An assessment of medication pattern changes in prescription received by youth offenders in divison of youth services facilities through telepsychiatry

Abstract

The prevalence of mental health disorders is much higher in juvenile justice system than in youth in general population. Two-third of the youths under juvenile justice system suffer from one or more diagnosable mental health conditions. Board certified child psychiatry services are appropriate for treating mental health disorders among youths. However, these services are not available within the proximity of the rehabilitation facilities. Telehealth is an alternate solution to bridge the gap. Telehealth is a method for remote communication of information to facilitate clinical care. Clinical data of 773 youth offenders was collected from MUPC Cerner PowerChart in REDCap database. The data was separated into prior prescription use and prescribed medication. The data was then analyzed using R software and results were produced. On comparison of medication prescribed prior to the telehealth intervention to the prescribed medication through telehealth, there is a decrease in the prescription of Anti-psychotics, Mood Stabilizers and Alpha Agonists. Medication prescribed during the first visit when compared to the medication prescribed in the subsequent visits, we found out that there is a decrease in the prescription of Anxiolytics, Alpha agonists, Stimulants and Sleep medication. Tele-psychiatry achieves its goal of enhancing psychiatric service to youth in the rehabilitation facilities by increasing the level of care and decrease in prescription medications.