Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Health-care change is coming: What do we do?
Article in the October APA Monitor - "Psychology needs to continue to keep track of the nation's evolving health-care system by considering innovative practice environments, keeping training current and, overall, moving toward a model of psychological services as health care, not just mental health care, said an APA Board of Professional Affairs-sponsored panel at APA's 2004 Annual Convention in Honolulu. Psychology has already changed tremendously over the last 100 years, said psychologist Keith Humphreys, PhD, of the Stanford University Medical School, who presented a historical perspective on psychology. ...  Now, in the third half-century of psychology, the field faces the current rise in managed care and a surge in behavior-related health problems that demand creative public health and behavioral solutions, Humphreys said. Doctoral-level psychologists need to redefine their role in the field, he said, and, in a way, go back to the role of early psychologists who were creative innovators in the science and application of psychological knowledge."  
  

Healthcare Ranks Fourth in Importance for Presidential Election
Medscape Medical News article - "Despite persistent worries about its cost and availability, healthcare ranks only fourth in overall importance to Americans as they consider their vote for president in November, a new study concludes. Although healthcare issues are unlikely to be decisive in the upcoming presidential election, they may influence the outcome in some swing states if the race between U.S. President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) remains close in the five weeks leading up to the general election. Leading the list of top concerns to voters in 2004 is the economy (including jobs), followed by the war in Iraq, according to the survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Kaiser Family Foundation. A report on the survey was published in the Sept. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine." "med" The NEJM article, Health Care in the 2004 Presidential Election, is available at no charge.  
  

Two New Reports Show Progress on Health Coverage is Threatened as States Continue to Face Growing Pressures to Control Costs
Two new reports from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. The related press release notes "Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have helped to offset growth in the uninsured population by providing access to health care amid weak economic conditions. But states continue to face budget pressures that could limit public coverage according to two new 50-state annual surveys released today..." See also the two reports, both in Adobe Acrobat format, The Continuing Medicaid Budget Challenge: State Medicaid Spending Growth and Cost Containment in Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 and Beneath the Surface: Barriers Threaten to Slow Progress on Expanding Health Coverage of Children and Families.  
  

SAMHSA Unveils Guide to Introduce Substance Abuse Treatment Providers to Family Therapy
SAMHSA press rlease - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today unveiled the first practical guide for substance abuse treatment counselors to incorporate family therapy techniques into substance abuse treatment. The guide “Substance Abuse Treatment and Family Therapy” also includes information to provide family therapists with basic information about treatment models and the role of 12 step self-help programs in substance abuse treatment."  
  

HHS Awards $19.3 Million in Grants to Treat Persons with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders
SAMHSA press release - "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the award of four grants totaling $19.3 million over five years to increase the capacity of state treatment systems to provide effective, coordinated and integrated treatment services to persons with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding grants to Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Virginia to stimulate states to provide comprehensive, evidence-based treatment to persons who have at least one mental disorder as well as an alcohol or drug use disorder. These grants are part of the State Incentive Grant for Treatment of Persons with Co-Occurring Related and Mental Disorders (COSIG) program."  
  

Finances forcing mental health center to close (Maryland)
Herald-Mail story on the closing of the Cumberland Valley Mental Health Center - "The center's closing could cost the community more in terms of patients who end up in emergency rooms, homeless shelters and the criminal justice system, Wuertenberg said. Families will suffer because members do not get counseling and treatment. Waters said treatment costs have risen while reimbursements have not changed since 1999. While the cost of outpatient therapy is $75 a session, medical assistance reimburses the center $52. A session with a psychiatrist is $125, but the reimbursement is $75, he said."  
  

50,000 psychiatric cases may face review after court ruling (Europe)
Story at the Independent (UK) - "The cases of thousands of people receiving psychiatric treatment will have to be reviewed following a landmark European court ruling yesterday. Judges in Strasbourg said legal safeguards protecting people who do not understand why they are detained for treatment were insufficient. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the detention under common law of a man with autism was a breach of human rights."  
  

St. Louis County bulks up mental health services (Minnesota)
Duluth News-Tribune story - "People with persistent mental health issues will have access to expanded services in St. Louis County beginning Jan. 1. The St. Louis County Board on Tuesday approved a plan to shift some funding to the federal government's Medical Assistance program, which will bring more money back to the county and allow for expanded services."  
  

Nova Scotia opposition slam mental-health lawm (Canada)
Story at Canada.com - "Nova Scotia's opposition parties say the province's proposed mental-health law may violate the Charter of Rights and could lead to healthy people being unjustly locked up. Both the Liberals and New Democrats have warned the Conservative government of Premier John Hamm that it can't support legislation that's been introduced in the house. NDP health critic Maureen MacDonald went as far as to suggest the bill may even be dangerous. The legislation, introduced last week, gives health authorities more power when it comes to intervening in a case."