Monday, June 21, 2004

Exploring the Consumer and Provider Perspective on Service Quality in Community Mental Health Care
Article in the February 2004 Community Mental Health Journal - "A series of seven focus groups of community mental health care consumers were conducted to identify the factors that contributed to consumer satisfaction. Three major themes were identified: bonding with providers, provider competence/knowledge, and cultural/religious competence. These findings are compared with findings from several healthcare satisfaction studies. Four focus groups with providers were also conducted to identify barriers to service quality. The major theme identified was that providers strive to have more time with consumers but struggle with large caseloads and large amounts of paperwork. An important finding is that consumers want to have their culture and religion seamlessly woven into service delivery. Potential explanations for the consumers' and providers' discrepant perspectives, conclusions and future areas for research are explored."  
  

Antidepressants Restudied for Relation to Child Suicide
New York Times story - "A child stabs himself in the neck with a pencil. Another slaps herself in the face. Is either suicidal? It is a question that has divided psychiatrists and drug regulators the world over and goes to the heart of a fierce controversy over whether antidepressants lead some children to become suicidal. Now four researchers at Columbia University hope to provide an answer. By reclassifying reports of suspect or self-destructive behavior that occurred during tests of antidepressants in youngsters, the research team hopes to clarify whether antidepressants lead children and teenagers to become suicidal. Officials at the Food and Drug Administration say they will use results of the study to help them decide, later this summer, whether the agency should discourage doctors from prescribing the pills to youngsters. The study was commissioned by top F.D.A. officials after they rejected an analysis by one of the agency's top experts that concluded that antidepressants could be dangerous when given to teenagers and younger children. With such a controversial beginning, the study is being met by fierce criticism..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Manufacturer Halts U.S. Sales Of Controversial Antidepressant
Psychiatric News story - "Sidestepping the safety issue, Bristol-Myers Squibb pulls Serzone from the U.S. market, citing decreased sales and generic competition. Critics of the drug are only partly pleased, however. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced that this month it would stop manufacturing and shipping its Serzone brand of the combined serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT2 antagonist nefazodone. The announcement brings to a close a rocky nine-and-a-half-year run for the antidepressant, which has been tied to serious adverse effects on the liver and played a part in documented medication errors, due to name confusion. BMS cited financial and business concerns for the decision, noting declining sales since the introduction of generic formulations in September 2003. However, most industry analysts said the company pulled the drug in the face of numerous lawsuits and increasing pressure from regulators to remove the product voluntarily rather than being ordered to do so."  
  

Bill Says Pentagon Must Upgrade Mental Health Services
Psychiatric News story - " The Department of Defense must ensure that troops with mental health problems can access treatment, if a funding bill for the department is approved. Are the Department of Defense (DoD) and the armed forces devoting enough resources to meet the mental health needs of the troops before, during, and after deployment to combat areas? An amendment to the Fiscal 2005 DoD budget bill (HR 4200) by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Brian Baird (D-Wash.) calls on the secretary of defense to study that question and present the findings to Congress within 90 days of the bill's enactment. HR 4200 was approved with the amendment by the House of Representatives last month and awaits Senate action."  
  

Ballot initiative would fund mental health care (California)
Tulare Advance-Register story - "To help close the gaps in mental health coverage, Tulare County mental health officials are pinning their hopes on an initiative on the November ballot. It would levy a 1 percent tax on those who make more than $1 million, generating an estimated $600 million to $700 million a year for mental health care. ... Counties would be able to apply for the money to use in areas where people are not receiving mental health care or where care is inadequate. The initiative would allow the county to create programs to help those with inadequate coverage or no insurance who don't qualify for Medi-Cal, basically the working poor, Leoni said..."  
  

Mental health workers' strike looms in central North Island (New Zealand)
Story at Stuff - "Mental health workers in Tauranga will strike for six days unless talks between their union and Pacific Health today solve the dispute. Official notice of the strike has been given to Tauranga Hospital and unless mediation breaks the impasse over pay and conditions, the strike will start on July 2. About 100 psychiatric nurses and psychiatric assistants at Tauranga Hospital and in community care warned of the strike after negotiations between the hospital and the Public Service Association (PSA) reached stalemate..."  
  

ID bracelets sought for mental health patients (Florida)
Daytona Beach News-Journal story - "The Mental Health Association of Volusia County plans to start a medical security program in about three months that will distribute bracelets and identification cards to about 100 people with a mental illness and who volunteer to participate. The mental health association recently received a $15,000 grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb, but still needs $15,000 to $20,000 more before the program can begin."  
  

Our Views: Mental health courts work (Washington)
Editorial in The Olympian - "One of the contentious issues in the campaign to build a new county jail has been the question of the treatment of the mentally ill. Across the country, 40 mental health hospitals have closed in the past decade, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. During that same 10-year period, 400 new prisons have opened, and national studies show that an increasing number of mentally ill people end up behind bars. The question is how those mentally ill people should best be treated. A study on the Clark County Mental Health Court in Vancouver, Wash., points the way toward a successful approach to managing the growing mental health issues facing our community. Thurston County officials need to embrace the study findings and continue their quest to start a local mental health court. If Thurston County can duplicate Clark County's success, the mentally ill will get the treatment they deserve, the jail will be less crowded and taxpayers will save money."