Wednesday, December 04, 2002

Study Indicates Benefits of Full Continuum of Care
Article in The Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory & Application at Medscape - "Substance abusers with severe psychiatric and drug-related problems have better outcomes when they receive treatment in a full continuum of care that includes a period of inpatient treatment, according to findings published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free.]  
  

Patch Raises New Hope for Beating Depression
New York Times article on a study reported in the November American Journal of Psychiatry which suggests that by administering monamine oxidase inhibitor selegiline in patch form, patients can receive the antidepressant benefits of the drug without the usual side effects. [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Report on Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders Goes to Congress
SAMHSA press release on a Congressionally mandated comprehensive report on treatment and prevention of co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders -"The report emphasizes that people with co-occurring disorders can and do recover with appropriate treatment and support services. It also finds there are many longstanding systemic barriers to appropriate treatment and support services for people with co-occurring disorders, including separate administrative structures, eligibility criteria, and funding streams, as well as limited resources for both mental health services and substance abuse treatment." See also the full report, "On the Prevention and Treatment of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse Disorders and Mental Disorders" and information at the SAMHSA web site on Co-Occurring Disorders Electronic Dialgoues, an online discussion list.  
  

Be Aware of Local Policies When Utilizing Two Common Pharmacologic Management Codes
Getting Paid in Behavioral Healthcare article at Medscape on recent research into the Billing Guides and/or Local Medical Review Policies which indicates that some carriers "make clear distinctions and bold statements" regarding the frequency and use of two procedural codes. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Former mental patients protest at psychiatric conference (New York)
Story in Newsday on protests staged by the Mental Patients Liberation Alliance at the 15th Annual Research Conference sponsored by the state Office of Mental Health Tuesday evening "to symbolize the lack of voice mental patients have in their own treatment."  
  

Warner Proposes Agency Overhaul (Virginia)
Washington Post story on "the most ambitious restructuring of state government in a generation" outlined by Gov. Mark Warner, a plan which includes "changing mental health services to emphasize community care."  
  

Mentally ill offenders released under new law (Virginia)
Pilot Online story - "About 20 Virginians found innocent of misdemeanors by reason of insanity were released from state mental hospitals after serving an average of eight years on such charges as trespassing and petty larceny. A law that took effect July 1 limits the time such people can spend in a mental hospital to no more than a year. People without mental illness who are convicted of misdemeanors usually serve much less than the maximum one year in jail."  
  

DHS rescinds expenditure approval (Iowa)
Gazette Online story - "The Johnson County Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities department will likely lose funding after the Iowa Department of Human Services reversed a decision last month to approve expenditures the mental health department made in May and June. The state human services department sent the Johnson County Board of Supervisors a letter last week stating it did not have the authority to declare expenditures legal."  
  

County told to monitor administrators (Iowa)
Iowa City Press-Citizen story - "County officials need to monitor how laws are implemented at the administrative level in order to prevent future expenditures from being declared illegal or unallowable, state legislators said Tuesday." The story notes that the issue was part of a dialogue between legislators and county officials on priorities for 2003, and was added to the meeting agenda "in light of recent events related to a state audit of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Department."  
  

Unions press to restore cuts (Illinois)
Story at the Beacon News Online - "Illinois' largest state employees union tried to ratchet up pressure on lawmakers Monday to restore last summer's spending cuts and reopen shuttered state facilities. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees pledged to block a deal in which a community college in East Peoria will lease part of one of those closed institutions, the former Zeller Zone Mental Health Center, for $1 a year."  
  

Thousands denied schizophrenia drugs (UK)
BBC story - "Thousands of people with schizophrenia are being denied modern medicines on the NHS, according to campaigners. A survey by the charity Rethink suggests many are still being given cheaper and unsuitable drugs."  
  

The crisis in women's prisons (UK)
Story in The Guardian on the all-time high rate of suicides and the "devastating mental health problems" among those in Britain's prisons for women.