Saturday, October 12, 2002

Adherence Issues and Solutions With Antipsychotic Therapy
CME unit from Medscape created by John M. Kane, MD and based on a special symposium at the American Psychiatric Association 155th Annual Meeting earlier this year. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Know What Your Patients are Reading!
Article in Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health on the use of the web for health information by consumers. The article cites three web sites for clinicians - the Medscape Bipolar Resource Center, the Bipolar Mania InfoSite by Zyprexa and the Medscape Patient Education Center - and two web sites focues od "patient information" - the WebMD Patient Information on bipolar disorderand NIDA Webcast. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

The NHSDA Report: Serious Mental Illness Among Adults
"This Short Report, The NHSDA Report: Serious Mental Illness Among Adults, is based on SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older." The report is available in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat format, and this page at the SAMHSA site includes links to related reports and publications.  
  

$2.3 Million Awarded to Develop Transition Programs for Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance
SAMHSA press release - "Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), awarded $2.3 million to fund cooperative agreements to develop and implement transition programs for youth with serious emotional disturbance as they enter adulthood. This is the first issuance of the Partnerships for Youth Transition Program."  
  

$17 Million Awarded to Develop Community-based Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families
SAMHSA press release - "Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $17 million in funding for 18 cooperative agreements to develop and implement "systems of care" communities. Systems of care communities are comprehensive, individualized mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families."  
  

Democrats Fault Decision to Move Mentally Ill
New York Times story - "Democrats in the New York Assembly said yesterday that they would investigate the Pataki administration's decision to release hundreds of patients from state psychiatric hospitals to locked floors of nursing homes, contending that it had been carried out in secret and should have been approved by the Legislature. Administration officials responded by accusing the Democrats of playing politics with the issue before the election." {Reading New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

States' Budget Woes Fuel Medicaid Cuts
Washington Post overview of decisions by governors, legislators and Medicaid administrators that have meant an "increasing numbers of states are dropping certain groups of patients, curtailing some services, requiring poor people to help pay for their care, limiting access to expensive drugs, and cutting -- or freezing -- payments to hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other providers of care." [Reading Washington Post resources requires that you supply gender, zip code and date of birth information, but is free and does not require name or e-mail information].  
  

Mental health program for delinquents passes milestone (Connecticut)
Journal Inquirer story on "a shining example of how clinical programs can divert youths with mental illness from detention centers and cut back on recidivism by helping them cope with their emotional problems."  
  

HHS approves Minnesota plan for mental health screenings
Brief item at KAAL on approval of a state plan to provide mental health screenings to thousands of low-income children in order to reach children who might otherwise not be eligible for services.  
  

Mental-health budget cuts outlined by top state officials (Montana) S
tory in the Daily Inter Lake - "Cuts to mental-health programs will be "difficult and painful" as the state faces a projected $250 million budget deficit by 2005, the state's top mental-health administrator said Wednesday."