Thursday, April 17, 2003
National Study of Bipolar Disorder Patients Highlights Potential Impact of Illness PR Newswire item at
PsycPORT - "Results published today in the
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry from the first prevalence and impact survey among people with symptoms of bipolar disorder in the U.S., reveal that the illness significantly disrupts virtually all aspects of their daily lives including work, academic performance and interpersonal relationships. These findings also indicate the disease may disproportionately impact 18-24 year-olds, pointing to the significant burden on this age group of one of the most common mental illnesses."
Officials discuss downtown crisis center for mentally ill (Massachusetts) Boston Globe story - "They are known, variously, as 'frequent fliers,' 'high utilizers,' or 'heavy hitters' - the core group of mentally ill people who cycle in and out of police custody and emergency rooms in a costly and unending shuffle. In the midst of painful cuts to human services, a range of state health officials met yesterday to discuss establishing a new downtown crisis center to find new solutions for these people, matching them with treatment programs that are less expensive than psychiatric beds and more appropriate than jail."
Section 1115 Waivers "The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured is closely following waiver activity to provide information on how these waivers are impacting the uninsured and affecting Medicaid and SCHIP and the coverage provided to low-income beneficiaries. This page will be updated with our latest materials on waivers including state-specific information and general reports on waiver issues and policies." Included are links to a February 2002 report, a policy brief on Section 1115 waivers and fact sheets on waivers for California, Delaware, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah (all in
Adobe Acrobat format).
NAMI Offers 10-Point Antidote to Medicaid Rx Restrictions Mental Health Weekly story at
Medscape - "With momentum growing toward states' imposing access restrictions to psychotropic drugs in their Medicaid programs, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has issued a 10-point policy that is part association strategy document, part outline of alternatives for states." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Dump the DSM Article in the most recent
Psychiatric Times - "Decades of labor have been poured into the formulation of the DSM and its descendants. Is this system of classification still useful and relevant to clinical practice? Should psychiatrists continue to revise it or get rid of it altogether?" See also a companion piece in the same issue,
The DSM: Not Perfect, but Better Than the Alternative.
Improving The Quality Of Medicaid Personal Assistance Through Consumer Direction A web exclusive edition of the journal
Health Affairs. See also the
story at the MIMH Policy Information Exchange - "Medicaid recipients with disabilities who direct their own supportive services were significantly more satisfied and appeared to get better care than those receiving services through home care agencies, according to initial findings of a demonstration project jointly supported by HHS and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. With self-direction, the recipients satisfaction and quality of life were improved substantially and unmet needs for care were reduced, without compromising health or safety, the study found." The findings are also available in
Adobe Acrobat format.
