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.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Juvenile detention overused?
UPI story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "On any given day nearly 28,000 children, most under 15 years old, are incarcerated in a secure detention facility in the United States -- a 72-percent increase since 1993 despite two decades of declining juvenile crime rates. There's no argument detention is needed for offenders likely to commit another crime or fail to appear in court if released. Today's violent offenders are not the juvenile delinquents of old. But what should be done with non-violent boys and girls, most not convicted of any crime, who pose minimal danger to themselves or others? ... A study by Northwestern University psychiatry Professor Linda Teplin found more than 60 percent of boys and more than 70 percent of girls in juvenile detention centers had one or more emotional disorders. About 60 percent had behavioral or mental health issues; nearly seven in 10 substance abuse problems."
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UPI story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "On any given day nearly 28,000 children, most under 15 years old, are incarcerated in a secure detention facility in the United States -- a 72-percent increase since 1993 despite two decades of declining juvenile crime rates. There's no argument detention is needed for offenders likely to commit another crime or fail to appear in court if released. Today's violent offenders are not the juvenile delinquents of old. But what should be done with non-violent boys and girls, most not convicted of any crime, who pose minimal danger to themselves or others? ... A study by Northwestern University psychiatry Professor Linda Teplin found more than 60 percent of boys and more than 70 percent of girls in juvenile detention centers had one or more emotional disorders. About 60 percent had behavioral or mental health issues; nearly seven in 10 substance abuse problems."
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Social Network Key to Teen Suicide Risk
Health Day News story at Yahoo - "When it comes to preventing teen suicide, understanding the social world of adolescent girls may provide a key to predicting potential risk, says a new study. Researchers found girls were twice as likely to think about suicide if they had few friends. The risk of suicide attempts also rose among girls whose social life was fragmented among different groups of friends. While one suicide expert says the research offers nothing new, study co-author Peter Bearman contends the findings should help guide communities as they try to prevent suicide..."
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Health Day News story at Yahoo - "When it comes to preventing teen suicide, understanding the social world of adolescent girls may provide a key to predicting potential risk, says a new study. Researchers found girls were twice as likely to think about suicide if they had few friends. The risk of suicide attempts also rose among girls whose social life was fragmented among different groups of friends. While one suicide expert says the research offers nothing new, study co-author Peter Bearman contends the findings should help guide communities as they try to prevent suicide..."
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Foundation Aims At Taking Consumer-Directed Service Model For Medicaid To National Level
A press release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - "When Medicaid beneficiaries of various ages and disabilities have the option to direct their own supportive services, their quality of life is improved, satisfaction with services is increased, unmet needs for care are reduced, access to home care is increased, and nursing home usage is reduced - without compromising the beneficiaries' health or safety. Further, the option costs Medicaid no more than traditional agency services. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced today that the model Cash & Counseling program that achieved these results will be expanded with a new $7 million authorization approved by the Foundation."
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A press release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - "When Medicaid beneficiaries of various ages and disabilities have the option to direct their own supportive services, their quality of life is improved, satisfaction with services is increased, unmet needs for care are reduced, access to home care is increased, and nursing home usage is reduced - without compromising the beneficiaries' health or safety. Further, the option costs Medicaid no more than traditional agency services. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced today that the model Cash & Counseling program that achieved these results will be expanded with a new $7 million authorization approved by the Foundation."
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Prescription Drug Access Disparities Among Working-Age Americans
A December Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Working-age African Americans and Latinos are much more likely than white Americans to report they cannot afford all of their prescription drugs, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). In 2001, nearly one in five blacks and one in six Latinos 18 to 64 years old did not purchase all of their prescriptions because of cost, compared with slightly more than one in 10 whites. Cost-related prescription drug access problems are considerably higher for people with chronic conditions,1 particularly African Americans. Regardless of race or ethnicity, uninsured working-age people with chronic conditions are at particular risk for not being able to afford all of their prescriptions, with about half reporting cost-related prescription access problems. Increased patient cost sharing for prescription drugs will likely increase prescription drug access disparities for insured African Americans and Latinos, especially those with chronic conditions."
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A December Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Working-age African Americans and Latinos are much more likely than white Americans to report they cannot afford all of their prescription drugs, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). In 2001, nearly one in five blacks and one in six Latinos 18 to 64 years old did not purchase all of their prescriptions because of cost, compared with slightly more than one in 10 whites. Cost-related prescription drug access problems are considerably higher for people with chronic conditions,1 particularly African Americans. Regardless of race or ethnicity, uninsured working-age people with chronic conditions are at particular risk for not being able to afford all of their prescriptions, with about half reporting cost-related prescription access problems. Increased patient cost sharing for prescription drugs will likely increase prescription drug access disparities for insured African Americans and Latinos, especially those with chronic conditions."
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Supreme Court to Hear Key Disability Rights Case; Advocates Call for 'Access to Justice' in Tennessee vs. Lane and Jones
US Newswire story at PsycPORT - "The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in State of Tennessee vs. George Lane and Beverly Jones, a case that could severely limit enforcement of key provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that protect millions of people with disabilities from discrimination by public entities in courtrooms, schools, health care and other areas. ... At issue in the case is whether Congress had the authority to allow state and local governments to be sued for money damages for violating Title II of the ADA. Title II protects millions of Americans with disabilities from discrimination in access to public facilities and the provision of public services. Advocates fear that a negative ruling might diminish the ability of people with disabilities to enforce their civil rights in court and that the Court's ruling might further weaken the ADA, which has faced numerous challenges in recent years."
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US Newswire story at PsycPORT - "The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in State of Tennessee vs. George Lane and Beverly Jones, a case that could severely limit enforcement of key provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that protect millions of people with disabilities from discrimination by public entities in courtrooms, schools, health care and other areas. ... At issue in the case is whether Congress had the authority to allow state and local governments to be sued for money damages for violating Title II of the ADA. Title II protects millions of Americans with disabilities from discrimination in access to public facilities and the provision of public services. Advocates fear that a negative ruling might diminish the ability of people with disabilities to enforce their civil rights in court and that the Court's ruling might further weaken the ADA, which has faced numerous challenges in recent years."
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Payments Go Under a Microscope
Washington Post story on "the growing concern among private and government health insurers about the accuracy of physicians' claims and the system for calculating reimbursements. The largest insurer of all, the federal government, recently estimated that the Medicare program overpaid doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers by $11.6 billion in 2002, according to an audit of 128,000 claims. The audit found many providers submitted insufficient documentation (45 percent), billed for medically unnecessary services (22 percent) and used incorrect codes to describe patient visits (12 percent). A larger audit is planned this year."
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Washington Post story on "the growing concern among private and government health insurers about the accuracy of physicians' claims and the system for calculating reimbursements. The largest insurer of all, the federal government, recently estimated that the Medicare program overpaid doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers by $11.6 billion in 2002, according to an audit of 128,000 claims. The audit found many providers submitted insufficient documentation (45 percent), billed for medically unnecessary services (22 percent) and used incorrect codes to describe patient visits (12 percent). A larger audit is planned this year."
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Funding for boards at issue in suit (Alaska)
Anchorage Daily News story - "Just as lawmakers opened their annual session in Juneau on Monday, the state was sued to ensure oversight of services for people with mental illness and other conditions. The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, an Anchorage-based private organization, sued in Anchorage Superior Court concerning a key provision of the 1994 Mental Health Lands Trust settlement. The settlement ended a divisive and complicated lawsuit that stretched over a dozen years and clouded title to 1 million acres in Alaska. That lawsuit contended the state had botched the original mental health trust set up in territorial days to pay for mental health programs. ... If it is, and if lawmakers then fail to provide adequate funding, that would be a breach of the settlement and would reopen the whole thorny issue..."
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Anchorage Daily News story - "Just as lawmakers opened their annual session in Juneau on Monday, the state was sued to ensure oversight of services for people with mental illness and other conditions. The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, an Anchorage-based private organization, sued in Anchorage Superior Court concerning a key provision of the 1994 Mental Health Lands Trust settlement. The settlement ended a divisive and complicated lawsuit that stretched over a dozen years and clouded title to 1 million acres in Alaska. That lawsuit contended the state had botched the original mental health trust set up in territorial days to pay for mental health programs. ... If it is, and if lawmakers then fail to provide adequate funding, that would be a breach of the settlement and would reopen the whole thorny issue..."
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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