Oregon State Hospital - Framework Master Plan, Phase I Report 85 page report in PDF format from the State of Oregon DHS - "The purpose of this Phase I Framework Master Plan is to provide an overview of the Oregon State Hospital (OSH) and the effectiveness of Oregon’s mental health system. The goal is to provide guidance to the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Governor and the Oregon Legislative Assembly in determining the future design, location and role of OSH in the Oregon State Mental Health System. ... The design team interviewed over 150 stakeholders consisting of key individuals and groups participating in or having specialized knowledge of the Oregon Mental Heath System. Information and data obtained provided the findings and established the framework for the Design Team’s conclusions and recommendations. The Steering Committee participated throughout the process by reviewing and commenting on the findings and conclusions."  
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NAMI Florida Seeking Medication Access Protections Alert at the NAMI web site - "NAMI Florida and 64 other supporting organizations have appealed to Florida’s Governor, Health Cabinet Secretary, elected leaders, and members of the state’s Medicaid Pharmaceutical & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee for protections for Medicaid recipients as the state prepares to enforce recently approved revisions to the state’s pharmacy benefit."  
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Social Network's Healing Power Is Borne Out in Poorer NationsThe second part of a Washington Post series, "MIND AND CULTURE: Psychiatry's Missing Diagnosis" - " a remarkable three-decade-long study by the World Health Organization -- one that many Western doctors initially refused to believe: People with schizophrenia, a deadly illness characterized by hallucinations, disorganized thinking and social withdrawal, typically do far better in poorer nations such as India, Nigeria and Colombia than in Denmark, England and the United States. The astounding result calls into question one of the central tenets of modern psychiatry: that a 'brain disease' such as schizophrenia is best treated by hospitals, drugs and biomedical interventions. European and U.S. psychiatrists were so shocked by the initial findings in the 1970s that they assumed something was wrong with the study. They repeated it. The second trial produced the same result. The best explanation, researchers concluded, is that the stronger family ties in poorer countries have a profound impact on recovery..." See also Racial Disparities Found in Pinpointing Mental Illness. [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]  
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U.S. Report Faults States' Medicaid Tactics New York Times story - "Two-thirds of the states use consultants to help them get more federal Medicaid money, often by using "questionable billing practices," and then reward those consultants by giving them a share of the money as a contingency fee, Congressional investigators said on Monday. These consultants are driving up Medicaid costs by recommending financial tactics that violate federal law or policy, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said in a report to Congress." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
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Teen Mental Health Declining in the United States PR Newswire story at Yahoo - "Adolescents in the United States are more likely to suffer from a mental health disorder than ever before, but getting these teens diagnosed and cared for is a challenge that is not being met, a new book warns. These findings are detailed in Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don't Know - A Research Agenda for Improving the Mental Health of Our Youth (Oxford University Press), in which 150 mental health specialists analyze recent research on teen mental health problems. These experts found while one in five adolescents suffer from a mental health disorder, treating them is not a priority on the nation's public health agenda, and there is limited knowledge about how to best help them. The result: disorders are frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, or teenagers receive treatment whose effectiveness has been mostly studied in adults..."  
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From Evidence to Practice: Mental Health Promotion Effectiveness Red Nova story - "Mental health problems and mental and behavioural disorders are not exclusive to any special group, and are found in people of all regions, all countries and all societies (WHO, 2001). In Europe, mental and behavioural disorders have been estimated to cause 20 per cent of all Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost due to all diseases and injuries. DALYs is a methodology introduced in the Global Burden of Disease. It accounts for the disability and chronicity caused by disorders (Murray and Lopez, 1996). The DALY is a measure of health gap, which combines information on disability and other nonfatal health outcomes and premature death. One DALY is one lost year of healthy life..."  
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Government asks GPs to do more for mental health (New Zealand) New Zealand Herald story - "The Government wants primary health clinics to take a greater role in diagnosing and treating people with mental illnesses. The call comes in the Government's second mental health and addiction plan, made public yesterday by Health Minister Annette King. One in three general practice patients has had a diagnosable mental illness in the preceding year, a study found. In the same survey, GPs said they had identified mental problems, from severe to mild, in half of the patients. The new 10-year plan comes after a decade of advances in mental health care - following the closure of the big psychiatric hospitals - but also amidst continuing serious problems..."  
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