title: Clinicians' utilization of child mental health telephone consultation in primary care: findings from Massachusetts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors examined utilization of the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project, a mental health telephone consultation service for primary care, hypothesizing that greater use would be related to severe psychiatric diagnoses and polypharmacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors examined the association between utilization, defined as the mean number of contacts per patient during the 180 days following the initial contact (July 2008-June 2009), and characteristics of the initial contact, including consultation question, the child's primary mental health problem, psychotropic medication regimen, insurance status, and time of year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Utilization (N=4,436 initial contacts, mean=3.83 contacts) was associated with initial contacts about medication management, polypharmacy, public and private health insurance, and time of year. The child's primary mental health problem did not predict utilization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Telephone consultation services address treatment with psychotropic medications, particularly polypharmacy. Joint public-private funding should be considered for such public programs that serve privately insured children.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hobbs Knutson
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Masek
authors.forename: Jeffrey Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Bostic
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Straus
authors.forename: Bradley D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D019338:Polypharmacy; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs