Thursday, April 15, 2004
Judges Defend Rights of Pennsylvania Mentally Ill AP story at
Yahoo - "Pennsylvania is committing a 'gross injustice' by keeping hundreds of mentally ill people in state psychiatric hospitals when they could get better treatment in less restrictive settings such as group homes, a federal appeals court says. The state Department of Public Welfare needs a plan to discharge patients more quickly once they are well enough to be treated in a community setting, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appealssaid Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit..."
Pramipexole Shows Promise for Treatment-Resistant Bipolar DepressionReuters Health story at
Medscape - "Pramipexole seems to be a safe and effective therapy for treatment-resistant bipolar depression, but larger studies are needed to confirm this finding, new research suggests..." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
As Tech Spreads, Hippocrates Dawdles Column in the
Washington Post by Steven Pearlstein - "...In terms of information technology, the health care industry is now about where the auto industry was in 1980. This problem is at the heart of why the United States spends way more than any other industrialized country for health care with very little to show for it in terms of better health. If we could solve it, we could avoid tens of thousands of deaths each year from medical errors and save much of the estimated $150 billion wasted on unnecessary paperwork and medical procedures..."
Louisiana one of Eight States Chosen to Participate in Juvenile Justice Policy Study Bayou Buzz story - "Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced that Louisiana has been selected to participate in the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Policy Academy. One of only eight states in the country chosen, a team from Louisiana will have the opportunity to develop effective programs for youth with both mental health and substance abuse disorders in contact with the Juvenile Justice System..."
US children get uneven health care, report findsReuters story - "U.S. children are not getting the best health care and are often given inappropriate drugs and untested treatments, according to a report published on Thursday. The report from the Commonwealth Fund also found large disparities in care for children, based on geography as well as on ethnic group and income. ... The report estimated that 79 percent of children with serious mental health problems got no evaluation or treatment and that 7.5 million children failed to get needed mental health care." The full 134 page report is available at the Commonwealth Fund web site in
Adobe Acrobat format.
Connecticut Supreme Court upholds psychiatric hospitalization law Stamford Advocate story - "The state's highest court on Thursday unanimously upheld a law allowing people acquitted of crimes by reason of insanity to be held indefinitely in psychiatric hospitals, even after their court-ordered commitments are complete. The 7-0 ruling found that the law does not violate constitutional protections against equal protection and due process violations. Officials can balance a mentally ill person's right to liberty against the state's interest in public safety, the court held..."
Study: Medicaid Privatization Hurt Schizophrenics Health Scout News story in the
Atlanta Journal Constitution - "Poor schizophrenics were left out in the cold when Tennessee health officials decided to subcontract their care to save money, say researchers who warn that similar policies in other states could put others at risk. "If you need to change the financial arrangements, there should be provisions to protect these kinds of vulnerable patients," said study co-author Wayne Ray, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Sixteen states subcontract -- or "carve out" -- Medicaid mental-health services, which provide medical services for the poor. Tennessee transferred its mental health services to two HMOs in 1996, paying them a fixed amount for each patient regardless of how serious his or her condition was...." The study's findings are reported in the May 8 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine.
Hospital in partnership trial to improve mental health care (UK)Brief
Huddersfield Daily Examiner story on the South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust, one of four UK trusts selected to take part in a new project - "The Mental Health Improvement Partnership aims to improve every patient's experience of mental health and learning disability. Being part of the trial will attract more money and will bring expert support tailored to meet the needs of the district. The outcome will influence the development of a national strategy for 2005 and 2006, when it is intended to develop similar Mental Health Improvement Partnerships across the country..."
Legislature shouldn't erect barriers to mental health care (Florida)Opinion piece in the
Tallahassie Democrat by Wayne Dreggors, chairman of the Florida Council for Behavioral Healthcare - " lorida legislators have a proposal before them that would change the course of the state's public behavioral health care through a last-minute amendment aimed at cutting Medicaid expenditures for mental-health and substance-abuse services. An amendment hashed out behind closed doors and tucked into HB 1843, the Medicaid budget 'conforming bill,' would reverse a law passed last year in full sunshine. If adopted by both chambers, the amendment also would reverse more than 20 years of mental-health policy in Florida..."
Johanns signs sweeping reform of mental health system (Nebraska)Sioux City Journal story - "After months of wrangling, lawmakers passed and Gov. Mike Johanns signed into law a sweeping reform of Nebraska's mental-health system on Wednesday. ... Lawmakers voted 44-2 to adopt the plan, which was touted by Johanns and will close state mental hospitals in Norfolk and Hastings in lieu of more community-based programs. Such programs rely less on long-term commitment of patients to hospitals and more on programs such as group homes, which give them more access to the community."
Mental health merger rejected (North Carolina)Fayetteville Observer story - "The Sandhills mental health board voted Tuesday not to merge with the Lee-Harnett program. The decision poses a dilemma for Lee and Harnett county leaders, who must pick another mental health authority to merge with by June. Under state-mandated mental health reform guidelines, the Lee-Harnett Area Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Authority does not serve enough people to stand alone..."
