PULSE EXECUTIVE EDITION is a free service of the Centre for Community Change International, selecting links to reports, articles, major news stories and Internet resources from CCCI's PULSE news service for leaders of mental health and consumer advocacy organizations. PULSE is researched, edited and designed by Bill Davis.
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Major depression in adults for mental health care providers
An updated guideline at the National Guideline Clearinghouse, "a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines." See also the related algorithm with 14 components and the algorithm annotations (both in Adobe Acrobat format).
States Look to Lower Medicaid Drug Costs
ABC News story - "As states face large budget shortfalls from rising Medicaid costs, several are forming a nonprofit organization to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs. The organization, which is not expected to be operational before the end of the year, marks a growing trend by states to try new and innovative ways to deal with drug costs." The states involved are Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia.Recovering Your Mental Health
Six new booklets have been added to this series from CMHS/ADCA, developed in collaboration with author, lecturer, and consumer leader, Mary Ellen Copeland. You can view the contents by clicking on the booklet title, then on the individual pages listed in the table of contents for each booklet. Hard copy can be ordered from CMHS.GHA drops mental health services (Ohio)
Cincinnati Enquirer story - "Group Health Associates, Greater Cincinnati's largest multispecialty physician group, plans to discontinue providing mental health services in about three months. The decision will affect several thousand patients who have been receiving treatment and counseling from three psychiatrists and about 25 other professionals, including psychologists, social workers and nurses. Group Health Associates has been reorganizing itself because fewer health insurers are selling 'capitated' managed care plans..."Bankruptcy is closing in on Magellan
SunSpot story - "Magellan Health Services Inc. reached a deadline with its lenders yesterday, but had no announcement last night on whether it had reached an agreement or been granted another extension. Without an extension on its debt agreements, the Columbia-based mental health insurer could be forced into a bankruptcy filing, it had said in a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission."