Telehealth Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder Associated With Patient Retention
This study offers insights into patient characteristics associated with AUD treatment in an era of ex panded telehealth and suggests that future policy changes in telehealth should be carefully considered given the potential to widen disparities in care.”For related information, see thePsychiatric News article “Federal Telehealth Policy Changes After COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. ”(Image: Getty Images/iStock/brusinski)Help APA Address Parity IssuesAPA needs member input to assist us in discussions with federal agencies that work to enforce theMental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This will help APA count...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 28, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: alcohol use disorder AUD Audio-only telehealth COVID-19 in-person Medication AUD psychotherapy public health emergency telephone telepsychiatry veterans Veterans Health Administration VHA Source Type: research
Safety Planning for Suicidal Patients in ED Linked to Lower Readmissions
Patients with suicidal behavior who received a safety plan —a set of suicide-prevention strategies—during an emergency department (ED) visit were less likely to be readmitted to the ED or the hospital for suicidal behavior or other mental health problems within 30 days of discharge than those who went to a hospital without routine safety planning. The f inding appeared in astudy published today inPsychiatric Services.“Our findings support the notion of making safety planning universally available in EDs for patients with suicidal behavior and as a standard component of outpatient mental health care,” wrote Sara Wie...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 27, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: emergency department Psychiatric Services Sara Wiesel Cullen suicidality suicide safety planning University of Pennsylvania Source Type: research
Combining SSRIs With Oral Anticoagulants Found to Increase Risk of Major Bleeding
People who take serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and oral anticoagulants have an increased risk of multiple types of major bleeding compared with people who take only oral anticoagulants, astudy inJAMA Network Open has found. The study findings also showed that bleeding risk differs depending on the type of anticoagulant.Christel Renoux, M.D., Ph.D., of Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and colleagues examined data from 331,305 patients in the United Kingdom aged 60 years or older who had atrial fibrillation and began taking oral anticoagulants between January 2, 1998, and March 29, 2021. The researchers included an...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 26, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: adverse event anticoagulant bleeding blood thinner JAMA Network Open risk factor selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor SSRI warfarin Source Type: research
CMS Offers Extensions in Wake of Cybersecurity Attack on Change Healthcare
Last month, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of United Healthcare, experienced a massive cybersecurity attack that continues to impact insurance payments to hospitals and health practices. While Change Healthcare works to restore key systems to enable claim processing, the Centers for Medicare& Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken steps to assist impacted physicians.Physicians impacted by the cyberattack may requestadvance Medicare payments to help with cash flow disruptions. More details of the program, terms, and the steps needed to apply can be found in the CMSFact Sheet andFAQ.CMS has also extended the 2023 MIPS (Merit...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 25, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: billing Change Healthcare CMS cyberattack hardship application health insurance Medicaid Medicare MIPS Source Type: research
Rural Adults With OUD and AUD Are Under-Prescribed Approved Medications
Fewer than one in 10 people in rural areas who have opioid use disorder (OUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are prescribed medications for both of their disorders, astudy in theJournal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.“The present study reinforces the gaps in treatment for patients with OUD and/or AUD who live in rural areas and calls for a better understanding of these gaps as well as additional support for rural clinicians in providing pharmacological treatment,” wrote Emily Kan, Ph.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues.The researchers analyzed data from 1,874 adult patients who vi...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 22, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: acamprosate alcohol use disorder buprenorphine disulfiram medication prescriptons naltrexone opioid use disorder rural treatment gap Source Type: research
Social Determinants of Health Do Not Fully Account for Black-White Clozapine Gap
Even after accounting for variables such as access to care and social determinants of health, Black patients with schizophrenia are less likely than their White counterparts to receive a clozapine prescription, according to astudy published this week inPsychiatric Services. Clozapine is considered the gold-standard medication for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but data show it remains underused.Spenser Barry, B.S., of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, L. Fredrik Jarskog, M.D., of North Carolina Psychiatric Research Center, and colleagues analyzed electronic health record (EHR) data from University of North C...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 21, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: clozapine health disparities North Carolina Psychiatric Services schizophrenia social determinants of health social vulnerability index SVI treatment-resistant schizophrenia Source Type: research
Body Dysmorphic Disorder or Appearance Preoccupation Common in Teens
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), defined as excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in personal appearance, affects almost two in every 100 teens, according to areport in theJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The report also found that BDD is much more common in girls than boys.Moreover, children and adolescents with BDD are highly likely to have other psychiatric disorders —especially depression and anxiety—and to experience psychosocial problems, self-harm and/or suicide attempts.“Since young people with BDD tend not to spontaneously disclose their symptoms unless directly asked...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 20, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: anxiety appearance BDD body dysmorphic disorder body image child and adolescent psychiatry JAACAP psychosocial impairment teens Source Type: research
Strong Patient-Therapist Alliance Possible in Nontraditional Inpatient Settings, Study Finds
Individuals in nontraditional inpatient care settings such as residential care and virtual hospitalization can develop strong therapeutic alliances with their care providers, reports astudy inPsychiatric Services in Advance.“Although inpatient care is considered the standard approach for acute states, efforts have been made in recent years to develop alternatives to hospitalization,” wrote Avraham Friedlander, Ph.D., of Ariel University, Ariel, Israel, and colleagues.“Because alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization ground their treatment approach in therapeutic principles that differ from those of traditional inp...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 19, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: inpatient hospital Psychiatric Services residential care Soteria telepsychiatry therapeutic alliance treatment alternatives virtual hospital Source Type: research
Biden Signs Spending Bill That Reverses Part of 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Cut
On March 9, President Bidensigned into law theConsolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (HR 4366) to avert a partial government shutdown. The $460 billion spending package includes a 1.68% reduction to the 3.4% cut to theMedicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor that took effect on January 1. (The conversion factor is an element in the equation that determines physician reimbursement for every payment code.)The new payment rate went into effect on March 9; it is not retroactive to January 1. APA continues to work for full repeal of the physician pay cut, which was automatically enacted to offset overall increases...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 18, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: appropriations fee schedule Joe Biden legislation Medicaid Medicare reimbursement substance use disorders SUPPORT Act Source Type: research
Medication Treatment for ADHD Linked to Lower Two-Year Risk of Dying
People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who begin taking medications for the condition within three months of their diagnosis may have a lower risk of dying within two years compared with their peers who do not take ADHD medications, astudy inJAMA has found.Zheng Chang, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and colleagues examined data from 148,578 Swedish individuals aged 6 to 64 years who had an incident diagnosis of ADHD from 2007 through 2018 and no ADHD medication dispensation for at least 18 months prior to their diagnosis. They followed the patients from ADHD diagnosis for two years or...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 15, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder JAMA Karolinska Institutet medication mortality stimulants unnatural deaths Source Type: research
Genetic Factors Largely Shape Cold or Callous Child Behaviors at Younger Ages
Symptoms of callousness and emotional coldness in children —which can be risk factors for conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder—are more likely influenced by genetics rather than harsh or poor parenting, according to areport inAJP in Advance.The findings suggest that one-time interventions aimed at teaching better parenting skills alone may be insufficient, wrote Patrizia Pezzoli, Ph.D., of University College London and colleagues. “Rather than discouraging parenting interventions, these findings suggest that combining parent support with child-focused strategies targeting behaviors that may elicit neg...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 14, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research
MRI May Predict Which Patients Will Develop Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia
A neuromelanin-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) may successfully predict which patients with first-episode psychosis will eventually develop treatment-resistant schizophrenia, according to astudy published today inAJP in Advance. Neuromelanin is a brain pigment that is a by-product of dopamine metabolism and therefore can be a visual indicator of healthy dopamine functioning.“[T]here is an urgent need for markers to identify treatment nonresponders in schizophrenia at an early stage and facilitate timely initiation of clozapine, the only antipsychotic with proven efficacy in nonresponders,” wrote Marieke van der Pluijm, Ph.D., o...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 13, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: American Journal of Psychiatry biomarker dopamine MRI neuromelanin responders schizophrenia treatment resistance University of Amsterdam Source Type: research
Many 12th Graders Found to Use Potentially Risky Products With “Legal” THC Variant
Astudy published today inJAMA reports that many high school seniors are using products containing Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a variant of the main psychoactive compound of marijuana, Δ9-THC. The analysis also showed that Δ8-THC use was elevated in states where recreational marijuana was illegal.“Gummies and other edibles, electronic vaping devices, and combustible flower containing Δ8-THC are marketed as providing a user experience comparable to marijuana in a product that is federally legal,” wrote Alyssa F. Harlow, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California and colleagues. “Δ 8-THC exposure may pose r...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 12, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: delta8-THC edibles gummies high school JAMA Jennifer Whitehill marijuana Monitoring the Future survey tetrahydrocannabinol Δ8-THC Source Type: research
One In Six Firearm-Related Homicides and Suicides In Women Found To Be Related to Pregnancy
About one in six intentional firearm-related deaths in women of childbearing age occur during or shortly after pregnancy, astudy in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine has found.Naima T. Joseph, M.D., M.P.H., of Boston Medical Center and colleagues analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’s National Violent Death Reporting System from 2008 to 2019. Women aged 15 to 44 years who died by suicide or homicide involving a firearm were included. The researchers defined pregnancy-associated deaths as deaths that occurred during pregnancy or within one year of childbirth.Over the study period, th...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 11, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: firearm homicide interpersonal violence partner violence pregnancy public health suicide Source Type: research
Mirtazapine and Vitamin B6 May Be Best Options for Antipsychotic-Induced Akathisia
APA ’s Good Faith Estimates Survey: Please Respond TodayThe No Surprises Actrequires clinicians to provide patients who are uninsured or are insured but choose not to submit claims through their health plan with a Good Faith Estimate of the cost of care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked APA for your feedback on efforts to comply with these requirements and any educational support you may need from CMS. The deadline istoday, March 8.TAKE SURVEYAkathisia —a feeling of restlessness that is often accompanied by movements like rocking or pacing—is a common side effect of antipsychotic medications. ...
Source: Psychiatr News - March 8, 2024 Category: Psychiatry Tags: akathisia antipsychotic JAMA Network Open meta-analysis mirtazapine restlessness trazodone vitamin B6 Source Type: research
