Older patients may regard some medications, particularly psychotropic medications, as discretionary compared with what they perceive as more "essential " nonpsychiatric medications. Patients' concerns about psychotropic medication costs under Medicare Part D may reinforce these impressions.
Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Excellence, Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), Ann Arbor, MI, USA. kzivin@umich.edu