Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Community Health Centers Face Growing Challenges in Serving the Uninsured
US Newswire story at PsycPORT on an article in the November/December issue of Health Affairs - "Uninsured patients who get their care at Community Health Centers (CHCs) are less likely than insured CHC patients to get needed diagnostic, specialty, and behavioral health care services such as mammograms, cardiology, and psychiatric care, according to new research supported by The Commonwealth Fund..."  
  

Antipsychotics Often Over Prescribed, UK Audit Shows
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "One in five patients admitted to hospital in the UK for treatment of severe mental health problems is prescribed antipsychotic drugs in excess of official guidelines, often without being informed or properly monitored, a new survey reveals." {Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Drug Use in Teens Predicts Later Depression
Reuters Health story at Yahoo on a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry based on research which indicates that "use of alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drugs during early adolescence and later years may put young people at risk of major depression and other psychiatric disorders in their late 20s."  
  

York County revises charges for drug, alcohol counseling (Pennsylvania)
Evening Sun story on a new policy by the county that "when it comes to paying for drug and alcohol counseling, court costs and court-ordered restitution will not be included when the county decides how much a person must pay to receive care."  
  

Autism Diagnosis Comes Later for Blacks Than Whites
Reuters story - "Many children are diagnosed with autism years after they first show signs of the condition, and African Americans are diagnosed around 1 1/2 years later than US whites, new research shows."  
  

Polk takes step to join Blue Ridge mental health (North Carolina)
Tryon Daily Bulletin story - "The Polk County Board of Commissioners took an initial step Monday toward joining the Blue Ridge Area Mental Health, Developmental Disability and Substance Abuse Program. Commissioners agreed to issue a letter of intent to join the program, which is expected to include Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Rutherford, Transylvania and Yancey counties. Polk is currently part of a two-county program with Rutherford County. The state has ordered a consolidation of programs to increase efficiency and standardize services."  
  

Officials backpedal on mental health jobs plan (Mississippi)
Holland Sentinel story - "Ottawa County mental health officials have backpedaled on a goal of shifting developmentally disabled people from sheltered environments to mainstream jobs by October 2003. Those who care for them say it's still a bad idea, regardless of when it happens."  
  

Governor's office allocates mental health funds (Illinois)
Brief story in the Daily Illini Online - "While many of Illinois' mental health programs suffered cutbacks from this year's budget constraints, Champaign fared better than other cities like Peoria."  
  

Campaigners welcome omission of mental health bill (UK)
Story in the Guardian - "Mental health campaigners have welcomed the surprise omission of a bill from the Queen's speech that would have significantly widened the powers to compulsorily detain people for treatment."  
  

"Mental Health Works" Launches Kit to Help Business Manage Mental Health Issues in the Workplace (Canada)
Canadian Newswire story on a new resource being developed by Mental Health Works, a joint project of the Canadian Mental Health Association - Ontario Division, the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship. The resource kit and a project web site will be released in early 2003. At present, there are several pages of information available at the CMHA web site and a flyer (Adobe Acrobat format).