Monday, September 22, 2003
Medscape Journal Scan: Psychiatry, August 2003
"Journal Scan is the clinician's guide to the latest clinical research findings in the
American Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Short summaries of feature articles include links to the article abstracts and full text, when available. (Access to full text usually requires registration at the journal's Web site.) " "med"
Advocates want hospital to listen to patients (Vermont) Times Argus story - "Mental health advocates are urging state officials to listen to patients as they go about trying to fix problems at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury. The Douglas administration learned Thursday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would cut off federal funding for the 54-bed psychiatric hospital in Waterbury. That move follows two recent patient suicides and a series of federal and state inspections that found deficiencies at the hospital. The funding loss could cost the state $700,000 a year."
New laws limit school involvement in medical diagnoses (Texas)
Story in the
Star Telegram - "... Children's advocates say not all parents have the courage to reject suggestions about prescription drugs from school officials. That's what led them to lobby for two state laws that went into effect this school year that preserve parents' rights in making those decisions for their children. One law bans school employees from recommending a psychotropic, or mind-altering, drug or suggesting a particular diagnosis. A school medical official such as a nurse still can make a referral to a health care provider. The other law prevents parents from being reported to state officials as neglectful solely because they refuse to place a child on psychiatric drugs, or refuse psychiatric or psychological treatment or testing."
Oregon officials bracing for cuts in welfare services Feature story in
The Oregonian - "Hope is fading that Oregon might win congressional approval to continue its successful welfare-to-work program, a setback that could lead to a range of service cuts next year under a looming rewrite of federal welfare law. From Our Advertiser One study lauded Oregon's program, which serves 18,000 families, as a model of efficiency for moving welfare recipients into new or better-paying jobs. The key to that success, officials say, has been a flexible approach that coordinates education and job training, health care, day care, transportation and other services in a way that suits each client's individual and family needs..."
St. Francis sells off some mental health services (Connecticut) Brief September 19
Stamford Advocate story = "St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is shedding its outpatient mental health services which involve schools for troubled children and treatment programs in several communities. The hospital plans to sell its outpatient services to the Hartford Health Care Corp., the parent company of Hartford Hospital. St. Francis executives said outpatient mental health programs were losing money and draining resources from the hospital's main function of providing physical health care."
Crisis grows in mental health care (UK) Story in
The Guardian - "Services for the mentally ill are facing a growing crisis across Britain due to soaring staffing costs and accelerating numbers of young patients. A number of mental health trusts are having to face cutting beds as they go into the red over the cost of agency nurses and locum doctors, despite the extra billions which have been poured into the NHS. Mental health charities warn that the situation is causing great concern, because an increasing number of young adult patients need treatment but there has been no rapid expansion of services to meet the need."
