Monday, November 18, 2002

New schizophrenia treatments mix promise, concerns
Detroit News story - "Powerful new implants and injections could soon revolutionize the treatment of schizophrenia and address the perennial concern of doctors and families that patients who stop taking their medicines may relapse into psychotic behavior." The story notes, too, however, that "Some advocates for the mentally ill are worried that new approaches could lead to coercive treatment."  
  

Health care discomfort (Oregon)
Detailed feature story in The Oregonian on health care in Oregon - "Even as escalating health care costs cut deeper into employer profits and worker paychecks, Oregon and the nation appear increasingly unlikely to perform radical surgery to correct health care's ills." The story notes that "faced with a worsening budget shortfall, state lawmakers last week eliminated coverage of mental health and several other services for about 100,000 low-income residents covered by the Oregon Health Plan," and provides "a rundown of Oregon's evolving health policy scene and how it is likely to shape the health care market in the coming year."  
  

Bush's New Political Science
Article in Mother Jones magazine on the Bush administration screening candidates for the National Institutes of Health about their political views, "an unprecedented move intended to make sure that conservatives get seats on NIH advisory councils. In some cases ... a White House liaison with the Department of Health and Human Services ... has called candidates and asked detailed questions about their political leanings."  
  

New York Exports Mentally Ill, Shifting Burden to Other States
New York Times story - "Over the past eight years, the Pataki administration has been essentially exporting hundreds of its most troubled psychiatric patients to other states, turning over responsibility for their care to homes there that have little if any expertise and often have tarnished histories, according to interviews with officials, visits to the facilities and an analysis of Medicaid and other state records." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].