Tuesday, October 01, 2002
Partners for Substance Abuse Prevention Farra Trompeter of SAMHSA called our attention to this updated site (sponsored by CSAP and SAMHSA) whose goal is "decreasing substance abuse by bringing effective prevention to every community, the site provides a virtual meeting place for all organizations that want to become involved in a substance abuse prevention effort or want to expand their current substance abuse prevention activities."
When Must Banks Protect Health Data?
Health Data Management story - "Health care providers enter a variety of funding arrangements with financial institutions, and it is not always clear under the HIPAA privacy rule when these arrangements require a business associate contract to protect identifiable health information."
Cuts affect those most in need (Idaho) Spokesman Review story on how "the disabled, the mentally ill and the poor will bear the brunt of the $26.5 million in cuts that Gov. Dirk Kempthorne authorized this week."
New mental health bill may conflict with advice from the GMC (UK) British Medical Journal story - "The BMA and the Medical Defence Union have added their concerns to those of more than 50 organisations opposed to draft mental health legislation under which people with mental disorders could be detained and forced to have treatment that is unlikely to help them. Mental health services in England and Wales could come to a standstill if the draft mental health bill, due to go before ministers next month, is made law, the BMA warned last week. The wider scope of the new proposals would lead to increased pressure on services that are already over-stretched and under-resourced, the association said."
HIPAA Privacy Regulations Will Require Changes Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly article at
Medscape - "With the release of final rules by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) governing the privacy of medical records (see ADAW, Aug. 19), as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), addiction treatment providers will have to alter their practices regarding medical records and reconcile the differences between the HIPAA regulations and the existing federal confidentiality regulations that apply to addiction treatment." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Are Two Monoamines Better Than One for Depression? An article in the "Expert Column Series" of
Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health which examines the question of whether "dual mechanism" antidepressants are better than those that affect a single monoamine. [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Court for Mentally Ill Defendants Will Start Today New York Times story on "an experimental court intended to give certain mentally ill criminal defendants treatment instead of jail time" which opens today in Brooklyn. The court has been operating as a pilot program since earlier this year and will primarily handle cases involving persistent mental conditions and nonviolent offenders. [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Magellan unable to refinance bank debt Baltimore Sun story - "Magellan Health Services Inc. officials said yesterday that the company had not secured refinancing of its bank debt and warned that it would not have the funds if early repayment is demanded. They also said it might not have the funds to continue operating if that were to happen."
Report - Establish 12 Psychiatric Beds By July (Arkansas) Morning News story - "Establishing 12 beds for acute psychiatric care by July is one of several recommendations of two subcommittees of the Northwest Arkansas Mental Health/HIV Task Force. The subcommittees on forensic and acute care have completed a draft of actions meant to provide adequate care for the mentally ill in Northwest Arkansas. The groups met Monday to sketch in the recommendations they intend to forward to the Governor's Mental Health System Task Force."
Results mixed for county's care plans (Ohio) Cincinnati Business Courier story - "Two experiments in managed care, costing $150 million, have proved hard lessons for Hamilton County's Department of Job and Family Services. Deals struck four and five years ago, respectively, with Creative Connections and Magellan Public Health Solutions were part of the county's plan to reduce costs while providing more coordinated care for more than 18,600 children and their families who are referred to the system. But those agreements are ending, causing people to question whether the expense is improving outcomes in mental health, abuse and addiction services."
Eastern State unit cut as state tightens budget (Oklahoma) Miami News-Record story - "Budget cuts are being blamed for the phase out of a 44-bed enhanced residential treatment unit at Eastern State Hospital in Vinita. The phase out became public just days after Oklahoma Department of Mental Health officials announced a $10 million cut in their department’s budget."
