Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Research Chronicles Market Changes Sparked by Managed Care's Rise and Fall
A news release from the Center for Studying Health System Change on a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal Health Services Research. There's an index page with links to abstracts (and full text) of the articles, and many PULSE readers will likely be interested in several, among them The End of an Era: What Became of the ‘‘Managed Care Revolution’’ in 2001?, An Empty Toolbox? Changes in Health Plans' Approaches for Managing Costs and Care, and The Resilience of the Health Care Safety Net, 1996-2001. Full text articles are all in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Lifting the curtain on mental illness: Growing awareness of a common problem
Article at the web site of the Mayo Clinic's online Mental Health Center. See also the related resources Navigating the mental health system and Mental illness: An overview of treatment options.  
  

Drug Strategies - Treating Teens
"This website is a companion to the Drug Strategies publication Treating Teens: A Guide to Adolescent Drug Programs, which was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation..... The PROGRAMS section provides a searchable database with extensive information on how 144 teen substance abuse treatment programs across the country implement the nine key elements of effective adolescent treatment determined by Drug Strategies' panel of specialists."  
  

Teleconference on "Preparing Your Behavioral Healthcare Organization for Medicare Conditions of Participation Surveys"
"The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) will offer an intensive two-hour teleconference on 'Preparing Your Behavioral Healthcare Organization for Medicare Conditions of Participation Surveys (Including the Patients Rights – Restraint and Seclusion – Standards)' on Wednesday, March 19, 2003, from 2pm-4pm Eastern. The interactive workshop is specifically designed to help staff within psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units comply with federal 'Conditions of Participation' and prepare for survey on these conditions." The page includes information about registration, participation and the availability of related materials.  
  

Wisconsin to join Michigan, Vermont in drug purchasing pool
MLive.com story - "Wisconsin will join Michigan and Vermont in a partnership to buy prescription drugs in bulk for the state's 500,000 low-income Medicaid recipients in a move to save the state money, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday." The story also notes that "A federal judge is considering whether Michigan's drug list limits patients' access to medicine. Drug companies and mental health advocates sued Michigan over the list."  
  

Center could repay billings (Georgia)
Augusta Chronicle story - "A financially troubled Augusta mental health center could face repaying as much as $770,000 in possibly unauthorized Medicaid billings, officials said Tuesday night. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has subpoenaed every Medicaid billing record since January 2000 submitted by the Community Mental Health Center of East Central Georgia, said Nancy Williamson, the chairwoman of the center's board."  
  

Rally urges help for mentally ill (Indiana)
IndyStar story on a rally at the Statehouse in support of better mental health and addiction treatment - "The rally was aimed at helping a bill before the Senate that would make it easier to get insurance coverage for treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency for the mentally ill."  
  

Mental illness among blacks in spotlight (Massachusetts)
Boston Globe story - "Two of the city's most violent crimes of the last year - LaVeta Jackson's murder of her two children and the shooting of two police officers, allegedly by Jermaine Berry - point to a dangerous disconnect between African-American families and the mental health system, said speakers at a forum last night at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester."  
  

Post-HIPPA World Hinges on Completeness of Code Sets
Article in Getting Paid in Behavioral Healthcare at Medscape - "Without a complete set of codes that take behavioral health's particular characteristics into account, behavioral providers across the country may find it impossible to be reimbursed for many of the services they traditionally provide." [ Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].