Monday, August 09, 2004

Rural Areas Outpace Urban Areas in Substance Abuse Treatment for Abuse of Narcotic Pain Medications
SAMHSA press release - "Rural areas outpaced urban areas in substance abuse treatment rates for abuse of narcotic painkillers in 2002. This is the conclusion of a new report “Treatment Admissions in Urban and Rural Areas Involving Abuse of Narcotic Painkillers: 2002 Update” released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration The report finds that while nationwide admissions for abuse of narcotic painkillers increased from 14 per 100,000 population in 1992, to 15 per 100,000 in 1997 to 35 per 100,000 in 2002, the most rural areas of the nation increased from 12 per 100,000 in 1992 to 13 per 100,000 in 1997 to 43 per 100,000 in 2002. This is an increase of 269 percent for non-metropolitan areas without a city, compared to a 155 percent increase for the nation as a whole. Large central metropolitan areas had the smallest increase, 58 percent." See also  
  

Data Show Wide Variation In Addiction Treatment Costs
Psychiatric News story - "Estimated annual costs for substance abuse treatment surpass the $2 billion mark for certain types of facilities, according to new data from SAMHSA. The cost of treating a person for drug or alcohol abuse varies widely depending on the type of treatment used, according to data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). For example, data from the Alcohol and Drug Services Study Cost Study show that the mean cost per course of treatment was highest for people who received outpatient methadone treatment ($7,415) for addiction to heroin or prescription narcotic pain medications..."  
  

Mental Health Care Benefits Common, But Often Inadequate
Psychiatric News story - "Although health insurance frequently provides mental health benefits, access to quality care is confounded by many factors. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of the U.S. population in 1999 had mental health benefits as a component of their health insurance plan, according to a report prepared by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But that relatively positive finding is complicated by other factors, according to researchers Myles Maxfield, Lori Achman, and Anna Cook. The generosity of mental health benefits, for example, is affected by whether their source is private or public insurance and by the laws in the state in which they are offered. In the case of employer-sponsored insurance, the generosity of benefits is related to the size of the firm offering them..." As of today, the report referenced in the story is not available at the Samhsa web site.  
  

SAMHSA Tries Several Strategies To Reach One Goal - Ending Stigma
Psychiatric News story - "Eight states are participating in a new awareness campaign designed to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Mental illnesses are common, leaving very few families in the United States untouched, but recovery is within reach. That's the message broadcast by the new public education campaign, 'Mental Health: It's Part of All Our Lives,' which the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) launched in May. The campaign is part of SAMHSA's three-year Elimination of Barriers Initiative, which aims to increase understanding and acceptance of people with mental illness. The initiative is a collaborative effort between SAMHSA and a number of state mental health authorities in partnership with people with mental illness, their families, mental health advocates, and health care providers. The eight states participating in the campaign are California, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin..." See also the related web resources from SAMHSA, Mental health: it’s part of all our lives.  
  

Health insurance plan has big year in Illinois
Chicago Tribune story - "In 2003, Illinois enrolled more working parents in a federally subsidized health-insurance program than any other state, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday. Illinois more than tripled parent enrollment to 41,594, according to a report released last month by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. During the last six months of 2003, more children entered the program in Illinois than any other state except Georgia, the report found..." [Viewing Chicago Tribune resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care
New England Journal of Medicine article - "This study provides an initial look at the mental health of members of the Army and the Marine Corps who were involved in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our findings indicate that among the study groups there was a significant risk of mental health problems and that the subjects reported important barriers to receiving mental health services, particularly the perception of stigma among those most in need of such care." See also the editorial in the same issue, Acknowledging the Psychiatric Cost of War.  
  

Mental Health Crisis For Kids (Connecticut)
Hartford Courant story - "A flood of disturbed youngsters continues to inundate the emergency rooms at children's hospitals in Hartford and New Haven. It is unclear whether Connecticut is experiencing a surge of children in crisis, a decrease in the availability of affordable mental health care or some combination of both. Experts agree that busy emergency rooms are among the worst places for troubled kids but also acknowledge that desperate parents have few alternatives. Despite the state's initiatives to keep children out of hospital emergency rooms, where they sometimes languish for days, the kids keep coming..." [Viewing Hartford Courant stories requires registration, which is free].  
  

Mental health is a priority at Fayette jail (Kentucky)
Lexington Herald-Leader story - "Unlike small, rural jails that often can't afford the services of even one mental health worker, the Fayette County Detention Center has eight and plans to add one more. The on-site case workers and other professionals are employed through a contract with the Bluegrass Comprehensive Care Center. They conduct in-depth evaluations of people whose actions indicate possible mental health problems and recommend housing measures the jail should take. They, along with psychiatrists who spend a total of 20 hours a week at the facility, also help manage medications for and counsel people with mental illnesses..." See also, at the same source, Jail suicide prevention is spreading.  
  

Task force focuses on mental health needs (Texas)
Story in The Daily Texan - "Austin can no longer afford to ignore the mental health needs of its residents, Mayor Will Wynn said Friday. The statement came at the first meeting of the city's new Mental Health Task Force, which is charged with improving Austin's mental health. Wynn said the task force hopes to determine what Austin's mental health needs are and how the city evaluates mental health..."