We Spend Too Much On Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs are an important part of mental health care, but they aren't the only part. Is the government spending too much?

http://i.telegraph.co.uk

Prozac, Xanax, Valium, and Zoloft - among others - are all names that might come to mind when you think of prescription drugs. The media portrays these kinds of drugs as a "quick fix". Pop a pill and it'll all be fine. No need to address any other kinds of treatment at all! And when you look at the data, it's clear that the government definitely is perpetuating this arguably harmful belief of treatment.

According to The Brookings Institute, in 2014, the U.S. was the leader in amount spent - $1,112 - on prescription drugs per person. The U.S. had spent at least $300 more than other countries like Japan, Canada, Germany, and France in that year. Of course, there is no way to tell how much of that spending was used on drugs to treat mental health conditions. However, The Advisory Board Company also confirms that a year later in 2015, Medicaid spent about $2 billion on Abilify, an antipsychotic drug.

With $2 billion on one single drug alone, it's justifiable to ask just why we are spending so much money on this when the government could instead focus their mandatory spending on alternative treatments. Although drugs have proved to be helpful for many patients, investments into treatment facilities and training for future mental health professionals could one day help to achieve a better balance in mental health treatment.

Between drugs and therapies, no one treatment is inferior to the other, so it's important to assess if the government spending matches that philosophy. As of now, it doesn't, and that's a clear indicator that there needs to be some kind of reform in how we spend our money on mental health care.

Future research question:  What should the government do to improve the allocation of mental health funds?