Monday, November 15, 2004

New Antidepressant Drug Approved, But It's All About Profits, Not Helping Patients
Commentary column at DepressionFactor.org - "The FDA has now approved Eli Lilly's new drug, Cymbalta, for treatment of depression. The new drug is expected to generate peak annual sales of about $2 billion, and is being described as a "much-needed boon for Eli Lilly after the sales of its former top-selling antidepressant Prozac fell due to generic competition." Let's take a closer look at the dynamics here. The big news being focused on in the mainstream media isn't that there is some new drug that can help people with depression -- the big news is that this is a new revenue generator for Eli Lilly. In the world of pharmaceuticals, it's always about profit and sales, and almost never about actually helping patients..."  
  

UK Government Tells Drug Firms to Disclose Clinical Data
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "The British government demanded on Thursday that all drug makers publish clinical trial data on marketed medicines and set new guidelines to ensure its regulators were not influenced by corporations. 'We want to see faster progress,' Health Minister Lord Warner told reporters. 'If we don't see it, I will be inviting senior members of the companies concerned to come and have a friendly discussion.' UK regulators are concerned that only a few companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc, have started publishing their clinical trial results." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Bipolar Depression: Long-term Challenges for the Clinician
A new Medscape CME unit - "Of the 2 poles of bipolar disorder, mania is the more dramatic, and indeed the defining, characteristic. Not surprisingly, it has been the major focus of clinical and research attention, while bipolar depression has been relatively neglected. But a growing body of evidence suggests that depression accounts for the greater burden of morbidity and mortality in bipolar disorder and is an underrecognized clinical challenge. Bipolar depression is often misdiagnosed, inappropriately treated in the acute phase, and undertreated in the maintenance phase. Fortunately, increasing interest in bipolar depression has led to an expanding pharmacopoeia, the establishment of international consensus treatment guidelines, and an improved understanding of bipolar disorder as a severe, recurrent illness requiring long-term pharmacotherapy and psychosocial support..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Immediate solutions needed to reduce pressure on mental health system in Simcoe and Muskoka (Canada)
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - " The Simcoe York District Health Council has developed an action plan to alleviate pressure on the current psychiatric inpatient and community mental health system in Simcoe and Muskoka counties. Solutions identified in a recent report include enhancing crisis capacity, increasing the number of mental health professionals, especially case managers, and implementing shared-care strategies. According to the report, a variety of population and health system factors are putting pressure on the ability of the mental health system to respond to people’s needs. These pressures include rapid population growth and an aging population in the region. While planning allocations state the area needs 75 scheduled mental health beds, there are only 56 available. Close to $1.4 million dollars in new funding was allocated to the region for community mental health services in 2004/2005, but the report notes that this was the first new funding in 12 years..." See also the "Solutions to Alleviate Mental Health System Pressures in Simcoe Muskoka" document (Adobe Acrobat format).  
  

US threatens to cut $583m in Medicaid (Massachusetts)
Boston Globe story - "The federal government is threatening to cut $583 million it gives Massachusetts for health care for the poor and uninsured, saying the state is getting more than its fair share by violating the financing rules of the Medicaid program, according to state officials. Losing the money, which represents about 9 percent of the Massachusetts Medicaid program, would add significantly to the $1 billion gap between state revenues and spending already predicted for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2005 -- unless the state cuts services or eligibility for Medicaid."  
  

Many worry about change in Medicaid (Georgia)
Jacksonville Times-Union story - "Health-care advocates and doctors are anxious about a proposal to move about a million Medicaid recipients into private plans resembling health maintenance organizations, the state board overseeing public plans was told Wednesday. ... The proposal, unveiled earlier this year by Community Health Commissioner Tim Burgess and championed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, would move a million members of the state's Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids programs to 'care management organizations,' or CMOs..."  
  

Comment: The Mental Health Bill (UK)
Commentary column at the Black Information Link - "If you're not mad already, you soon will be. That's what the government's Mental Health Bill means. It has often been said that no matter how far politicians go in being tough on asylum seekers, the issue never goes away. Fears and prejudices of the public increase, the right-wing press and the Conservative Party call for even tougher action. And the downward spiral continues. So it is with public fear of the mentally ill. A diet of newspaper stories about murders, and hunts for escapee mental patients, have reinforced the fears and prejudices that focus attention on the protection of the public rather than the care and rehabilitation of those affected..."  
  

Valley Mental Health Sees Increase (Utah)
Story at the KSL NewsRadio web site - "Valley Mental Health has experienced a 48 percent increase in involuntary commitments since the Legislature made it easier for family members top force loved ones to get treatment. Since the Susan Gall Involuntary Commitment Act was passed in 2003, Valley Mental Health has experienced 366 involuntary commitments, compared with 247 in the same time period a year before. The numbers were compiled for a report to the Legislature's Health and Human Services Interim Committee, which asked for a review of the effects of the law."  
  

Mental health services for state's seniors at risk (Maine)
Morning Sentinel story - "Some older Mainers who require mental health services are seeing state-funded treatment fade away. The reason: cuts made in the wake of a state budget crisis. The ramifications: possible legal action against the state. Meanwhile, though, the loss of those services could cause some seniors' conditions to worsen before new money comes available, advocates for senior citizens told lawmakers last week. A range of geriatric mental health services have begun to run out of money, a domino effect resulting from budget cuts pushed through earlier this year by the Baldacci administration, members of the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee were told."