Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Prevention Partners News List
Farra Thompeter of SAMHSA called our attention to this new resource available through the Prevention Partners web site. It's a monthly e-mail newsletter highlighting the latest additions to the Partners website. Highly recommended.  
  

Discovery of Depression Gene Is Claimed ; Finding May Change Treatment of Malady Affecting Millions
Chicago Sun-Times article reprinted at PsycPORT - "After studying hundreds of Mormon families and their genealogical records, researchers say that for the first time they have identified a gene that causes depression--a finding that could revolutionize treatment of a psychiatric condition that afflicts about 30 million Americans and 70 million people worldwide."  
  

Research Exceptions to the Privacy Rule’s Authorization Requirement
Feature story at HealthLeaders - "In order to use or disclose protected health information (PHI) for research on both existing PHI and PHI that is created during research, the Privacy Rule generally requires that a covered entity obtain an authorization. The authorization obtained by the covered entity must meet the requirements of the Privacy Rule. However, many significant exceptions to the authorization requirements exist."  
  

Capital Allocation the Right Way: Consistent, Concurrent, Connected and Communicated
A white paper (in Adobe Acrobat format) from Kaufman, Hall & Associates at the HealthLeaders web site - "Few healthcare organizations have sufficient financial capacity to meet their comprehensive strategic capital requirements. This White Paper provides healthcare executives with an in-depth description of how to implement a "best practice" capital allocation process. Based on proven techniques of corporate finance, the approach enables executives to consistently and comprehensively evaluate the "wish list" of capital requests they inevitably and regularly receive, and then make sound capital allocation decisions that position the organization for future growth within current capital constraints."  
  

Plan would shut psychiatric ward (New Jersey)
Story in the Jersey Journal - "Bayonne Medical Center officials have asked permission from the state Department of Health and Senior Services to close their inpatient psychiatric ward, a facility they say has been bleeding between $1.2 million and $1.4 million a year since 2001."  
  

Mental health care deserves better policies (Illinois)
Coulmn in The Daily Northwestern reviewing the main issues effecting limits on tp access to mental health care - "The current state of the country's health care system creates a major barrier between people who need professional psychiatric treatment and the physicians who can provide it."  
  

State mental health chief resigns (Maine)
Boston Globe story - "Maine's state mental health chief, a holdover from the King administration, announced Tuesday she has resigned. Commissioner Lynn Duby of the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services said her departure would become official March 1."  
  

Mental-health system flawed (Oregon)
Blue Mountain Eagle story on discussion at a meeting of the Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance last week - "The alliance is a new coalition of county leaders, health officials, economic developers and other officials hoping to educate the Oregon Legislature about the region’s economic and social problems."