Less than one half of children ages 4-17 with ADHD were receiving behavioral therapy in 2009-2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder among Children with Special Health Care Needs. According to the study, among children 4-17 years of age, about 4 in 10 children with ADHD were treated with medication alone, 1 in 10 received behavioral therapy alone, 3 in 10 were treated with both medication and behavioral therapy, and 1 in 10 received neither medication nor behavioral therapy.  Overall, about 1 in 10 children took dietary supplements for ADHD. Full Story

To support Mental Health Awareness Month in May, experts from Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) will answer questions from health care providers who treat members of the military. Health care providers are encouraged to submit questions by May 20. Select questions and answers will appear in a series featured on the DCoE Blog. Click here for details on submitting questions.

The 2015 ANA Ethics Symposium will be held June 4-5, 2015 in Baltimore, MD. A robust ethical nursing practice directly impacts quality and safety and supports the triple aim of better care and better outcomes at lower cost. ANA's Ethics Symposium will provide you with specific, action-focused ideas to improve ethical practice in your workplace. Click here to view the program.

Only 45% of people with Alzheimer’s disease or their caregivers say they were told the diagnosis by their doctor. In contrast, more than 90% of people with the four most common cancers (breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer) say they were told the diagnosis, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report. Full Story

An experimental Alzheimer's drug slowed progression of the disease in a small study offering a glimmer of hope after a string of failures. In an early-stage trial of 166 patients, the drug reversed buildup of beta amyloid in the brain and reduced cognitive decline, with higher doses and longer treatment resulting in more improvements, reported Philly.com. Full Story

Each year, the American Nurses Foundation's Nursing Research Grants program provides funds to beginner and experienced nurse researchers to conduct studies that contribute toward the advancement of nursing science and the enhancement of patient care. The online application is now available. All applications must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on May 1. Click here to apply.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced a targeted initiative aimed at reducing prescription opioid and heroin related overdose, death and dependence. Full Story

The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors has published its Technical Assistance Coalition Assessment Papers. Click here to download the documents.

Draft regulations issued April 6, 2015 would extend federal mental health parity protections to Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in managed-care plans. The proposed rule applies provisions of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 to managed-care plans contracting with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. It would ensure beneficiaries have access to mental health and substance abuse benefits regardless of whether services are provided through the managed-care organization or another service delivery system, reported Modern Healthcare. Full Story

The President has signed into law the bipartisan bill H.R. 2, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015,” which permanently repeals the flawed Sustained Growth Rate (SGR) formula and replaces it with a stable Medicare payment system that rewards physicians for providing high-quality, high-value healthcare. Without this new law, providers would have faced a 21.2% decrease in Medicare payment rates scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2015. The SGR formula was established under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33), and since 2001, the formula, if applied, would have resulted in reduced payment rates. Congress has overridden these reductions 17%, but to date had failed to develop a permanent solution, much to the frustration of providers participating in Medicare. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule outlining proposed fiscal year (FY) 2016 Medicare payment policies and rates for the Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS). The proposed rule also updates the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Program, which requires participating facilities to report on quality measures or incur a reduction in their annual payment update.  This proposed rule would expand the measure sets in future fiscal years and change certain data reporting requirements for these measures. Click here for a summary of the proposals.

Three house bills recently introduced in the 2015 Oregon legislative session would create state regulations for how hospitals discharge and communicate with patients with mental illness. Supporters argue Oregon hospitals need to coordinate care better for psychiatric patients, reported GoLocalPDX.com. Full Story

NAMI has released a new report entitled, "A Long Road Ahead: Achieving True Parity in Mental Health and Substance Use Care," which illustrates that people with mental illness are still encountering many barriers to achieving true parity in health insurance and access to needed care. Among other things, the report is based on survey responses from more than 2,700 consumers and family members on their experiences with health insurance. Full Story To read the report, click here.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has issued a new Strategic Plan for Research. Informed by the successes and challenges of recent years, the new plan updates the strategic objectives of its 2008 predecessor with the aim of balancing the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent mental health needs. Full Story

OSHA has released an update to its 2004 publication Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers. Full Story To view the new guidelines, click here.

ANA has convened a panel of experts to make recommendations on preventing and reducing workplace violence, bullying and incivility, behaviors identified by research as particular problems in health care settings. The 25-member Professional Issues Panel on Workplace Violence, Bullying and Incivility is developing a position statement and detailed guidance for registered nurses and employers addressing the dangerous and disruptive behaviors. The panel, which received recommendations from hundreds of nurses on an affiliated advisory committee, is submitting its draft report for public comment through April 30. Full Story

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is Accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.