Monday, January 31, 2005

Healthcare Overhaul Is Quietly Underway LA Times story - "Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance that has covered most working Americans for the last half-century. In its place, they want to erect a system in which workers — instead of looking to employers for health insurance — would take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families: They would buy high-deductible 'catastrophic' insurance policies to cover major medical needs, then pay routine costs with money set aside in tax-sheltered health savings accounts. Elements of that approach have been on the conservative agenda for years, but what has suddenly put it on the fast track is GOP confidence that the political balance of power has changed." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].  
  

Young Adults Often Reject Depression Diagnosis WebMD story - "...one out of every four people in the U.S. has experienced depression. That can lead to substance abuse, problems at work and in relationships, and a host of other woes. But only 20% of depressed young adults get high-quality treatment, say Benjamin Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, and colleagues. To find out why, they conducted an Internet survey of nearly 11,000 people aged 16 to 29. All participants showed signs of depression in an online screening test. The study posed a provocative question -- could participants accept a depression diagnosis from their doctor? For 26%, the answer was no."  
  

Developing evaluation capacity in community mental health programs (Canada) Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "According to an article published in Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal that describes the results of as Ontario initiative to help community mental health agencies conduct program evaluation, the field is interested in evaluation but faces the challenge of limited resources and a limited infrastructure. ... Many programs said that the greatest challenges to evaluating their services was a lack of infrastructure such as human resources, time, computer hardware and software and funding specifically for evaluation. "  
  

Review Of The Social Work & Social Service Work Act, 1998 (Canada) Page at the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services that provides links to a discussion paper in MS Word and Adobe Acrobat formats - "The Ministry of Community and Social Services is conducting a five-year review of the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 to identify and address implementation problems, if any, resulting from the provisions of the Act since the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) was first established in 1999. The review is not an evaluation of the College's performance, but whether there are legislative barriers to effective implementation of the College's responsibilities in support of the primary duty to serve and protect the public interest. This discussion paper provides background on why the legislation was introduced; an overview of the legislation; sets out review questions that will assist stakeholders in identifying any implementation issues; and identifies the process for how stakeholders can contribute to the review."  
  

Makeover due for Ontario health-care system (Canada) Toronto Star story - "Ontario's health-care landscape is about to get a radical redesign. On April 1, the health ministry is set to introduce new power-brokers into the province's health system — local health integration networks (LHINs). Touted as an integral part of the McGuinty government's plan to transform the provincial health-care system, the 14 regional health networks are to decide what local health care needs are, plan for those needs and, eventually, fund them."  
  

Mental Health Board backers fire back at leadership critics (Illinois) Daily Herald story - "Advocacy groups rallied to the defense of the McHenry County Mental Health Board Friday, refuting claims from one of their peers that the board's leadership spends wastefully and is more concerned with empire building than serving the public. The response comes two weeks after Jeffrey Epstein, executive director of Pioneer Center, the county's largest mental health care agency, issued a scathing report claiming the board is responsible for a defective mental health system in McHenry County and calling for the removal of its president, Bev Thomas, and executive director Dennis Smith. Board supporters responded Friday before the McHenry County Board's public health and human services committee with praise for the agency's leadership while questioning the motives behind Epstein's criticism..."  
  

Cannabis mental health risk probe (UK) BBC story - "The government says it will review all academic and clinical studies linking cannabis use to mental health problems. The Department of Health says it is now generally agreed among doctors that cannabis is an 'important causal factor' in mental illness. It follows a mental health group's call for the government to investigate 'the link between cannabis and psychosis'. "  
  

House OKs mental health bill (Washington)Daily News story - "Health insurance companies would have to cover mental health the same way they cover physical health, under a bill passed by the state House. The mental health bill goes next to the state Senate, where Senate leaders said it stands a very good chance of passing. The bill mandates 'parity' for mental health. For example, if the co-payment for a cholesterol drug is $10, the co-payment for an anti-anxiety medication would be $10. If your health plan allows unlimited doctor visits for physical ailments, there can't be a cap on therapy sessions."  
  

New exam to assess troops' mental healthIndianapolis Star story - "In an effort to better identify troops suffering serious psychological problems as a result of combat duty, the Defense Department plans to perform an additional health assessment of service members three to six months after they come home, officials said Friday. The new policy, to begin this spring, will add a third health questionnaire to those given to troops before and immediately after deployments. Military health officials have found that service members leaving the war zone often minimize or cover up mental issues for fear that admitting any problem could delay their return home..."