By GINA KOLATA
The New York Times
Published: July 16, 2013
A new study has found that dementia rates among people 65 and older in England and Wales have plummeted by 25 percent over the past two decades, to 6.2 percent from 8.3 percent, the strongest evidence yet of a trend some experts had hoped would materialize.
Another recent study, conducted in Denmark, found that people in their 90s who were given a standard test of mental ability in 2010 scored substantially better than people who reached their 90s a decade earlier. Nearly one-quarter of those assessed in 2010 scored at the highest level, a rate twice that of those tested in 1998. The percentage severely impaired fell to 17 percent from 22 percent.
The entire story is here.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Most U.S. Health Spending Is Exploding — but Not for Mental Health
By Catherine Rampell
The New York Times Blog - Economix
Originally published July 2, 2013
Here is an excerpt:
Mental health spending, both public and private, was about $150 billion in 2009, more than double its level in inflation-adjusted terms in 1986, according to a recent article in Health Affairs. But the overall economy also about doubled during that time. As a result, direct mental health spending has remained roughly 1 percent of the economy since 1986, while total health spending climbed from about 10 percent of gross domestic product in 1986 to nearly 17 percent in 2009.
Thanks to Vince Bellwoar for this story.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
A Right to Die, A Will to Live
By Margaret Cheatham Williams
The New York Times
Originally posted July 17, 2013
As a bioethicist, Peggy Battin fought for the right of people to end their own lives. After her husband’s cycling accident, her field of study turned unbearably personal.
The New York Times
Originally posted July 17, 2013
As a bioethicist, Peggy Battin fought for the right of people to end their own lives. After her husband’s cycling accident, her field of study turned unbearably personal.
Autonomy and the Unintended Legal Consequences of Emerging Neurotherapies
By Jennifer A. Chandler
Social Science Research Network
Published April 8, 2011
One of the ethical issues that has been raised recently regarding emerging neurotherapies, is that people will be coerced explicitly or implicitly in the workplace or in schools to take cognitive enhancing drugs.
This article builds on this discussion by showing how the law may pressure people to adopt emerging neurotherapies. It focuses on a range of private law doctrines that, unlike the criminal law, do not come up very often in neuroethical discussions. Three doctrines - the doctrine of mitigation, the standard of care in negligence, and child custody determinations in family law – are addressed to show how the law may pressure people to consent to treatment by offering a choice between accepting medical treatment and suffering a legal disadvantage. The doctrines considered in this article apply indirect pressure to submit to treatment, unlike court-ordered medical treatment, which applies direct pressure and is not addressed here.
The outcome of this discussion is to show that there is a greater range of social pressures that may encourage the uptake of novel neurotherapies than one might initially think. Once treatments that were developed and offered with therapeutic benefits in mind become available, their existence gives rise to unintended legal consequences. This certainly does not mean we should cease developing new therapies that may be of tremendous benefit to patients, but it does raise some questions for physicians and for legal policy-makers. How should physicians, who are required by medical ethical principles to obtain valid consent to treatment, react to a patient’s reluctant consent that is driven by legal pressure? From the legal policy perspective, are our legal doctrines satisfactory or should they be changed because, for example, they unduly promote the collective interest over individual freedom to reject medical treatment or because they channel us toward economically efficient treatments to the detriment of more costly but potentially superior approaches of dealing with behavioural problems?
The entire article is here.
Social Science Research Network
Published April 8, 2011
One of the ethical issues that has been raised recently regarding emerging neurotherapies, is that people will be coerced explicitly or implicitly in the workplace or in schools to take cognitive enhancing drugs.
This article builds on this discussion by showing how the law may pressure people to adopt emerging neurotherapies. It focuses on a range of private law doctrines that, unlike the criminal law, do not come up very often in neuroethical discussions. Three doctrines - the doctrine of mitigation, the standard of care in negligence, and child custody determinations in family law – are addressed to show how the law may pressure people to consent to treatment by offering a choice between accepting medical treatment and suffering a legal disadvantage. The doctrines considered in this article apply indirect pressure to submit to treatment, unlike court-ordered medical treatment, which applies direct pressure and is not addressed here.
The outcome of this discussion is to show that there is a greater range of social pressures that may encourage the uptake of novel neurotherapies than one might initially think. Once treatments that were developed and offered with therapeutic benefits in mind become available, their existence gives rise to unintended legal consequences. This certainly does not mean we should cease developing new therapies that may be of tremendous benefit to patients, but it does raise some questions for physicians and for legal policy-makers. How should physicians, who are required by medical ethical principles to obtain valid consent to treatment, react to a patient’s reluctant consent that is driven by legal pressure? From the legal policy perspective, are our legal doctrines satisfactory or should they be changed because, for example, they unduly promote the collective interest over individual freedom to reject medical treatment or because they channel us toward economically efficient treatments to the detriment of more costly but potentially superior approaches of dealing with behavioural problems?
The entire article is here.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Connecticut Mental Health Lawsuit Takes Insurers To Task
High Co-pays and issue in High Profile Case
By JAY STAPLETON
Connecticut Law Tribune
Originally published July 12, 2013
A Connecticut law firm has taken the lead in a high-profile federal lawsuit that accuses a group of insurance companies of overcharging for mental health services, prompting thousands of vulnerable patients to avoid treatment.
In the American Psychiatric Association v. Anthem Health Plans lawsuit, the firm of Murtha Cullina was hired as chief legal counsel for the plaintiffs. Attorney Marie Pepe VanDerLaan of the firm's Hartford office, the lead lawyer in the case, filed the complaint on the APA's behalf in U.S. District Court in New Haven.
At the heart of the claim is that the insurance company manipulated billing statements in order to charge higher co-pays for patients being treated for mental disorders than those required for patients with physical ailments. The APA is a lead plaintiff in the case, joined by psychologist Susan Savulak of Newington and several of her patients.
The entire article is here.
By JAY STAPLETON
Connecticut Law Tribune
Originally published July 12, 2013
A Connecticut law firm has taken the lead in a high-profile federal lawsuit that accuses a group of insurance companies of overcharging for mental health services, prompting thousands of vulnerable patients to avoid treatment.
In the American Psychiatric Association v. Anthem Health Plans lawsuit, the firm of Murtha Cullina was hired as chief legal counsel for the plaintiffs. Attorney Marie Pepe VanDerLaan of the firm's Hartford office, the lead lawyer in the case, filed the complaint on the APA's behalf in U.S. District Court in New Haven.
At the heart of the claim is that the insurance company manipulated billing statements in order to charge higher co-pays for patients being treated for mental disorders than those required for patients with physical ailments. The APA is a lead plaintiff in the case, joined by psychologist Susan Savulak of Newington and several of her patients.
The entire article is here.
Kentucky’s Rush Into Medicaid Managed Care: A Cautionary Tale For Other States
By Jenni Bergal
Kaiser Health News, in conjunction with the Washington Post
Originally published July 15, 2013
Here is an excerpt
Ever since Kentucky rapidly shifted patients from traditional Medicaid to private health plans that manage their care for a set price, problems have been widespread.
Patients complain of being denied treatment or forced to travel long distances to find a doctor or hospital in their plan’s network. Advocates for the mentally ill argue the care system for them has deteriorated. And hospitals and doctors say health plans have denied or delayed payments.
Experts warn that what happened in Kentucky should be a cautionary tale for other states that rush to switch large numbers of people in Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor and disabled, to managed care in hopes of cutting costs and improving quality. Nearly 30 million Americans on Medicaid now belong to a private health plan, as states move away from the traditional program that paid doctors and hospitals for each service they provided.
The entire story is here.
Kaiser Health News, in conjunction with the Washington Post
Originally published July 15, 2013
Here is an excerpt
Ever since Kentucky rapidly shifted patients from traditional Medicaid to private health plans that manage their care for a set price, problems have been widespread.
Patients complain of being denied treatment or forced to travel long distances to find a doctor or hospital in their plan’s network. Advocates for the mentally ill argue the care system for them has deteriorated. And hospitals and doctors say health plans have denied or delayed payments.
Experts warn that what happened in Kentucky should be a cautionary tale for other states that rush to switch large numbers of people in Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor and disabled, to managed care in hopes of cutting costs and improving quality. Nearly 30 million Americans on Medicaid now belong to a private health plan, as states move away from the traditional program that paid doctors and hospitals for each service they provided.
The entire story is here.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Peter Attia: What if we're wrong about diabetes?
As a young ER doctor, Peter Attia felt contempt for a patient with diabetes. She was overweight, he thought, and thus responsible for the fact that she needed a foot amputation. But years later, Attia received an unpleasant medical surprise that led him to wonder: is our understanding of diabetes right? Could the precursors to diabetes cause obesity, and not the other way around? A look at how assumptions may be leading us to wage the wrong medical war.
Poll: Most Americans Don’t Want Congress to Repeal Obamacare
By Alex Roarty
National Journal
July 22, 2013
Americans aren’t ready to repeal Obamacare. But that doesn’t mean they think its implementation is going well.
A majority of adults don’t want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, according to the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, preferring instead to either spend more on its implementation or wait to see if changes are needed later.
But based on recent news that the White House is delaying its employer health insurance mandate, the public appears convinced that the law’s implementation is going poorly. A majority of Americans say the one-year delay is a sign the White House is ill-prepared for a law already facing mounting problems; only slightly more than one-third of adults say putting off the requirement shows the president wants to make sure implementation goes smoothly.
The entire article is here.
National Journal
July 22, 2013
Americans aren’t ready to repeal Obamacare. But that doesn’t mean they think its implementation is going well.
A majority of adults don’t want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, according to the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, preferring instead to either spend more on its implementation or wait to see if changes are needed later.
But based on recent news that the White House is delaying its employer health insurance mandate, the public appears convinced that the law’s implementation is going poorly. A majority of Americans say the one-year delay is a sign the White House is ill-prepared for a law already facing mounting problems; only slightly more than one-third of adults say putting off the requirement shows the president wants to make sure implementation goes smoothly.
The entire article is here.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
New Ethical And Legal Issues Associated With Cyberbullying On College Campuses
Medical News Today
Originally published July 14, 2013
Cyberbullying in the college environment can pose serious consequences for students' living and learning environments, including physical endangerment, according to newly published research by a UT Arlington associate education professor.
Jiyoon Yoon, director of the Early Childhood - Grade 6 Program for the UT Arlington College of Education and Health Professions, co-authored the paper "Cyberbullying Presence, Extent, and Forms in a Midwestern Post-secondary Institution," * which appears in the June 2013 issue of Information Systems Education Journal.
The researchers found that most respondents considered cyberbullying to be more prevalent at the secondary school level. But respondents said harassment via social media, text message or other electronic communications can be pernicious in the college environment and merited official response from administrators.
The entire story is here.
The research article can be found here.
Originally published July 14, 2013
Cyberbullying in the college environment can pose serious consequences for students' living and learning environments, including physical endangerment, according to newly published research by a UT Arlington associate education professor.
Jiyoon Yoon, director of the Early Childhood - Grade 6 Program for the UT Arlington College of Education and Health Professions, co-authored the paper "Cyberbullying Presence, Extent, and Forms in a Midwestern Post-secondary Institution," * which appears in the June 2013 issue of Information Systems Education Journal.
The researchers found that most respondents considered cyberbullying to be more prevalent at the secondary school level. But respondents said harassment via social media, text message or other electronic communications can be pernicious in the college environment and merited official response from administrators.
The entire story is here.
The research article can be found here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)