Ameritox, Ltd. And Ingenuity Health Expand Effort To Help Assess Medication Adherence In Those With Serious Mental Illness

BALTIMORE, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameritox^SM, the nation's leader in medication monitoring solutions, today launched a method to help assess medication adherence in behavioral health patients prescribed the antipsychotic drug risperidone (tradename, Risperdal^®). This new method marks a critical step toward establishing a comprehensive reference database for commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications, providing behavioral health clinicians help in addressing the acute problem of medication non-adherence in those with serious mental illness.

Ameritox's Ingenuity Health service conducted research that allows it to provide additional information about whether a patient may be taking risperidone in accordance with his or her prescribed treatment plan. By comparing normalized urine drug results against the results of patients clinically assessed as adherent, behavioral health centers and medical professionals will have more information as they manage and treat patients prescribed risperidone.

Risperidone now joins Abilify^®, the nation's top-selling medication, and Seroquel XR^®, a branded form of quetiapine, as medications for which Ingenuity Health has established a reference range for better assessing medication adherence. In addition, Ingenuity Health offers detection tests for other drugs commonly prescribed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, including Clozaril^®, Geodon^®, Haldol^®, Invega^®, Zyprexa^® and Latuda^®.

"One of the greatest barriers to helping those with serious mental illness has long been a lack of insight into whether a person is taking the prescribed medication," said Mike DeGeorge, Director of Medical Affairs for Ameritox and Ingenuity Health. "This method helps address the problem that behavioral health clinicians face with half of their patients: medication non-adherence."

This behavioral health-oriented database will expand Ameritox's exclusive Rx Guardian CD^SM, which goes beyond traditional data gathering to provide analysis that can help clinicians address the epidemic of medication misuse, abuse and diversion.

Additional research is underway to develop similar reference ranges for other commonly prescribed antipsychotics.

About Ameritox

Ameritox helped pioneer the prescription drug monitoring necessary to address the national epidemic of prescription drug misuse, abuse, and diversion. As the nation's trusted leader in Pain Medication Monitoring Solutions^SM, Ameritox provides medical and business professionals with data-driven analysis and tailored solutions that can improve patient care and prevent tragedy. Ameritox, headquartered in Baltimore, Md., has 800 employees nationwide and laboratory facilities in Greensboro, N.C.

Visit the Ameritox website at: www.ameritox.com

Visit the Ingenuity Health website: www.ingenuityhealth.com

Follow Ameritox on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ameritox

Watch Ameritox on YouTube: www.youtube.com/ameritox

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SOURCE Ameritox