A+KIDS Antipsychotics – Keeping It Documented Safely

A+KIDS
(Antipsychotics – Keeping It Documented Safely)

Due to well-documented safety considerations on antipsychotic-medication use in children, as well as limited information on the efficacy of such treatments, prescribers of antipsychotics for N.C. Medicaid and N.C. Health Choice beneficiaries younger than 18 are required to input relevant information into A+KIDS, a safety-monitoring registry.

    • A+KIDS was developed in 2011 through a partnership between, among others, the N.C. Division of Health Benefits (DHB), and psychiatry experts from our four state medical schools, to promote safe, effective prescribing of antipsychotics in the target population through the use of an appropriate baseline and follow-up monitoring parameters.
    • Providers are required to document information on the efficacy of therapy, as well as medication side-effects and metabolic monitoring parameters (height/weight/BMI percentile, lipid panel, and blood glucose).
    • Documentation using the A+KIDS Prior Approval (PA) form, required for both preferred and non-preferred atypical antipsychotic agents, should be submitted to NC Tracks via the Web Portal or the appropriate Prepaid Health Plan (PHP); medication use is authorized for six months.
    • NCTracks no longer accepts faxed documentation of atypical psychotics.