Thursday, April 14, 2005
Illinois Report on Reducing Costs, Improving Care for Untreated Mental IllnessAnnouncement at the NAMI web site - "At a Capitol press conference, NAMI Illinois and partners from Illinois’ law enforcement, medical, education and social service communities have released a new report,
Answering the Call: Reducing The Costs of Untreated Mental Illness in Illinois, While Improving Care. Almost a million Illinois citizens are affected by potentially disabling mental illnesses every year." See also the
full report and page of
related resources at the NAMI site.
APA Applauds New California Regulations for Inpatient Psychological Services APA press release - "California patients suffering from serious mental illness will now have the benefit of having their inpatient care managed by psychologists with full hospital privileges. New state regulations issued by the state’s Department of Health Services (DHS), recognizes California psychologists’ expertise in diagnosing and treating mental disorders which allows them to serve their patients in acute care hospitals as attending practitioners. The California agency’s new rules allow both psychologists and psychiatrists to direct patient care as a member of the hospital medical staff, including decisions on when to admit, transfer, and discharge patients. The new regulations are a result of longstanding efforts by organized psychology to enforce laws already on the books..."
Brain activity flags vulnerability to antidepressant side effectsNewsRx.com story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "In a finding that opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects, researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute report that changes in brain activity prior to treatment with antidepressants can flag patient vulnerability. Published in the April 2005 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychopharmacology, the study is the first to link brain function and medication side effects, and to show a relationship between brain function changes during brief placebo treatment and later side effects during treatment with medication."
Bill would expand veterans health services Talahassie Democrat story - "Citing the large numbers of soldiers returning from Iraq with psychiatric disorders, lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday in the House of Representatives that would expand veterans' health services and study why veterans' mental-disability payments vary widely across the country. The bill follows a March report in Knight Ridder Newspapers that showed that the assessment - known as a 'rating' - that veterans receive for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health ailments is far higher in some regional offices than in others."
Lilly name on health document Nashville City Paper story - "Mental health advocates widely circulated an e-mail opposing state drug cuts last month that appears to have been authored by a major pharmaceutical company lobbyist. A document from the Tennessee Coalition for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services was handed out to other advocates and state lawmakers early last month as the group held it’s 'Day on Capitol Hill.' E-mails received by
The City Paper showed under
Microsoft Word applications that the 'author' of the document was Eli Lilly lobbyist Marlene L. Sanders. The pharmaceutical giant paid for the $10,000 event through a grant to the Mental Health Association of Tennessee. But company officials deny they had any input into the message conveyed on Capitol Hill that day."
Mental health experts unsure of bill’s impact (Texas) Brownsville Herald story - "A proposed reorganization of the way the state pays for mental health services could result in a streamlined delivery system, but might make it harder for patients in the Rio Grande Valley to find care, mental health experts said. House Bill 470 directs the community Mental Health and Mental Retardation centers, including Tropical Texas in the Valley, to move toward a system of fee-for-service in which the state would pay private providers directly for their services. It also moves toward separating the provider services from the authority, or administrative services. Community centers like Tropical Texas now provide both..."
Mental health act has big effect on county (California) Fairfield Daily Republic story - "Post-it notes filled with suggestions to transform Solano County mental health services clung to the walls of a meeting room in Fairfield's Holiday Inn on Wednesday. The session was one of many community meetings that mental health officials will hold between now and June to discuss the new Mental Health Services Act and the additional funding that accompanies it. 'This is an act that is a result of consumer power,' mental health director Fred Heacock said. 'In everything we do, we will consult with consumers and family members.' The first step toward transformation is putting people first and treating them like they matter, said Lovella Smith, a consumer, family member and member of the local Mental Health Board."
