mentally ill Medicare enrollees, this article finds that beneficiaries with discontinuities in drug coverage are less likely to receive mental health medications than those with continuous coverage.  The authors suggest these findings indicate that mentally ill Medicare beneficiaries may be especially vulnerable to the design of Medicare Part D and therefore require special attention to guarantee their access to mental health medication.      

Simoni-Wastila, L., Zuckerman, I. H., Shaffer, T., Blanchette C. M.,  Stuart, B. (2008). Drug use patterns in severely mentally ill Medicare beneficiaries: impact of discontinuities in drug coverage. Health Services Research, 43(2), 496-514. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00779.x http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34448634_ITM