Webhealth
Webhealth has been specifically developed to provide access for people to
connect with Health and Social Services. This web-based approach builds on
the strengths of people and families to determine their support needs. Within the Webhealth website is Linkage. Linkage is a
partnership between an NGO, Pathways; primary health care, Pinnacle; and a
secondary provider/hospital, Health Waikato. It offers early intervention
services with a “one stop shop” in central Hamilton and New Plymouth.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
National Institute of Mental Health Funds 1.98 Million Study to Examine Effectiveness of Advance Directives for Patients With Mental Illnesses
Ascribe Newswire press release from Duke University reprinted at the NAMI web site - "The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded a Duke University Medical Center team $1.98 million in research funding to study the use and effectiveness of "psychiatric advance directives [PADs]" -- legal documents created by patients who have planned ahead for their preferred course of treatment during a mental health crisis. This is the first major study funded by the U.S. government to evaluate PADs from initiation to outcomes, said the researchers. Despite the spread of laws that authorize the use of advance directives in the care of patients with mental illnesses, little research has been done to determine the effectiveness of these legal instruments. Although patients in 16 states have the right to create a PAD, very few take advantage of it, according to researchers at Duke. The four-year study will examine whether psychiatric patients will complete advance directives if they are provided the resources to do so, and will also determine whether or not doctors and hospitals can effectively put the plans into action."
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Ascribe Newswire press release from Duke University reprinted at the NAMI web site - "The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded a Duke University Medical Center team $1.98 million in research funding to study the use and effectiveness of "psychiatric advance directives [PADs]" -- legal documents created by patients who have planned ahead for their preferred course of treatment during a mental health crisis. This is the first major study funded by the U.S. government to evaluate PADs from initiation to outcomes, said the researchers. Despite the spread of laws that authorize the use of advance directives in the care of patients with mental illnesses, little research has been done to determine the effectiveness of these legal instruments. Although patients in 16 states have the right to create a PAD, very few take advantage of it, according to researchers at Duke. The four-year study will examine whether psychiatric patients will complete advance directives if they are provided the resources to do so, and will also determine whether or not doctors and hospitals can effectively put the plans into action."
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States treating drug abuse as illness
MSNBC story - "States have taken sweeping action in recent years to roll back 'get-tough' approaches on drug policy, turning toward prevention, treatment and other alternatives to fight addiction, a new report from an advocacy group found. The survey of new laws between 1996 and 2001 found that states were adopting anti-drug approaches that treat addiction more like an illness than a crime, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports such an approach." See also the Drug Policy Alliance web site, their press release Drug Policy Alliance Follows Drug Policy Across the States, the home page of the State of the States report and the report itself, in Acrobat format. The site also features "one of the largest online collections of journal articles, reports, books, testimonies and fact sheets that focus on drugs and drug policy from economic, criminal justice, and public health perspectives." For specifics, see their online library.
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MSNBC story - "States have taken sweeping action in recent years to roll back 'get-tough' approaches on drug policy, turning toward prevention, treatment and other alternatives to fight addiction, a new report from an advocacy group found. The survey of new laws between 1996 and 2001 found that states were adopting anti-drug approaches that treat addiction more like an illness than a crime, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports such an approach." See also the Drug Policy Alliance web site, their press release Drug Policy Alliance Follows Drug Policy Across the States, the home page of the State of the States report and the report itself, in Acrobat format. The site also features "one of the largest online collections of journal articles, reports, books, testimonies and fact sheets that focus on drugs and drug policy from economic, criminal justice, and public health perspectives." For specifics, see their online library.
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Enrolling Eligible Persons in Pharmacy Assistance Programs: How States Do It
A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) called to our attention in the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report by the Commonwealth Fund: "Stephen Crystal, Thomas Trail and colleagues from Rutgers University's Center for State Health Policy examine 15 prescription drug assistance programs operating in states in 2000. According to the report, programs with the simplest application procedures and fewest restrictions on enrollment had the highest participation rates." Other recent resources from the Commonwealth Fund (also in Acrobat format) may be of interest to readers as well - JAMA Study finds children enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans do not receive same quality of care as children in commercial plans (see also the related with a summary and JAMA abstract); and the press release Comparing the Presidential Candidates' Health Care Proposals, as well as both the related summary and full report. [Editor's note - From time to time, readers will find links here to news stories and articles on proposals and positions put forth by various political candidates. The inclusion of such material is not intended to advocate for or against any particular candidates or views, and should not be understood as such, but rather as part of an effort to distribute information of interest to readers and to help contribute to the overall quality of discourse on issues related to mental health. - BD]
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A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) called to our attention in the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report by the Commonwealth Fund: "Stephen Crystal, Thomas Trail and colleagues from Rutgers University's Center for State Health Policy examine 15 prescription drug assistance programs operating in states in 2000. According to the report, programs with the simplest application procedures and fewest restrictions on enrollment had the highest participation rates." Other recent resources from the Commonwealth Fund (also in Acrobat format) may be of interest to readers as well - JAMA Study finds children enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans do not receive same quality of care as children in commercial plans (see also the related with a summary and JAMA abstract); and the press release Comparing the Presidential Candidates' Health Care Proposals, as well as both the related summary and full report. [Editor's note - From time to time, readers will find links here to news stories and articles on proposals and positions put forth by various political candidates. The inclusion of such material is not intended to advocate for or against any particular candidates or views, and should not be understood as such, but rather as part of an effort to distribute information of interest to readers and to help contribute to the overall quality of discourse on issues related to mental health. - BD]
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New Program Will Pursue Schizophrenia Gene Leads
NIH press release - "The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced a new program expanding genetics research on schizophrenia in its own Bethesda, Maryland laboratories." The program "over the next decade, will redouble intramural efforts focused on the genetics and neurobiology of cognition and psychosis. Multidisciplinary teams using mouse, fruit-fly and cell culture models, as well as clinical studies and brain imaging, will tease apart how the vulnerability genes work at the molecular, cellular and systems levels to discover the "risk architecture" of schizophrenia. Rather than relying on traditional clinical features of the illness, they will pursue changes in the brain underlying the altered thinking and emotionality associated with the illness."
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NIH press release - "The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced a new program expanding genetics research on schizophrenia in its own Bethesda, Maryland laboratories." The program "over the next decade, will redouble intramural efforts focused on the genetics and neurobiology of cognition and psychosis. Multidisciplinary teams using mouse, fruit-fly and cell culture models, as well as clinical studies and brain imaging, will tease apart how the vulnerability genes work at the molecular, cellular and systems levels to discover the "risk architecture" of schizophrenia. Rather than relying on traditional clinical features of the illness, they will pursue changes in the brain underlying the altered thinking and emotionality associated with the illness."
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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