Tuesday, May 17, 2005

New Drug Limits May Put Mentally Ill In Danger (Florida) TBO News story - "Mental health professionals are warning that the state's decision to change the process for prescribing powerful medications for their patients could endanger those patients' health and possibly the safety of others. The warning comes after the advocates lost a battle last week to maintain open access for mental health drugs under Florida's Medicaid program. The Legislature mandated that the drugs be included in a program aimed at saving nearly $300 million in the $2.5 billion drug program in the coming fiscal year. The psychotropic drugs are used to treat thousands of Medicaid-eligible patients with mental illness. The drugs often are very expensive, as in the case of Zyprexa and Seroquel, both used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. For years, they have been exempted from limits to prescription drugs. "  
  

Study shows non-children's hospitals serve majority of US children University of Vermont press release - "A study comparing U.S. pediatric hospitalizations showed that only one-third of a total 1.7 million hospitalizations in the year 2000 were to children's hospitals with specialized pediatric expertise. The results were presented today by University of Vermont Professor of Pediatrics Richard Wasserman, M.D., at the 2005 Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting. Wasserman and colleagues examined data from the 2000 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database for the study. The team found that a total of 64.4 percent of hospitalizations for children ages 1 to 17 were to non-children's hospitals. More than one in 20 of these hospitalizations was for a mental health admission."  
  

Life at the Top in America Isn't Just Better, It's Longer New York Times article - " Class is a potent force in health and longevity in the United States. The more education and income people have, the less likely they are to have and die of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and many types of cancer. Upper-middle-class Americans live longer and in better health than middle-class Americans, who live longer and better than those at the bottom. And the gaps are widening, say people who have researched social factors in health. As advances in medicine and disease prevention have increased life expectancy in the United States, the benefits have disproportionately gone to people with education, money, good jobs and connections. They are almost invariably in the best position to learn new information early, modify their behavior, take advantage of the latest treatments and have the cost covered by insurance." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Oregon needs to replace its mental hospital, governor says Seattle Times story - "The Oregon State Hospital, one of the oldest, most dilapidated state mental institutions in the United States, should be torn down and rebuilt because renovating it would cost too much, a consulting firm said in a report issued yesterday. The San Francisco-based firm of KMDArchitects said the hospital buildings — some crumbling — don't comply with modern building codes and don't meet energy-conservation and earthquake-safety standards. ... The consulting firm specializes in designing mental-health treatment facilities. Its report doesn't deal with the design or cost of building a replacement hospital. That part is to come in a second phase, due to be finished next winter."  
  

Mental hospital prognosis in doubt (Illinois) Chicago Tribune story - "A flurry of lobbying by mental health advocates and a push by legislators won a reprieve last spring for the Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which Gov. Rod Blagojevich wanted to shutter to help close a massive budget hole. This year, budget projections remain dire, state officials still want to close the hospital and some advocates believe the state will eventually sell the only facility for mentally ill patients from the South Side to Kankakee and Grundy Counties. As a result, many physicians and advocates are lobbying the Illinois Department of Human Services to ensure that enough money is allocated to programs in communities. Others say they will still fight to keep the center open, on behalf of employees and a group of people among the most vulnerable: those with severe mental illness who cannot pay for treatment." See also, at the same source, Advocates fear loss of mental center funds. [Viewing Chicago Tribune resources requires registration, which is free].