Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Calif. Tries To Rein In Overuse Of Psychiatric Drug For Foster Kids By Monitoring Doctors
Mercury News: Drugging Our Kids: Brown Passes Two Psych Med Bills, Vetoes Another
Capping years of efforts to stop California’s foster care system from overmedicating the state’s most vulnerable children, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a controversial bill that for the first time puts doctors who recklessly prescribe psychiatric drugs at risk of losing their medical license. The measure is part of a series of sweeping legislative reforms inspired by this news organization’s series “Drugging Our Kids” that disclosed the state’s dependence on psychotropic medications to control troubled children in the country’s largest child welfare system. (Seipel, 9/29)
San Francisco Chronicle: Brown Signs Two More Laws To Curb Overuse Of Meds On Foster Youth
California Gov. Jerry Brown Thursday signed two more bills to protect traumatized foster children from psychiatric care that is overly reliant on risky medications — cementing what is now the most comprehensive set of laws in the nation. Following three laws passed last year, the additional legislation will subject overprescribing physicians to stepped-up investigations and ensure that counties offer mental health services for foster children that include non-drug treatments. Brown vetoed a bill that would have enhanced juvenile court oversight of prescribing. But the courts have already launched a sweeping set of new standards requiring doctors to justify their prescriptions before judges approve them, and ensuring that foster children have a say in whether they want to take the untested drugs. (De Sa, 9/29)
