Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Keeping Families Together Act Re-Introduced Joint press release of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, NAMI, the NMHA and the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health - "Lawmakers today will reintroduce legislation to address barriers that have led thousands of families to relinquish custody of children with mental or emotional disorders to access scarce mental health services. 'Families don’t need any more excuses,' said Trina Osher, a spokesperson for the Campaign for Mental Health Reform and Coordinator of Policy & Research at the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. 'Families need to know that 2005 will be the year Congress walks the walk on family values. Lawmakers need to take action this year, so not one more American family has to make the agonizing choice between relinquishing custody and denying their children the services and supports they need.' "  
  

Telepsychiatry's Untapped Potential: When Will It Pay to Deliver? Psychiatric Times article - "Telepsychiatry holds the promise of providing a link between urban areas with a high concentration of psychiatrists and rural areas in dire need of specialists to provide consultations to clinicians and direct services to patients. Widespread adoption of telepsychiatry programs would allow specialists to consult on care to geriatric patients, children, prison populations, military veterans and others groups with access problems. The technology continues to improve, and equipment costs have dropped dramatically in recent years. Video conferencing equipment that cost $30,000 three years ago now costs about $10,000. However, making the connection is not as easy as it might seem. The technology's potential remains largely untapped, in part, because payors are reluctant to embrace it. Consequently, many programs end when their grant funding ends..."  
  

Busting Through: Leading the Fight Against Stigma Schizophrenia Digest story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "Stella March spent much of her working life in the advertising business, and devoted her off time to fighting for a variety of causes. So when schizophrenia struck her family, the Los Angeles resident combined her professional background and personal advocacy into a campaign that ultimately targeted perhaps the largest obstacle facing people with mental illness—the stigma that permeates popular culture."  
  

Using the internet's power and anonymity to reduce problem drinking University of Texas School of Public Health press release - "Computers, and the internet, have become an integral part of North American life, whether located at home, school or the workplace. At least 80 percent of internet 'surfers' in the United States have reportedly used the internet to access health information. Symposium proceedings published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research describe several alcohol interventions – based on in-person brief motivational interventions (BMIs) – that are currently offered via the internet."  
  

Budget cuts FDA safety checks  USA Today story - "The Food and Drug Administration's proposed budget for next year includes cuts to nearly all its inspection programs, from checks on imported food to reviews of overseas plants that make prescription drugs bound for the USA. ... The reductions are included in a $1.9 billion budget that gives the agency an overall 4.5% increase. Increases are earmarked for several projects, including expansion of a network of labs to analyze food for bioterror agents and increasing staffing in the office that monitors the safety of prescription drugs once they hit the market."  
  

Bush Nominates FDA Acting Chief To Be Permanent Head of Agency Washington Post story - "Lester M. Crawford, who has been running the Food and Drug Administration as acting commissioner during a period when the agency was repeatedly buffeted by drug safety controversies and unprecedented internal dissent, was chosen yesterday by President Bush to be permanent head of the agency. The nomination was applauded by pharmaceutical industry trade organizations, which said Crawford brings deep experience and a cool head to the job. Lester M. Crawford, the acting FDA commissioner, has run the agency in a time of contention over drug safety. But some public-interest health groups, as well as some members of Congress, voiced deep reservations. They said Crawford has not aggressively attacked drug safety problems, has allowed some internal dissent to be stifled and has shown a tendency to buckle in the face of political pressure." [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]