Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Can Medical Researchers Ask Patients to Waive Their Privacy Rights? From the "HIPAA Compliance Ask The Expert" series in
Medscape Money and Medicine - "The identification of potential patients for enrollment in clinical trials is a critical step in carrying out vital research that can lead to significant advances and improvements in medical treatment. The HIPAA medical privacy rule recognizes the legitimate needs of researchers to access and use patients' protected health information (PHI) to identify appropriate candidates for specific health research protocols and projects while maintaining strong protections for the privacy of patient information." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Mental Illness and Informed Consent: Seeking an Empirically Derived Understanding of Voluntarism
Current Opinion in Psychiatry article at
Medscape - "... Over four decades, there have been extensive efforts to understand consent processes, giving emphasis to information-related and decisional capacity considerations. In this time, relatively little attention has been given to the cardinal element of voluntarism, defined minimally as the expression of authentic choice in the absence of coercion. The past year, however, has witnessed the emergence of a handful of promising evidence-based papers seeking to present a more nuanced, substantive understanding of voluntarism, which is at the heart of the informed consent process." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Supreme Court rules on cases that drew APA interest and input An overview, in the September
APA Monitor of four cases decided in June by the US Supreme Court ("spanning affirmative action, forced medication for trial competency, sexual contact in same-sex couples and the prosecution of child sexual abuse...") in which the APA had filed
amicus curiae briefs.
VA Restructuring Has MidSouth Concerned
AP story reprinted at
Military.com - "Several people attending a hearing for a proposed restructuring plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs expressed concerns about the availability of services. The plan is intended to improve medical services and close old, underused facilities. The hearing Monday was conducted by the CARES Commission, a national, independent panel reviewing plans of VA regions. Commission members questioned local VA officials about shortcomings in mental health services and how the proposal would affect those services. ... The MidSouth region that includes Kentucky is projected to have among the largest unmet mental health needs by 2012, [commissioner Richard] McCormick said, and it already lags behind most of the VA system in providing mental health care, including services for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder."
Service agencies merge to weather hard times (California) San Mateo County Times story - "Although California's dismal economy put dents in many social services budgets, two veteran County agencies are still running strong, now that they've joined forces. Family and Community Enrichment Services, Inc. (FACES) and Youth and Family Assistance (YFA) recently announced completion of their merger to create Youth and Family Enrichment Services (YFES). A reduction in public funding and private philanthropic dollars prompted the boards of both agencies to join forces to ensure the continuation of the free and low-cost substance-abuse, youth and family, training and clinical services provided to low-income community members."
Powerless to help him (Pennsylvania) York Daily Record story focusing on one of the 20 presecription drug-related fatalities in York County over a two-year period, which notes that "prescription drugs killed more people in York County during those two years — 2001 and 2002 — than street drug overdoses," that "the federal government has identified Pennsylvania as one of several states with a substantial prescription drug problem," and that in 2001, Pennsylvania led the nation in OxyContin pharmacy thefts and robberies. The story also includes a link to
Overdose and prescription information (
Adobe Acrobat). The news story is the first of a three day series, "Pain Killers."
Mental-health hole remains (North Carolina) Story in the
News Observer - " Last month, the state approved Wake County's plan for mental health reform. But one of its key points, the establishment of psychiatric inpatient services at a local hospital, is still foundering. The state's philosophy about providing mental health services has evolved over the past few years, switching from mainly institution- and hospital-based care to a more community-centered approach. A 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling prompted the change to rely on mental hospitals only as a last resort..."
County delays Kino vote on privatizing mental unit (Arizona) Tucson Citizen story - "Pima County supervisors postponed voting on a $1.7 million contract to hire a Texas-based management firm to run the psychiatric unit at Kino Community Hospital but approved funds to increase the number of beds to 98 from 64.... Supervisors approved other Kino-related contracts aimed at satisfying state and federal health officials that the hospital is making strides in correcting various policy and procedure deficiencies."
Working Minds Toolkit Created by
Mind Out (UK), "This comprehensive, practical guide contains useful material to help employers make positive changes to policy and practice surrounding mental health. It has been designed as a flexible, stimulating resource and will be particularly useful to managers and human resource professionals." This page at the Mind Out web site in turn provides links to the
full 122 page toolkit and to individual sections, all in
Adobe Acrobat format.
Mind Out is "...is an active campaign to stop the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health."
