Treating children for bipolar disorder AP feature story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Child psychiatry, roiled last year by revelations that antidepressants could increase children's risk of suicidal behavior, now is embroiled in another controversy: How to treat troubled children who have explosive rages and dramatic mood swings that defy conventional diagnosis. Doctors increasingly agree that some of these children have bipolar disorder. Once thought to be exceedingly rare among children, the problem is being diagnosed more frequently and at younger ages than ever before. A small but growing group of psychiatrists say they are treating children as young as four for bipolar disorder, prescribing mood-stabilizing drugs and antipsychotics that have rarely if ever been used on patients so young. The number of children diagnosed as bipolar rose 26 percent from 2002 to 2004, to 19,776 cases in a database of 113 million anonymous patient records kept by health-care information company NDCHealth Corp. Increased use of antipsychotic medicines, such as Seroquel and Risperdal, was a big driver of pediatric drug costs last year, according to pharmacy-benefit manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. A debate is brewing over how to diagnose and treat these children..." Much of the source material for the article comes from "New Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar Disorder," a book by Boris Birmaher.  
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States find wiggle room in budgets USA Today story - "Ohio is considering a major overhaul of its tax system. California is borrowing less. Connecticut expects to continue health care for 13,000 working parents who were set to lose coverage. A rush of money into state budgets is reshaping what's happening in legislatures across the USA. ... States continue to face long-term financial pressure from the soaring cost of Medicaid, the state-federal program that provided medical insurance for 57 million low-income people last year. State spending on Medicaid rose 8.1% to $119 billion in 2004, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services." The story highlights budget actions in Arizona, California, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. See also States take in record $600B at the same source.  
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NMHA Provides Practical Tips for Parents; What Parents Need to Know: Treating Depression in Children and Teens US Newswire press release - "During a National Mental Health Association telephone media briefing this week, a teen with depression, her mother and two mental health experts discussed what families can do if they think their child needs mental health treatment. The briefing went beyond current controversies -- such as rumors and myths concerning specific treatments and mental health screenings in schools -- to address What Parents Need to Know: Treating Depression in Children and Teens. 'Recent controversies about depression in children and teens have left many parents with unanswered questions about what to do if their child has a mental health problem,' said Michael Faenza, MSSW, NMHA president and CEO. 'From the safety of antidepressants to the political debate about school-based mental health screenings, parents face confusing and contradictory messages.' The briefing's panel -- which included Jessica Norman, a teenager experiencing depression, Tara Norman, Jessica's mother, David Fassler, M.D., child and adolescent psychiatrist and APA trustee-at-large and Michael Faenza -- shared practical tips for parents on how to care for their child's mental health."  
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Media Teleconference on Results of National Mental Health Survey Harvard Medical School press release - "On Monday, June 6, in a set of four papers, the Archives of General Psychiatry will publish the results of the National Co-morbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), a nationwide survey taken every 10 years to assess the mental health of the country. The survey was led by Harvard Medical School (HMS), the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). HMS and NIMH researchers will discuss key findings and take reporter questions in the only national assembly of study investigators. Limited 'virtual seats' are available so please register early." PLEASE NOTE that "Due to journal embargo rules, the national teleconference is for registered media only." Coverage of the conference will be posted to PULSE.  
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Unprecedented Florida Medicaid Changes Risks Patient Health, APA Says US Newswire press release - "In response to Florida's enactment of harmful new Medicaid legislation, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the following statement today on behalf of John Bailey, D.O., president of the Florida Psychiatric Society, and APA Medical Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D.: Today the American Psychiatric Association warned that Florida's enactment of new Medicaid legislation puts people with mental illness at serious risk. The unprecedented and most harmful aspect of the law is a requirement that -- each year -- a patient must first fail on the cheapest mandated medications before the patient is given access to the medication his or her physician believes is optimal, even where the patient has been successfully treated with the physician-chosen medication. This major health policy setback will help ensure that patients are less likely to get relief from their illness, less likely to experience full remission, and more at risk for adverse outcomes and devastating side effects. Worse, Florida - a bellwether state on Medicaid policy - could ignite a nationwide trend toward public health policies that are regressive and clearly not formulated with patient welfare in mind. Florida's cost-savings expectations will prove illusory at the expense of a vulnerable population..."  
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Ontario's mental health care evaluated (Canada) University of Toronto press release at EurekAlert - "For the first time, Ontario hospitals have common information to help assess the quality of in-patient mental health care, with the release of a new Hospital Report by the University of Toronto-based Hospital Report Research Collaborative. Hospital Report 2004: Mental Health is part of an ongoing series of reports on hospital care funded by the Ontario government and the Ontario Hospital Association. The researchers compiled the report after analysing data from a variety of sources. ... The report examines the overall performance of 11 psychiatric hospitals and 45 acute-care facilities in all five regions of Ontario: the north, the east, the Greater Toronto Area, the south and the southwest. In total, these facilities provide almost 1.5 million days of psychiatric care, about 25 per cent of the total days of hospital care provided in Ontario. The results are reported by region, not by individual hospital; the next mental health report in the series, slated for 2007, will provide performance data for individual hospitals. " See also the full report (Adobe Acrobat format, 14 pages).  
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