Monday, August 22, 2011

VA Spent $717 Million on Drug Deemed No More Effective Than Sugar Pill


Full article at: VA spent $717 million on a drug deemed as effective as a placebo

By Bob Brewin 08/22/2011


"Over the past decade, the Veterans Affairs Department spent $717 million for an anti-psychotic drug to treat post-traumatic stress disorder that a recent study shows is no more effective than a placebo.

Data provided by the department in response to a Nextgov query showed that VA doctors wrote more than 5 million prescriptions for risperidone from October 2000, the beginning of fiscal 2001, through June 2010. Risperidone is the generic name for Risperdal, a second-generation anti-psychotic drug."