The second article from USA Today is a look at the increasing use of antipsychotic drugs among the ill elderly between 1996 and 2006 — the concerning factor here is that this increase in prescription drug use among is not paired with an increase in access to mental health specialists (who, ostensibly, would manage the medications and provide the psychotherapy/support that is needed for these meds to work in an optimal fashion).

Adults who say their activities are limited by mental illness were less likely to have contact with a mental health professional in 2006 than 1996, and the decrease was greatest for the elderly, dropping from 30% to 20%.

Seniors are most concerning to us,” Frank says. Traditionally, they’ve been the most under-treated. Now many are getting psychiatric medication, but, among the seriously impaired, access to specialists is dropping.