Thursday, February 27, 2003

Medscape Journal Scan - Money & Medicine, February 2003
Abstracts of articles from The New England Journal of Medicine, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, JAMA and Managed Care. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Pair of Studies Refute Notion That Stimulants for ADHD Lead to Substance Abuse
Article from Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly at Medscape - "Two studies appearing in this month's issue of Pediatrics appear to debunk any notion that the use of stimulant medications to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) leads to substance abuse further down the line. While experts say that the two studies add to 11 previous studies that nix any link between stimulant medication and substance abuse, they also caution that randomized, controlled studies are still needed." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Governors Seek Aid From Congress and Decline to Back Medicaid Plan
New York Times article - "Rebuffed by President Bush, the National Governors Association decided today to seek fiscal assistance from Congress, and some lawmakers said they would be willing to help states with the growing costs of Medicaid, education and domestic security. After earlier partisan disagreements, the governors came together in support of a policy that says the federal government should provide more money for states to deal with requirements imposed by federal law." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Final HIPAA Rules Officially Published; Understanding Security Rule Requires Assistance
Item at HIPAAnews on the publication in the Federal Register of the official versions of the final Security and Transaction Modifications Rules which were released via the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services' HIPAA web site - "...both Health Data Management and Information Week are saying that even though the final HIPAA security rule is simpler than its predecessor proposed more than four years ago, it is vague enough and lacks technological specifics to make it difficult for entities to understand whether they are in compliance." Includes links to text and Adobe Acrobat versions of the official Final Security Rule and the official Final Transaction Modifications Rule.  
  

Center for mentally retarded a victim of state budget cuts (Massachusetts)
Milford Daily News story - "State officials confirmed yesterday the Fernald Development Center will begin closing within the next year. Plans call for moving the 309 residents at the historic 113-year-old center to other large state-operated campuses that serve the mentally retarded as well as smaller residentially based homes."  
  

County scrapes up money for payroll (Pennsylvania)
News-Item story on Northumberland County's cash-flow problems, noting that "as of mid-February, the county had borrowed $5 million through a tax anticipation note and had “borrowed” $2.5 million from its mental health/mental retardation and tax claim bureau accounts to pay bills, including payroll."  
  

Mental health providers end McFarland affiliation (Iowa)
Ames Tribune story on the staff of psychologists and social workers from the McFarland Clinic, which closed in October 2001, who are going into business on their own, though they will remain at the clinic's West Ames office.  
  

Riley says state can't afford to maintain status quo in spending (Alabama)
Gadsden Times article - "Gov. Bob Riley said state government lacks the money to maintain the status quo in spending and he's looking at cost-saving options, including consolidating state mental patients into fewer hospitals and using the empty buildings to house female prisoners."