A key aspect to our state’s health care system that is routinely overlooked must be addressed: the fragmented landscape of medication management. Medication management is crucial for individuals who are living with serious and persistent mental health issues. It enables them to live successfully and integrate into their communities. If Maine is to provide top quality health care to all Mainers, we must work to address the condition of Maine’s medication management system.

Currently in Maine, agencies have reported a 6-18 month waiting period for a patient’s initial visit for these services. For patients with chronic conditions or acute needs, or patients who are going through crisis, this is an unacceptable amount of time to wait for potentially life-saving medication. In the status quo, 70% of the medication management is being done by psychiatric nurse practitioners and the rest by psychiatrists. Sadly, many agencies have stopped providing the service or cut it back to minimal levels, as it is not financially profitable. That’s why we must work to change the current state of medication management.

The opioid crisis has long cast a shadow over Maine. According to the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, between 2010 and 2022 roughly 4,600 people died from an opioid-related overdose in Maine. Proper medication management, which includes prescription drug monitoring, is essential for combatting opioid misuse and addiction, and ultimately saving lives. Calls for better medication management must include responsible use for patients all across Maine.

I am committed to ensuring the health and well-being of all Mainers. That’s why I’m proud to sponsor LD 2083, “A Resolve Directing the Department of Health and Human Services to Establish a Stakeholder Group to Study Timely Access to Psychiatric Medication Services Across the State.” This legislation, which recently received a unanimous roll call vote in the Senate, calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to create a stakeholder group to review and resolve the current medication management crisis. This group will study the different disparities in access for these services, the geographical breakdown of medication management, and the availability of psychiatric nurse practitioners to sustain and expand medication management services in Maine. As I said above, medication management is often handled by psychiatric nurse practitioners. Unfortunately, Maine is facing a shortage in this workforce, as we are in so many other health care fields. We must be prepared to invest in mental health care and the workforce that supports it, so that we can meet the needs of our communities. Comprehensive mental health care services must include the ability to access timely and consistent medication.

The state of medication management in Maine demands immediate action. There are deliberate decisions made by health care companies and providers that prioritize who will have access to life-saving medication first and who must wait and suffer. Whether these inequities occur intentionally or unintentionally is irrelevant. We must work to ensure that no Mainer is left behind and we build a medication management framework that works for everybody.

If you have questions, ideas or comments about med management or throughout the legislative session, please feel free to contact me at Stacy.Brenner@legislature.maine.gov or my legislative office at (207) 287-1515. You can also follow my Facebook page at Facebook.com/SenatorStacyBrenner for more frequent updates.

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