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.
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
The Medicaid Resource Book
This page provides links to chapter-length Adobe Acrobat files comprising a guide from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured - "This reference book describes four pivotal aspects of how the Medicaid program operates -- who it covers, what it covers, how it is financed, and how it is administered. It was written to assist the public and policymakers in understanding the structure and operation of the Medicaid program."
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This page provides links to chapter-length Adobe Acrobat files comprising a guide from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured - "This reference book describes four pivotal aspects of how the Medicaid program operates -- who it covers, what it covers, how it is financed, and how it is administered. It was written to assist the public and policymakers in understanding the structure and operation of the Medicaid program."
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Patient Cost Sharing: How Much is Too Much?
An issue brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Responding to successive years of double-digit health insurance premium increases, employers continue to restructure health benefits to slow the rise in company costs by increasing patients' financial stake in their care. A new Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study examines how increased patient cost sharing through higher deductibles, copayments and coinsurance raises patients' out-of-pocket costs. Increased patient cost sharing creates more financial burdens for seriously ill and low-income workers. Concerns about financial hardships for seriously ill and low-income workers may limit employers' ability to slow rising premiums through increased patient cost sharing..."
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An issue brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Responding to successive years of double-digit health insurance premium increases, employers continue to restructure health benefits to slow the rise in company costs by increasing patients' financial stake in their care. A new Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study examines how increased patient cost sharing through higher deductibles, copayments and coinsurance raises patients' out-of-pocket costs. Increased patient cost sharing creates more financial burdens for seriously ill and low-income workers. Concerns about financial hardships for seriously ill and low-income workers may limit employers' ability to slow rising premiums through increased patient cost sharing..."
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Report: Drug firms pay NIH monitors
December 7 USA Today story - "Some of the National Institute of Health's top officials have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from drug companies whose products they were responsible for monitoring, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The newspaper, citing records it said it began gathering five years ago, reported that in some instances officials of the federal institute operated as consultants for companies whose drugs were linked to the deaths of patients taking part in NIH studies."
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December 7 USA Today story - "Some of the National Institute of Health's top officials have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from drug companies whose products they were responsible for monitoring, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The newspaper, citing records it said it began gathering five years ago, reported that in some instances officials of the federal institute operated as consultants for companies whose drugs were linked to the deaths of patients taking part in NIH studies."
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How to read clinical journals: XI. Everything you always wanted to know about editorials (but were afraid to ask)
A lighthearted yet substantive article by Donald A. Redelmeier and Steven L. Shumak in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. See also How to react when your colleagues haven't read a thing and Sounding like you've read the literature when you haven't read a thing, two previously published related articles by the same author. All articles are in Adobe Acrobat format.
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A lighthearted yet substantive article by Donald A. Redelmeier and Steven L. Shumak in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. See also How to react when your colleagues haven't read a thing and Sounding like you've read the literature when you haven't read a thing, two previously published related articles by the same author. All articles are in Adobe Acrobat format.
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Helping Young Girls Avoid Depression
ABC News story - "A new model that looks at genes and environment to identify depression and anxiety in young girls has been developed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The method could help better identify young girls who are at high risk for depression once they enter puberty and begin early intervention. It is outlined in a special October issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry."
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ABC News story - "A new model that looks at genes and environment to identify depression and anxiety in young girls has been developed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The method could help better identify young girls who are at high risk for depression once they enter puberty and begin early intervention. It is outlined in a special October issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry."
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Considerations in the Pharmacologic Management of Severe Depression
An October 10 Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health article posted recently in the free area of Medscape - " Unlike the rose that would smell as sweet by any other name, "severe major depression" is a name that subsumes many qualities. For the term "severe" to be of clinical value, it should imply that there is a greater-than-usual degree of impairment and/or that a greater intensity of treatment is required to achieve recovery. The DSM-IV "severe" specifier for a major depressive episode focuses primarily on the impairment aspect, requiring the presence of both "symptoms in excess of what is required to make the diagnosis" and "marked" functional impairment. However, marked impairment may not necessarily warrant a greater intensity of treatment, as patients with greater and lesser degrees of impairment may respond equally well to the same treatment. In contrast, milder persisting forms of depression may require more intense types of treatment for sustained improvement. Determining the severity of an episode of major depression is useful primarily in so far as it can predict the future course of the depression or the level of treatment necessary for improvement." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
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An October 10 Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health article posted recently in the free area of Medscape - " Unlike the rose that would smell as sweet by any other name, "severe major depression" is a name that subsumes many qualities. For the term "severe" to be of clinical value, it should imply that there is a greater-than-usual degree of impairment and/or that a greater intensity of treatment is required to achieve recovery. The DSM-IV "severe" specifier for a major depressive episode focuses primarily on the impairment aspect, requiring the presence of both "symptoms in excess of what is required to make the diagnosis" and "marked" functional impairment. However, marked impairment may not necessarily warrant a greater intensity of treatment, as patients with greater and lesser degrees of impairment may respond equally well to the same treatment. In contrast, milder persisting forms of depression may require more intense types of treatment for sustained improvement. Determining the severity of an episode of major depression is useful primarily in so far as it can predict the future course of the depression or the level of treatment necessary for improvement." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
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Appropriations Bill Provides $100 Million for Treatment Vouchers
December 5 story at Join Together - "A House-Senate conference committee has approved a budget plan that gives impressive increases to federal addiction treatment and prevention programs, including $100 million for President Bush's proposed treatment-voucher program. As part of an omnibus appropriations bill, House and Senate conferees agreed to fund the voucher program -- previously rejected by House lawmakers -- and add $36 million to the $1.753 billion federal addiction block grant, the nation's single largest source of addiction-related funding. "
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December 5 story at Join Together - "A House-Senate conference committee has approved a budget plan that gives impressive increases to federal addiction treatment and prevention programs, including $100 million for President Bush's proposed treatment-voucher program. As part of an omnibus appropriations bill, House and Senate conferees agreed to fund the voucher program -- previously rejected by House lawmakers -- and add $36 million to the $1.753 billion federal addiction block grant, the nation's single largest source of addiction-related funding. "
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Hand to Hand
Notice at the NAMI web site - "Hand to Hand is an eight-week education program designed to foster learning, healing and empowerment among families of children with emotional/mental/ neurobiological disorders. This course, developed by NAMI of Greater Toledo, is funded by a grant from ODMH and is taught by professionals and family members who are part of NAMI. The course is similar to Family-to-Family in structure and goals, with each week of the curriculum dedicated to a particular aspect of having a child with a mental illness. Topics covered include: understanding your child's diagnosis; developing family coping skills; counseling and therapy; medications; special educational needs; and juvenile justice and child protection agencies. Guidance on locating appropriate support and services within the community and obtaining better mental health services as well as advocacy for appropriate federal and state policies are also included. The course is free, but registration is required." See also the page at the NAMI Ohio web site on programs for children and families.
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Notice at the NAMI web site - "Hand to Hand is an eight-week education program designed to foster learning, healing and empowerment among families of children with emotional/mental/ neurobiological disorders. This course, developed by NAMI of Greater Toledo, is funded by a grant from ODMH and is taught by professionals and family members who are part of NAMI. The course is similar to Family-to-Family in structure and goals, with each week of the curriculum dedicated to a particular aspect of having a child with a mental illness. Topics covered include: understanding your child's diagnosis; developing family coping skills; counseling and therapy; medications; special educational needs; and juvenile justice and child protection agencies. Guidance on locating appropriate support and services within the community and obtaining better mental health services as well as advocacy for appropriate federal and state policies are also included. The course is free, but registration is required." See also the page at the NAMI Ohio web site on programs for children and families.
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Reducing The Growth Of Medicare Spending: Geographic Versus Patient-Based Strategies
Health Affairs article - "This paper explores the potential of two alternative approaches for reducing the rate of growth in Medicare spending. One strategy would focus on reducing the expenditures of high-spending individuals. Given that a large share of Medicare spending is consumed by relatively few beneficiaries, this approach targets the small group responsible for most of the spending. The other strategy would focus on reducing expenditures in high-spending regions. Because either approach would have to overcome major hurdles before lowering Medicare spending, the likely payoff from the alternative strategies is far from clear. Viewed from a budgetary perspective, concentration in Medicare spending suggests the importance of focusing on high-spending patients." See also Getting Serious About Excessive Medicare Spending: A Purchasing Model in the same issue.
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Health Affairs article - "This paper explores the potential of two alternative approaches for reducing the rate of growth in Medicare spending. One strategy would focus on reducing the expenditures of high-spending individuals. Given that a large share of Medicare spending is consumed by relatively few beneficiaries, this approach targets the small group responsible for most of the spending. The other strategy would focus on reducing expenditures in high-spending regions. Because either approach would have to overcome major hurdles before lowering Medicare spending, the likely payoff from the alternative strategies is far from clear. Viewed from a budgetary perspective, concentration in Medicare spending suggests the importance of focusing on high-spending patients." See also Getting Serious About Excessive Medicare Spending: A Purchasing Model in the same issue.
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Drugs for depressed children banned (UK)
December 10 story in The Guardian - "Modern antidepressant drugs which have made billions for the pharmaceutical industry will be banned from use in children today because of evidence, suppressed for years, that they can cause young patients to become suicidal. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told doctors last night not to prescribe all but one of the antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The exception is Prozac, which is licensed for use in depressed children in the US. But the MHRA will warn that, at best, it helps only one child in 10. The decision has big implications for drug regulation."
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December 10 story in The Guardian - "Modern antidepressant drugs which have made billions for the pharmaceutical industry will be banned from use in children today because of evidence, suppressed for years, that they can cause young patients to become suicidal. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told doctors last night not to prescribe all but one of the antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The exception is Prozac, which is licensed for use in depressed children in the US. But the MHRA will warn that, at best, it helps only one child in 10. The decision has big implications for drug regulation."
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The Police and the Mentally Ill
Feature story in the Village Voice - "In 1999, when Gidone Busch, an Orthodox Jew with a history of mental illness who was wielding a hammer, was gunned down by police, many protested the conduct of the NYPD. But the voice that went largely unheard by both police and activists was that of the mental health community. Why, they asked, are police still unable to handle a confrontation with the mentally ill? Three years later, that question has not been answered. ..."
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Feature story in the Village Voice - "In 1999, when Gidone Busch, an Orthodox Jew with a history of mental illness who was wielding a hammer, was gunned down by police, many protested the conduct of the NYPD. But the voice that went largely unheard by both police and activists was that of the mental health community. Why, they asked, are police still unable to handle a confrontation with the mentally ill? Three years later, that question has not been answered. ..."
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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