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.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Article in the April Psychiatric Times - "With proposed cuts in state budgets nationwide, social services--including mental health care--are taking a financial blow. As a result, mental health care facilities are closing and services are disappearing. What will the effect be on patient care?"
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Article in the April Psychatric Times - "Interim results will soon be analyzed in a longitudinal study examining biological and genetic risk factors for weight gain and metabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents taking atypical antipsychotics... The open-label, naturalistic safety monitoring study, underway since December 2001, is being funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD)."
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An Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Two new federal initiatives-community health center expansion and Community Access Program grants-have improved access to care for low-income people and strengthened linkages among safety net providers, according to findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2002-03 site visits to 12 nationally representative communities. Grant recipients have added services to fill safety net gaps or to improve collaboration among safety net providers. However, communities with weaker safety nets were less likely to receive federal aid, and funding for both programs is limited, hampering the potential impact on the nation's system of care for low-income and uninsured people..."
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A fact sheet (in Adobe Acrobat format) from the Maternal and Child Health Policy Research Center - "The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) would seem to be a natural target for cuts as nearly all states struggle to address budget shortfalls, which in 5 states were projected in 2003 to exceed more than 20% of their general fund budgets for FY 2004.1 Yet, SCHIP continues to be a politically popular program for governors and legislators alike, both because of the coverage it provides to such a significant segment of the child population -- some 6 million children in 2003, up from 3 million in 20002 -- and because of the general federal matching funds it offers. As a result, virtually all states have protected their SCHIP programs from reductions in eligibility levels, although there are some that have moved to restrict benefits or control enrollment and many that are requiring greater financial contributions by families. At the same time, however, there are several states that have expanded their SCHIP programs through changes in eligibility, enrollment, or benefits."
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Atlanta Journal Constitution story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Suicide intervention programs aimed at African-Americans should focus on reducing the cultural stigma of admitting to depression and seeking mental health help, a new state study suggests. Upon reviewing 1,300 suicide cases in Fulton County from 1988 through 2002, health researchers discovered that black people were less likely than white people to report being depressed or having a family history of suicide. They also found blacks who killed themselves had been more reluctant than whites to tell friends or family about relationship and financial troubles. ... But formulating clear-cut conclusions about the differences between blacks and whites when it comes to suicide is challenging, researchers admitted."
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A letter to the St. Petersburg Times from Tom Riggs, the president and CEO of Directions for Mental Health in Clearwater - "Having dedicated my 30-year human services career to community mental health, I am appalled that Florida's leadership would seriously consider handing $130-million of taxpayer money that supports these mental health services in nonprofit organizations such as mine to Medicaid HMOs. Not only are crucial issues lost or misrepresented in the debate, but the decision has notably lacked objective study by the arms of government that are ostensibly charged with oversight of this system, a system that ranks among the lowest-funded in the nation. This is a 'safety net' system of care for many thousands of poor or disabled Floridians..."
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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