Monday, June 06, 2005

New Performance Measure and Management Tool Available Online SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the online availability of SAMHSA’s National Outcome Measures (NOMS) – a data resource to help federal and state substance abuse and mental health managers facilitate evidence-based decision making and ultimately improve services in the communities they serve. 'This new web-based tool is the very beginning of a data reporting system that ultimately will provide a comprehensive state-by-state picture of mental health and substance abuse service system results,' said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. 'This is a powerful new tool that we can use to improve the management and performance of our programs and make the most of the limited dollars available to help people attain and sustain recovery.' Using maps and charts, the database will describe states’ substance abuse and mental health prevalence, treatment and funding data. It will also provide substance abuse prevention data. As new data are collected, the website will also present cross-year data to help users examine program changes over time." See also the NOMs web site.  
  

Atypical Antipsychotics May Offer Benefits for AD Medscape Medical News story - "In a federally funded trial of atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat psychosis, agitation, and aggressiveness in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), researchers have found three leading drugs were associated with greater effectiveness, reduced burden for the caregiver, and improved neuropsychiatric symptoms compared with placebo, according to findings presented here at the 2005 American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting. However, at preliminary analysis of the first of three phases of the trial, researchers were not able to find dramatic differences between the drugs — olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), and quetiapine (Seroquel). Still, each drug had a somewhat different adverse effect..."  
  

New Medicaid Program Will Help Improve Quality of Care for Patients With Mental Illness (Michigan) PR Newswire story at Yahoo - "The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has launched an innovative educational program that strives to improve the quality of care for Medicaid patients with mental illness. The Michigan Pharmacy Quality Improvement Project (PQIP), which began in May, is a two-year educational program that will analyze the prescribing of mental health medications for Medicaid members and identify prescribing patterns inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines. When needed, physicians will be provided with educational materials and client survey information as well as peer-to-peer consultation."  
  

Troubles Continue at State Mental Hospital in Norwalk (California) LA Times story - "A state mental hospital in Norwalk targeted in a federal investigation for lapses in patient care has encountered new troubles in recent weeks as five teens fled, an adult patient tried to sexually assault a nurse, and a woman died early Friday after hanging herself at the hospital May 27. The latest problems, confirmed by state officials last week, follow a tumultuous three years at Metropolitan State Hospital, where several previous instances of rape, patients running away and other dangerous behavior have been noted by state and federal inspectors."  
  

State acts to improve mental health system (New Jersey) New Jersey Ledger story - "In a move to reduce the shame and confusion that can prevent people from getting treated for mental illness, acting Gov. Richard Codey signed an executive order yesterday creating a 24-hour help line and a council dedicated to eliminating the stigma of the disease. The ideas contained in the executive order come from Governor's Task Force on Mental Health, which issued a report in March outlining 50 recommendations to improve the public mental health system in New Jersey. Codey is expected to pursue some of the more controversial proposals through legislation, said task force chairman Robert Davison, director of Essex County Mental Health Association. They include requiring insurance companies to cover a broader array of disorders, and involuntarily committing people who refuse to take their medication and pose a risk to themselves or others. "  
  

Group looks at more changes in mental health system (Georgia) Macon Telegraph story - "Georgia's mental health system is a shifting bureaucratic territory where frequent policy changes keep staff members and clients confused, where tangled inter-agency lines make it hard to get services and where those services are reaching only a fraction of the people in need. Those were just a few of the comments that emerged Friday when a task force appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue met and invited the public to speak up. The Governor's Task Force on Community Care for Behavioral Health and Developmental Diseases is supposed to issue recommendations by July 12 for what could be another major overhaul of the state's mental health system."  
  

Mental health services take hit with Medicaid changes (Washington) Story in The Olympian - "As many as 1,500 people could lose mental health services at the end of the month, when changes in the way federal Medicaid dollars can be spent locally make it illegal to use the money for that purpose. The policy changes mean Thurston County's public mental health system will have about $1 million less to work with each year. Mental health services make up more than half the county's public health and social services budget. None of the money for mental health care comes from the county."  
  

Mental health tests for kids spark debate Chicago Tribune story - on the "powerful case that youngsters should be monitored closely for mental health problems, according to children's advocates who are drafting a plan to increase awareness in Illinois schools about depression, anxiety and other disorders, as well as the need to screen children when warning signs occur. ... Critics say that such initiatives are what is truly terrifying. Conservative and anti-government Web sites have been buzzing for months about how such plans will lead to children being forcibly tested, unfairly labeled--and even drugged. Most of all, opponents say that watching out for mental disorders is the responsibility of parents, not institutions."  
  

Mental health crisis? Form a committee (New Zealand) Story at Stuff - "Capital and Coast District Health Board has debated a draft five-year mental health consultation plan that recommended more staff, more services, a major shift in focus from crisis services to early intervention, and "a district mental health development group" to oversee the changes. Even board members winced at the thought of yet another committee in a sector already bogged down by bureaucracy. 'To come to the conclusion that the answer is another committee is disappointing,' board member Judith Aitken said. The recommendation for a new overseeing group was eventually watered down to an 'inclusive mechanism'. The five-year plan, dubbed 'The Journey Forward', provided solid suggestions of how best to improve mental health services, but avoided the tough questions - when, how much and where does the money come from? However, a board spokeswoman said there was new money available to fund the changes. "  
  

Mental Illness Exacts Heavy Toll, Beginning in Youth  National Institute of Health press release - "Researchers supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and that despite effective treatments, there are long delays — sometimes decades — between first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment. The study also reveals that an untreated mental disorder can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness, and to the development of co-occurring mental illnesses. The landmark study is described in four papers that document the prevalence and severity of specific mental disorders. The papers provide significant new data on the impairment — such as days lost from work — caused by specific disorders, including mood, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders. These measures will allow researchers to determine the degree of disability and the economic burden caused by mental illness, as well as trends over time."