Register Now for the APNA Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute
This year's program will transport you to state of the science right now – and then beyond: to what is coming next for the vast and rapidly growing developments in psychopharmacologic nursing care. Earn 21 pharmacology contact hours and explore emerging research, new evidence-based interventions, and more. Browse the Program  |  Register by May 17 for Early Bird Rates

Your Conference Your Way: In-Person or Virtual
APNA is offering two options for attending the APNA 35th Annual Conference: In person October 13-16 in Louisville, KY and virtual December 10-12. Both will provide you with the opportunity to reunite with your psychiatric-mental health nursing colleagues for deep, meaningful interactions that will rejuvenate and enhance your practice while keeping you safe. The program and schedules are currently in development and registration will open in June! You can check here for updates.

Where Could an APNA Research Grant Take You?
When you apply for the APNA Research Grant, you take an important step toward supporting your quality improvement project, investigation of an evidence-based practice change, or research study. Past grant recipients have published their research in scholarly journals like JAPNA, secured additional grants based on their preliminary work, and gained experience in manuscript preparation. The deadline for a preliminary review by APNA Research Council members is this Friday and final proposals are being accepted through Tuesday, May 18th. Learn more

Now Online: Person-Centered Mental Health Care Access, Equity, and Justice
In this JAPNA APNA Board of Directors column, President Matt Tierney considers how the concepts of health care equity and social justice are tied to access to care and to the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read Column

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and propose changes to the IPF Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Program. CMS is publishing this proposed rule consistent with the legal requirements to update Medicare payment policies for IPFs on an annual basis. Click here to view a fact sheet which discusses the major provisions of the proposed rule.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the selected applicants for the Value in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Demonstration, also known as the Value in Treatment Demonstration. Starting in April 2021, this 4-year demonstration tests whether a new care management fee and performance-based incentive for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services can cut hospitalizations and improve health outcomes for individuals with OUD. Full Story

A recent study found that children who have a parent with opioid use disorder (OUD) experienced an increase in metric-based knowledge and resilience following intervention programs, reported HCPLive.com. Investigators, led by APNA member Brandy M. Mechling, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC of the School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, administered the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s Children’s Program Kit (CPK): Supportive Education for Children of Addicted Parents (SAMHSA) to children participating in the study. Full Story

As part of a shared commitment to ensuring protections from discrimination apply to all people, including those in treatment for or recovery from substance use disorders, several organizations have partnered to produce a new video series, “Civil Rights Protections for Individuals in Recovery from an Opioid Use Disorder.”  The five-part series informs audiences about the application of federal disability rights laws to child welfare programs and activities, discusses protections that apply to some individuals in recovery from an opioid use disorder, provides an overview of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and addresses common misconceptions about MAT as a treatment approach. Full Story

In a recent Forbes article, hospital design experts Ryan Hullinger and Sarah Markovitz discuss how health systems should start rethinking physical spaces so they are well-equipped to provide patients with the behavioral health support they need. Full Story

Telehealth is safe and effective in treating and managing patients with diagnosed acute psychiatric illness in a partial hospital program and may be superior to in-person treatment in regard to patient retention and reducing risk for suicide, new research suggests, reported MedScape.com. Full Story

A panel of blood-based biomarkers can distinguish between depression and bipolar disorder, predict a person's future risk for these disorders, and inform more tailored medication choices, according to new research published in Molecular Psychiatry. Full Story

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and The Kennedy Forum released a new report titled “The Health Insurance Appeals Guide: A Consumer Guide for Filing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder (MH/SUD) Appeals.” This resource is meant to help individuals and families understand what options they have to appeal when insurers deny coverage for mental health or substance use care. Full Story

A recent HealthLeaders.com article looks at six top drivers of nurse engagement. Full Story

President Joe Biden's recent coronavirus relief bill calls for an estimated $1 billion over 10 years for states that set up mobile mental health crisis teams, currently locally operated in a handful of places, reported ABC News. Medicaid will help communities set up mobile teams with mental health practitioners trained in de-escalating volatile non-violent situations. Existing programs dispatch teams of paramedics and behavioral health practitioners to take mental health crisis calls out of the hands of uniformed and armed officers, whose mere arrival may ratchet up tensions. Full Story

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195). This legislation, approved by a vote of 254-166, will help to better protect all health care professionals and require health care and social service industry employers to develop and implement comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans. Full Story

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill that aims to reduce medical complications for Alzheimer’s patients by creating a new way to fund dementia care through Medicare. The new managing care model would help decrease hospitalizations and emergency department visits and delay nursing home placement to help improve the quality of life for patients while making treatment more affordable, reported The Ripon Advance. Full Story

In Missouri, a House committee is set to consider a bill meant to bring the state into line with national mental health parity standards, reported The Missouri Times. HB 889, sponsored by Rep. Patty Lewis, would prohibit insurance companies from imposing limitations on mental health benefits that are more stringent than those applied to medical or surgical benefits. Full Story

In an effort to get evidenced-based treatment to more Americans with opioid use disorder, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is releasing new buprenorphine practice guidelines that among other things, remove a longtime requirement tied to training, which some practitioners have cited as a barrier to treating more people. Full Story

The pandemic’s effect on Americans’ mental health is illustrating the need for stronger enforcement of the federal health parity law, which mandates that employers that offer mental health coverage provide it on the same footing as coverage offered for physical health conditions, according to the American Psychological Association. Full Story

Click here to see letters APNA has signed on to as a part of its participation in coalitions that further policy for nursing and mental health.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.