Tuesday, January 28, 2003

A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes with Your Employer or Private Health Plan
A new guide from the Kaiser Family Foundation intended to "help you navigate your employer or private health plan's internal grievance procedure, as well as any external review program your state may have. The guide is not applicable, however, for resolving disputes if you have Medicare or Medicaid coverage." The guide is available both as a web document and an Adobe Acrobat file.  
  

New Survey Reveals Stereotypes and Misconceptions Still Shape Americans’ Understanding of Bipolar Disorder
An NMHA news release - "To address the alarmingly high rates of misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the National Mental Health Association today launched the “Bipolar Disorder: Do You Know It?” national public service campaign. The campaign aims to encourage Americans to recognize the illness and urge those experiencing its symptoms to seek help. The need for Americans to “know it” is bolstered by a new NMHA survey revealing that while more than 60 percent of people can identify bipolar disorder as a mental illness, more than two-thirds of those surveyed said they had limited or no knowledge of it, pointing to gaps in public awareness of the illness." A variety of related resources are avilable from the NMHA, such as a fact sheet on bipolar disorder and brochures on the disorder among African Americans and among children .  
  

Health Groups Publish ''Learning from Each Other: Success Stories and Ideas for Reducing Restraint/Seclusion in Behavioral Health''
US Newswire story on a 42-page publication intended "to capture the good ideas that are in use throughout the country to lessen the need for restraint and seclusion with psychiatric patients." The document is published jointly by the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, with support from the American Hospital Association Section for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services. Although the press release says the document can be downloaded from any of those organizations' web sites, it was difficult to find at several. The best source is the APA, where the publication and an appendix are available separately, both as Adobe Acrobat files.