Advancing Care with Advanced Technology (Adobe Acrobat format)
As we have been preparing for our second annual IIMHL leadership exchange the week of May 17, 2004 in the US, we have noticed that there is quite a bit of interest in the issues of electronic clinical records and the usage of these systems to provide individualized recovery plans. We are presenting our first feature article from an IIMHL member regarding how they are developing and using technology to design an electronic record. The organisation is Centerstone from Nashville, Tenn. and if you wish to follow up I would suggest that you contact Ramona Rhodes at ramona.rhodes@centerstone.org. Centerstone is also testing a system that allows consumers to access their records electronically.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
US Newswire press release reprinted at the NAMI web site - "Quality improvement programs that encouraged depressed patients to undergo standard treatments for depression (psychotherapy or antidepressant medication) and gave them and their doctors up-to- date information and resources to increase access to treatments reduced depression rates among African Americans and Hispanics 5 years after the start of the 6 to 12 month programs. The study, supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry."
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A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) from the National Academy for State Heath Policy - " The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) conducted site visits to three states— Texas, Utah and Virginia—between December 2003 and February 2004 to gather information about programmatic changes to SCHIP in the wake of recent budget debates. The site visits were two days long and included meetings with SCHIP staff, consumer advocates, health plan representatives, and lawmakers. The purpose of the site visits was to gain a deeper understanding of issues and challenges confronting states in the current fiscal environment."
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A policy brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Unisured that "brings new analysis to the debate concerning the efficiency of Medicaid versus private health insurance as a mechanism for covering low-income children and adults."
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April 5 Washington Post story - "On Oct. 17, 2000, in a presidential debate against Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Gov. George W. Bush of Texas promised a patients' bill of rights like the one in his state, including a right to sue managed-care companies for wrongfully refusing to cover needed treatment. ... Today, legislation for a federal patients' bill of rights is moribund in Congress. And the Bush administration's Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to block lawsuits under the very Texas law Bush touted in 2000..."
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Item in yesterday's Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report - "Increasing patient education and monitoring can decrease the gap in treatment outcomes among whites and minorities with depression, according to a study published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, the Wall Street Journal reports. The study, led by researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles and RAND, followed 1,356 patients with depression who were enrolled in the Patients in Care study and divided them among 46 randomly selected clinics to receive one of three depression treatments..."
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LA Times story - "Ten months ago, when concerns arose about a possible link between children taking antidepressant drugs and suicide attempts, senior officials at the Food and Drug Administration ordered their leading expert to head up an examination of the evidence. When the government scientist filed his report last winter, however, his bosses decided to keep it secret — even though it found that children who took the drugs were twice as likely to be involved in serious suicide-related behavior as those who did not..." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].
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BBC story - "Mentally ill patients are being subjected to "harrowing conditions", a group of charities and psychiatrists have said. Psychiatric wards remain overcrowded, unhygienic and run-down, according to Rethink, SANE, the Zito Trust and doctors. Some patients were also being denied latest drugs which have less side effects, the group said. They added government reforms were not happening fast enough..." See also resources at the SANE, Zito Trust and Rethink web sites.
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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