Serious mental illness carries a tremendous burden in the United States, affecting an estimated 10 million adults annually. The costs of these conditions—personal, societal, and economic, are enormous. The combined direct and indirect costs of MDD alone are estimated at $98.9 billion annually; schizophrenia adds an estimated $62.7 billion annually to the economic costs.^1,2 These conditions, both undertreated and plagued by treatment failure, present an opportunity for managed care to improve clinical and cost outcomes for a large segment of the population.

This February, Managed Care Learning Network presents an 8-date live webinar series examining recent advances in neurobiologic targets for mental health treatment. The accredited activity, “Examining the Role of Neurobiology in Mental Health Disorders: Guidance for Managed Care on Treatment Targets and Benefit Design,” brings together managed care and psychiatry experts to provide managed care decision makers with the latest evidence in order to properly inform individualized care strategies and formulary review.

“While the costs of treating behavioral health disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have decreased due to significant generic presence,” says Dr William Cardarelli of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, “there remains a large unmet need for successful and safe treatments. New research into the neurobiology of mental health disorders may lead to a better understanding of the brain and the development of new targeted agents which may improve outcomes. Managed Care decision makers need to understand these new treatments and support benefit changes that enable these treatments.”

Dr Cardarelli will be joined by Dr Joseph P. McEvoy of Duke University Medical Center and Dr Michael Thase of the University of Pennsylvania as both presenters and live Q&A hosts for the webinar series, which begins February 16, 2016.

Those interested in attending one of the CME/CPE-accredited sessions may view the full accreditation information and register at https://www.naccme.com/program/2016-686.

1. Greenberg PE, Fournier A-A, Sisitsky T, Pike CT, Kessler RC. The economic burden of adults with major depressive disorder in the United States (2005 and 2010). J Clin Psychiatry 2015;76(2):155-162.
2. Wu EQ, Birnbaum HG, Shi L, et al. The economic burden of schizophrenia in the United States in 2002. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66(9):1122-1129.