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.

 Sunday, July 31, 2005

PULSE Bulletin: Transforming Mental Health The latest issue of the PULSE Bulletin covers two recently released reports on transforming the US mental health system, one from the Campaign for Mental Health Reform ("Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action o­n America's Mental Health Crisis") and one from SAMHSA (""The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps"). The PULSE Bulletin is published approximately 40 times a year and is available to PULSE Quarterly Briefing subscribers. In addition, organizational subscribers have access to online communications tools and an organizational news channel at the new PULSE Community Site. Details on services and subscriptions are available at the link above.  
  

Historical Roots of Schizophrenia A Medscape CME - "Ethnographic studies have demonstrated that schizophrenia is present in all existing cultures, from the pre-literate to the most highly advanced. Psychotic symptomatology and schizophrenic-like syndromes were clearly present in ancient civilizations. Recorded descriptions of the disorder appeared before 2000 BC in the ancient Egyptian Book of Hearts, which is part of the Ebers papyrus. Psychological symptoms were thought to emanate from the heart and uterus, and were associated with blood vessels, purulent or fecal matter, poisons, or demons. Hindu descriptions date back to approximately 1400 BC and can be found in the Atharva Veda, one of the 4 Vedas, which are primary texts of Hinduism..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

House Passes Association Health Plan Legislation; Proposal Would Weaken State Mental Illness Insurance Parity Laws Alert at the NAMI web site - "On July 26, the House cleared legislation vastly expanding multi-employer Association Health Plans (AHPs) and potentially undermining existing state laws that require health plans to cover treatment for mental illness on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses – commonly referred to as parity. The vote was 263-165. This proposal (HR 525) would significantly expand the scope of a federal law (known as ERISA), that exempts self-insured employer health plans from state regulation. By expanding ERISA, HR 525 would encourage employers that currently offer health plans for their workers (and their families) to switch away from coverage that meets a parity standard, i.e. plans that cover mental illnesses the same as all other illnesses..."  
  

2003 Survey Found Teens Hear Prevention Messages SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today released data showing that youth who reported seeing or hearing media messages on preventing drug and alcohol use are significantly less likely to report substance use. While 10.3 percent of youths who reported seeing or hearing media prevention messages in the past year reported binge alcohol use in the past month, 12.5 percent of youth who were not exposed to media prevention messages engaged in binge drinking. Similarly, 10.8 percent of youth who saw or heard media prevention messages reported past month illicit drug use compared to 13.7 percent who received no messages. In 2003, 83.6 percent of youth (20.8 million) reported seeing or hearing an alcohol or drug prevention message. SAMHSA extracted the data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2003, which asked youth ages 12-17 if they had seen or heard any alcohol or drug prevention messages from posters, pamphlets, radio, TV or other sources. The survey also asked about alcohol and drug use." See also the full report (in HTML and PDF formats) and related resources at the OAS site.  
  

Clinical Support System Available to Assist Physicians who Treat Patients Dependent on Opiates  SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of the Physician Clinical Support System (PCSS) to assist physicians who prescribe or dispense buprenorphine to their patients dependent on heroin or prescription drugs containing opiates. SAMHSA, in collaboration with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and other specialty addiction medicine, psychiatric, pain and general medicine societies, created the support system to assist physicians in the appropriate use of buprenorphine, and to promote improved patient care, research and education."  
  

Critics blast veterans' mental health care Science Daily story - "Several Members of Congress blasted the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon this week, saying the agencies not doing enough to aid soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder. 'All I hear is we're doing everything right. All I hear is everything's fine. Everything's not fine - we have suicides,' Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., told a panel of witnesses from the VA and the Army at hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday. He went on to call government claims about proactive treatment of PTSD in soldiers 'demonstrably false' ..."  
  

Pitt County Mental Health gets state's nod with plan (North Carolina) Story at The Reflector - "The state recently recognized Pitt County Mental Health for its success in creating a new mental health network in the community. Along with other mental health agencies in the state, Pitt Mental Health has switched from being a service provider to being a local management entity, coordinating care for the county's mentally ill, developmentally disabled and substance abusers. The change came as the result of a state law passed in 2001. In a report released by the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, Pitt County Mental Health scored second highest among 32 programs in the state for its overall performance. Two entities tied for first – Foothills Area Program in the western part of the state and Sandhills Center in the middle of the state. "  
  

Lawmakers finish with mental health insurance parity bill (Oregon) AP story at OregonLive.com - "Oregon is close to joining 35 other states that require health insurers to provide mental health coverage on equal terms with coverage for physical illness. The House voted 59-1 Saturday for a Senate-passed mental health insurance parity bill. The measure goes to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who supports it..."  
  

New rules aimed at cutting Louisiana mental health costs Story at Dateline Alabama - "The state health department has instituted new rules aimed at cutting costs and improving service in Louisiana's mental health rehabilitation program. The program provides therapy and other services for more than 7,000 adults and children with mental illness and emotional problems. The rules, which take effect Monday, will change the way private service providers are paid for treating Medicaid patients, who make up the overwhelming majority of people receiving services."  
  

State Faults U.S. Report on 2 Mental Hospitals (California) LA Times story - "A standoff between the U.S. Justice Department and the California mental health department escalated late last week, as a key state official accused federal regulators of unfairly exaggerating problems at two of the four major state-run mental hospitals. Stephen W. Mayberg, director of the California Department of Mental Health, said in an interview Friday that he was surprised when the Justice Department posted a report on an investigation of Napa State Hospital on its website last week that included wide-ranging allegations of improper care at the 1,146-patient hospital ... The report alleged that suicidal patients were not receiving prompt intervention, that patients didn't get prompt medical or psychiatric care, and that employees were dealing drugs to patients." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free]. See also Report Criticizes Calif. Mental Hospital (Washington Post) - "Patients at a state mental hospital overdosed on illegal drugs, were improperly restrained for hours on end and were forced to spend 12 hours in soiled diapers, according to a scathing report issued by the U.S. Justice Department. The report said the problems were among 'widespread and systematic deficiencies' at Napa State Hospital, including suicide and inadequate medical care. ... State officials were given until Aug. 15 to implement 'minimum remedial measures' at the mental hospital, which has about 1,100 patients." [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]  
  

Mental Health Hospital Often Over Capacity (Oklahoma) Brief KOTV story - "Fifteen additional staff members have been hired to deal with overcrowding at the state's only public mental health hospital. Mental health Commissioner Terry Cline says the overcrowding at Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman could be due to cutbacks in community services several years ago. A new state law that prohibits mentally ill patients accused of crimes from staying at certain hospitals is also a factor..."