Major Depression in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Investigation  A "brief communication" in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry - "Patients with comorbid MDD and BPD present differential characteristics that indicate a more serious and impairing condition with a stronger familial link with mood disorders than is shown by depression patients with other Axis II codiagnoses..."  
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A Public Health Strategy to Improve the Mental Health of Canadian Children  Review paper in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry - "Mental health problems are the leading health problems that Canadian children currently face after infancy. At any given time, 14% of children aged 4 to 17 years (over 800 000 in Canada) experience mental disorders that cause significant distress and impairment at home, at school, and in the community. Fewer than 25% of these children receive specialized treatment services. Without effective prevention or treatment, childhood problems often lead to distress and impairment throughout adulthood, with significant costs for society. Children’s mental health has not received the public policy attention that is warranted by recent epidemiologic data. To address the neglect of children’s mental health, a new national strategy is urgently needed. Here, we review the research evidence and suggest the following 4 public policy goals: promote healthy development for all children, prevent mental disorders to reduce the number of children affected, treat mental disorders more effectively to reduce distress and impairment, and monitor outcomes to ensure the effective and efficient use of public resources. Taken together, these goals constitute a public health strategy to improve the mental health of Canadian children..." See also Challenges Facing Child Psychiatry in Quebec at the Dawn of the 21st Century in the same issue, in PDF format.  
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Identifying Patient Coping Preferences for Better Hospital Treatment A Medscape "Expert Interview" with Dr. David J. Hellerstein - "Over the past few decades, it has been increasingly recognized that the experience of being hospitalized is much more frightening and traumatic for patients when they have so little control over their care. Basically, we looked at how we could decrease the use of mechanical restraints and seclusion. It occurred to us that one way to do this would be to ask patients what kind of response from hospital personnel they preferred at those times when they lost control. It's almost a consumer assessment by our patients. When you stay at a hotel, for example, you always get a questionnaire that asks how you liked the service and what kind of things you'd like to see changed. We actually do a patient satisfaction questionnaire, but the CAQ focuses on a specific aspect of care, which is hospital response to loss of behavioral control. We want to know which responses might help, which responses upset them, and what helps them maintain control. So the goal is to engage patients in more of a partnership where their preferences would have an impact on the kinds of interventions that would be offered to them." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
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Summary of Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) Request for Information (RFI) Responses HHS report in PDF format - "Five hundred and twelve organizations and individuals provided nearly 5,000 pages of information. The responses have yielded a rich and descriptive collection of thoughts on interoperability and health information exchange. ONC created a Federal government Review Task Force (RTF) to review the RFI responses. For the purpose of the RTF process and to aid in producing this summary document, the RFI responses were categorized into two types: (1) individual responses, which were mostly concerned with a narrow set of issues and (2) organization responses, which included all other responses, most of which were comprehensive and detailed submissions. While this document includes both individual and organization responses, except as noted below, it primarily reflects the responses of the organizational respondents, and numerical references (e.g., most, many, few, etc) used to describe responses throughout the report are based on the responses submitted from organizations only. Drawn from the respondents’ unique perspectives, the comments offered a wide range of thoughtful suggestions."  
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Grassley boycott possible for Medicaid commission  Stpry at The Hill - "With the nation’s governors and congressional Democrats already saying they will not participate in an ostensibly bipartisan commission considering Medicaid reforms, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also may decide to steer clear, according to an aide. Under the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution provisions that created the commission, Grassley and other congressional leaders are entitled to appoint members of Congress to act as nonvoting advisers to the commission being assembled to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt."  
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Ruling Limits Prosecutions of People Who Violate Law on Privacy of Medical Records New York Times story - "An authoritative new ruling by the Justice Department sharply limits the government's ability to prosecute people for criminal violations of the law that protects the privacy of medical records. The criminal penalties, the department said, apply to insurers, doctors, hospitals and other providers - but not necessarily their employees or outsiders who steal personal health data. In short, the department said, people who work for an entity covered by the federal privacy law are not automatically covered by that law and may not be subject to its criminal penalties, which include a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison for the most serious violations. The reasoning is that federal regulations establish the standards for medical privacy. The regulations apply just to 'covered entities,' including insurers and health care providers. Thus, only covered entities can be prosecuted for criminal violations of the law. " [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
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New York State Recommends Use of TeenScreen Mental Health Check-Ups to Prevent Teen SuicidePR Newswire press release at Yahoo - "The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) recommends that local communities conduct voluntary teen mental health screenings, and specifically encourages use of the Columbia University TeenScreen Program, as part of the state's suicide prevention efforts. The recommendation is contained in the state's new suicide prevention plan, Saving Lives in New York: Suicide Prevention and Public Health." See also the report, Saving Lives in New York Suicide Prevention and Public Health Challenge, Strategy and Policy Recommendations, which is also available in PDF format.  
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Suicide survivors often don't get follow-up mental health care Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story - "A study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that about 1 in 5 people who attempted suicide over a decade did not receive any kind of medical treatment at all. 'It's just amazing to think that they can walk out of an emergency room and not be forced to see a therapist,' said Ronald Kessler, lead author of the study and professor in the department of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. The solution to the puzzle seems obvious: Care for those who have sent a clear cry for help. And the findings of two psychologists who have worked with those who have survived suicide attempts bear out that conclusion." The abstract of the study published in JAMA is available at no charge.  
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Time is now for national strategy on mental health and mental illness (Canada) Canada Newswire press release - "At a news conference in Ottawa today, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) commended Steven Fletcher, MP, the Official Opposition Health Critic, and the Conservative Party of Canada for their support in pressuring the federal government to establish and implement a Pan-Canadian Strategy on Mental Health and Mental Illness. Both Mr. Fletcher and the CMHA issued a strong reminder that Canada is the only G-8 country without such a strategy. ...  In a motion in the House of Commons today, Mr. Fletcher will call upon the federal government to: 'immediately develop and initiate a comprehensive national strategy on mental illness and mental health...' In recent weeks, the CMHA met with dozens of Senators and Members of Parliament from all major federal parties to elevate support for the critical need to establish and implement such a strategy." See also Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Applauds Call for National Strategy on Mental Illness and Mental Health.  
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