Friday, August 27, 2004

Managed Care Rebound? Recent Changes In Health Plan Cost Containment Strategies
Article in Health Affairs - "Large increases in health care costs combined with an economic slowdown have created pressures for health plans and employers to reconsider cost containment strategies that were scaled back after the managed care backlash. In this paper we examine how plans’ approaches to cost containment and care management have evolved since 2001. Plans reintroduced and refocused some utilization management techniques during 2002 and 2003 while continuing to invest in disease and case management. Some also began to experiment with new variants of managed care, including tiered provider networks and incentive-based provider payments. However, few respondents believed that these strategies alone would greatly reduce future costs. "  
  

Get it Together: How to Integrate Physical and Mental Health Care for People with Serious Mental Disorders
The executive summary (in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat versions) of a report from the Bazelon Center for Mental health Law which "examines model programs for improving integration and coordination of behavioral health and primary health services for adults and children with serious mental disorders who rely on the public mental health system for their care. It summarizes findings of a series of studies and offers recommendations for policymakers." The full report is available for a fee.  
  

High rate of death among homeless youth linked to mental illness, substance abuse
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Homeless youth in Montreal were 11 times more likely to die than youth in the general population between 1995 and 2000, and suicide and drug overdoses were the leading causes of death, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study recruited 1013 youth between the ages of 14 to 25 years who used the services of community-based street youth agencies or who had been without a place to sleep at least once between 1995 and 2000. The average age of the participants was 19.9 years, with two-thirds of them boys. Participants were interviewed twice a year about sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol and drug use and sexual behaviours, and they were tested for HIV..." See also the full JAMA article,  
  

Legal Issues May Block Digital Health Records - GAO
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Uncertainty surrounding a host of legal issues may stall adoption of electronic medical records and U.S. officials have done little to address the problem, a congressional watchdog agency said Monday. The Bush administration has trumpeted its efforts to push hospitals into the computer age, thereby cutting paperwork costs and reducing medical errors. On the campaign trail, President George W. Bush has touted a goal of storing most Americans' medical records in electronic form within 10 years. Most of the $228 million spent by the Department of Health and Human Services in the current fiscal year in this area has gone to testing of electronic systems and coordinating information among federal agencies and private entities, according to the Government Accountability Office." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Issues of Substance Abuse in Women
CME unit at Medscape based on presentations at the 2004 APA Annual Meeting - " For many years, most of the research on substance use disorders was focused on men. Over the last 10 years, the problem of substance use disorders in women has become more widely appreciated. As a result, an increasing number of investigations focused on women and investigations comparing men and women with substance use disorders have been conducted. Of interest, most of these studies have demonstrated substantial gender differences in substance use disorders. Many of the differences that have been discovered have major implications for etiologic considerations, diagnosis, assessment, and effective treatment. Even more recently, the area of gender-specific treatment has been under active investigation. Some recent data from these investigations were presented at this symposium." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Official pledges to fix problems at Bellefontaine Habilitation Center (Missouri)
St. Louis Post Dispatch story - "Bellefontaine Habilitation Center and a similar home in Marshall, Mo., garner a disproportionate number of complaints about mistreatment of residents compared with other state facilities, a residents' advocacy group has found. That's one of two problems that became clear to Dorn Schuffman, director of Missouri's Department of Mental Health, after meeting this week with advocates for Missouri's profoundly retarded and brain-damaged residents..."  
  

Substance abuse efforts earn laurels (North Carolina)
Daily Reflector story - " Four area health agencies earned recognition recently for efforts to combat substance abuse in the community and region. The programs were cited by the Governor's Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse for cooperative and individual prevention and education efforts and for treatment of alcoholics and drug abusers. The Raleigh-based institute recognized the Walter B. Jones Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center and the Port Human Service program as facilities of excellence. The Eastern Area Health Education Center (AHEC) received a North Carolina Practice Improvement Collaborative Educational Partner Award, and The Eastern Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse won the first annual Community Partner of the Year Award. ..."