Barrett CHIEF EXECUTIVE officer of the National Health Fund (NHF), Rae Barrett, has expressed concern that only a third of the fund's cardholders with major depressive disorders are accessing benefits on a regular basis.
"We have a low enrolment and then, of the number of persons who are enrolled, only one in three is using the card on a regular basis to access the medication," he noted.
Mr. Barrett was speaking at the official launch of the Ministry of Health's Mental Health Education Promotion Programme, at the Terra Nova Hotel, recently.
He said the programme covers 15 chronic illnesses, including major depression and psychosis. Persons with depression only account for two per cent of the overall enrolment for the NHF card, which amounts to just over 5,000 persons. Meanwhile, some 3,587 individuals with psychosis are enrolled, accounting for just one per cent of overall membership.
Cause for concern
The low access rate, he said, was cause for concern, against the background of an overall 19 per cent prevalence rate for major depressive disorders in the general population. This was revealed by a 2002 survey conducted by the National Council on Drug Abuse, in which 2,383 persons between 12 and 55 years of age were interviewed.
"If we use that study as the basis for projecting the prevalence in the population, you will see that in the population, one in five of us possibly suffer from this disorder. Unfortunately, even with this high prevalence, people are very reluctant to go for treatment for mental disorders, including depression, because of the stigma and discrimination that exist in our society. All of this has a detrimental effect on the access that people need to medical services. When we look at the statistics for the NHF, we find that this is also, unfortunately, reflected in our results," Mr. Barrett told the audience.
The same pattern of low enrolment and access to benefits is being experienced with the Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme, which is also administered by the NHF.Only about 3,400 individuals who are enrolled are using their cards for drugs in the treatment of mental disorders.
