NEW PULSE PUBLICATION: The inaugural issue of the PULSE Quarterly Briefing was published in late June and has already received a great deal of praise ("Brilliant" - Fran Silvestri, Director: International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership; "A triumphant inaugural issue" - Paul Lefkovitz, CEO: Behavioral Pathway Systems; "Very useful..." - Elaine Alfano, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law). The PQB comes bundled with two other services, the "PULSE Bulletin" (40 issues/year) and "Recent Resources" (10 issues /year) and organizational subscriptions include access to a set of Internet-based tools for distributing news and announcements. For details on subscriptions, please see the new PULSE Community Site.

 Monday, July 25, 2005

Better Data and Evaluations Could Improve Processes and Programs for Adopting Children with Special Needs 56-page GAO report in PDF format brought to our attention by Open Minds - "According to state child welfare officials, limited resources, court processes, and delays in completing interstate placements challenged the adoption of children with special needs by hindering recruitment of adoptive families and delaying the adoption process. In particular, adoptive parents in many states received lower subsidies and fewer services than foster parents. In addition, child welfare officials, court staff, and judges said that the adoption process can take months to complete because hearings to terminate parents’ rights are hard to schedule and may involve appeals. Further, officials said that interstate placements are often hampered by delays in completing home studies of prospective families, although no data exist to assess the timeliness of such placements."  
  

The Efficiency and Quality of Commercial Mental Health Care in Southeastern Pennsylvania A 33 page report in MS Word format, brought to our attention by Open Minds, published by the Pennsylvania Psychological Association - "Magellan Behavioral Health (MBH) manages 99% of the HMO and most of the indemnity market for behavioral health in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA) gathered data on MBH from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), and personal reports and survey data from psychologists. With some exceptions, MBH does a good job in facilitating psychiatric hospitalizations when they are clinically indicated. PPA commended MBH for its innovative Assertive Community Treatment Program. However, MBH’s administrative procedures divert considerable resources away from and often disrupt patient care. These problems can be found primarily in authorizations, billing, credentialing, and appeals. The authorization process is expensive and cumbersome, contributes nothing to patient care, and often disrupts the continuity of patient care. The billing process is complicated by the frequency with which MBH or the insurer loses the authorizations or fails to process them on time. "  
  

Unprecedented Federal Alignment Announced to Help Provide People with Mental Illness Opportunity for Recovery SAMHSA press release - " The federal government is aligning resources in an unprecedented collaborative effort to help ensure that people with mental illness have every opportunity for recovery. Six cabinet level departments – Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration have detailed 70 specific steps in a mental health action agenda released today. 'Transforming Mental Health Care in America. The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps' is the beginning of a multi-year effort to alter the form and function of the mental health system. Also announced today is the creation of a Federal Executive Steering Committee to guide the work of mental health system transformation." See also the full report.  
  

Atypical Antipsychotics in the Elderly An "Expert Interview" in Medscape Neurology & Neurosurgery with Martin R. Farlow, MD, Professor and Vice Chairman for Research, Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and Director, Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Clinic, Indiana University Medical Center, focusing on the questions "Do you still use atypical antipsychotics as a first-line medical treatment for agitated patients with Alzheimer's disease? Has the role of atypical antipsychotics for Alzheimer's patients changed because of the studies showing increased mortality associated with atypicals as compared with placebo in elderly populations?" [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Building capacity — A framework for serving Albertans affected by addiction and mental health issues (Canada)A 54 page report, in PDF format, brought to our attention by CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes, which describes the report as "a strategy document" which "outlines a provincial framework for service delivery for people with concurrent disorders. The document suggests a strategy of a dynamic, collaborative approach to better help people affected by addiction and mental health issues. A dynamic model allows consumers to enter into the system at any point, and move between service points as their needs change. The framework emphasizes a collaborative system based on partnerships between service providers at all levels: community, regional, provincial and national. The document notes that information, prevention and early intervention are key to helping persons with less severe symptoms to get treatment."  
  

Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative Survey Page at the CCMHI web site - "The Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) invites you to participate in a survey on a Collaborative Mental Health Care CHARTER for Canada. The survey will run on-line from July 11 to August 15, 2005. This survey is one of a range of consultations that are being undertaken to ensure that the Charter is a reflection of the experiences and aspirations of people across the country. These consultations will result in a Charter that can be endorsed by the 12 national associations involved with the CCMHI. Therefore, it is essential that we get feedback from people who have both a knowledge of current mental health services – whether as a consumer, family member or caregiver, or as a health provider – and a sense of how services can be strengthened." See also the survey questions, the survey itself, the CCMHI charter principles and background information, all in PDF format.  
  

Report Blasts State Mental Health Services (Hawaii) KGMB9 story - "Sixteen Hawaii residents died during a two-month period earlier this year, all from complications of mental illness. That information comes from the court appointed 'special master' overseeing the state Mental Health Division. U.S. Magistrate Kevin Chang says those deaths are just part of the proof that the state's mental health system is a mess. His scathing report comes less than a year before the deadline to fix the problems. The lengthy progress report warns that the state is nowhere near where it should be at this stage of the game..."  
  

Bredesen Launches New Mental Health Safety Net Initiative (Tennessee) Story in The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia - "Health and Developmental Disabilities Virginia Trotter Betts to announce a $11.4 million partnership with community mental health agencies from across Tennessee that will benefit nearly 20,000 Tennesseans. In the most recent of efforts under Bredesen’s Health Care Safety Net, Tennessee will provide the funding for 20 community-based, nonprofit mental health agencies to continue key mental health services for patients with severe mental illnesses who will come off TennCare, the state’s financially troubled public health program. ... The Department of Mental Health encourages Tennesseans with severe mental illnesses coming off TennCare to register with participating agencies for the Mental Health Safety Net in order to immediately begin receiving key services, including assessment, evaluation, diagnostic, therapeutic intervention, psychiatric medication management and certain laboratory services. "  
  

House Committee Slots $2.2b for Vets' Mental Health Article at BlackEnterprise.com - "The members of Congress who decide how money is spent are focused on the mental health care of veterans, particularly those returning from combat who may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In an unusual move, the House Appropriations Committee has fenced off $2.2 billion in the Department of Veterans Affairs budget for specialty mental health care 'to be assured that funding for mental health care will not be siphoned off for other purposes,' committee members said in an explanatory report on their budget recommendations for fiscal 2006. VA officials have estimated they will spend at least that much on specialty mental health programs the next fiscal year, and up to $10 billion for health care spending for all veterans who have mental illnesses. The committee's version of the 2006 defense appropriations bill also directs the Pentagon and the VA to jointly study mental health care, including PTSD, panic disorder and bipolar disorder. " See also Mental health study showsstrain of deployment, combat (Army Times) and two Seattle Times stories, VA straining to treat post-traumatic stress and Soaring PTSD disability payments scrutinized.  
  

$40 million boon for mental health producing turmoil (California) North County Times (San Diego) story - "The county has asked people with business connections to the mental health community to resign from county panels that dole out public money for mental health programs, a move that has angered some mental health advocates who say the move will keep valuable experts off the panels. The county has received about $40 million as a result of a new law, Proposition 63, which passed last year. The law imposes a 1 percent tax on California residents who make $1 million or more to help pay for mental health programs. Counties have been instructed to submit plans for the money ---- with advice from patients, family members and mental health service providers ---- to the state for approval."