Advocate Support Blog

Antidepressant Use Increasing In The United States

A Medical News Today News Article today reports, "A marked and broad expansion in antidepressant treatment occurred among Americans older than 6 years between 1996 and 2005, although treatment rates remain low among racial and ethnic minorities, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals."

Click HERE for the full article.

Angie's List Review

I had heard about Angie's List and thought it was a neat concept, but I am overwhelmed with advertising, and never got around to checking it out.

Last week I heard something about Angie's List which peaked my interest. I heard that they were now rating mental health providers.

Well, I finally got around to checking it out yesterday, and this is what I found.

First, a little background on Angie's List:
Angie's List is a word-of-mouth network for consumers. It started out as a growing collection of homeowners' real-life experiences with local service companies.

As far as I can tell, Angie's List has been around since 1995 and they claim to have more than 650,00 members nationwide.

What I Found:
Angie's List has expanded and now includes reviews for Physicians (including Psychiatrists and Psychologists), Medical Facilities (Adult Daycare, Assisted Living, Hospitals, etc.), Medical Insurance Providers, and Medical Retailers (Pharmacies, Optical & Dentures), among many other.

Angie's List is a subscription based service, which relies on member experiences and reviews. Companies aren't able to advertise, which is their way of keeping it honest.

The down side is that it isn't cheap. A monthly subscription is $16.95, 1 Year is $63.00, 2 Years $105.00. I'll spare you the rest. Check their website for all their prices. NOTE: the prices I listed were based on my area, Baltimore, the prices in your area may be different.

I didn't purchase a subscription, so I can't be sure, but based on my experience and limited knowledge of Sociology, people are more likely to take action when they are unsatisfied, upset, or downright mad. I hope that Angie's List isn't just a bunch of bad reviews from disgruntled customers. I doubt this is the case, because they have had many positive reviews from reputable magazines.

Conclusion:
Kudos to Angie's List for creating a useful tool for consumers. I am very glad that they have expanded into health care and included mental health services and eldercare. Although the subscription would be a real commitment for me, I am sure that if a member of my family needed specialty health services, the price would seem negligible to me. I hope their membership grows, bad providers weeded out and good providers rewarded. It's Democracy in action!

Please let me know about your experiences with Angie's List.

Commonly Prescribed Psychotropic Medications

Here is a list of commonly prescribed psychotropic medications which was published by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Download nami_common_medications.pdf

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has affiliates in every state and in more than 1,100 local communities across the country.

For more information about prescription drugs and medications, you can check out RxList, the Internet Drug Index.

As always, you should always consult your doctor or psychiatrist to get the best personal advice.