Metabolic Monitoring Was 42% More Likely For Children Taking Antipsychotics Under Shared Primary & Mental Health Care Arrangements

In 2017, children in Florida and Texas who were prescribed antipsychotic medications and were under shared-care arrangements that included both a primary care professional (PCP) and a mental health professional (MHP) were about 42% more likely to receive metabolic monitoring than children seeing PCPs only. Metabolic monitoring looks at cardiometabolic variables to predict risk for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Metabolic monitoring is important because antipsychotic use places children at risk for increased body-mass index (BMI), impaired glucose metabolism, and hyperlipidemia (abnormally elevated levels of any or all lipids or lipoproteins in the blood). In 2017, less than . . .