The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin highlighting the use of FDA-approved medications in combination with evidence-based behavioral therapies - commonly referred to as "Medication Assisted Treatment" (MAT) - to help persons with mental health and substance use disorders recover in a safe and cost-effective manner. Full Story

There is significant interest and need in mental health services among people who identify as belonging to a racial or ethnic minority, data from Mental Health America's new online screening site show. Responses of individuals from racial and ethnic minorities indicate that they are more likely than whites to report that they would monitor their health by taking screens regularly. And they are also more likely to want a way to privately contact a peer to discuss results. Full Story

The Society of Hospital Medicine has begun to phase out the terms "Allied health", "Non-physician provider", "Physician extender", and "Mid-level" in its future materials and will use the names for individual groups, like "physician assistants," "nurse practitioners," or "pharmacists." Full Story

NASMHPD has published The Vital Role of State Psychiatric Hospitals July, 2014. This technical report is advocacy for state psychiatric hospitals to be a vital part of the continuum of recovery services that should be integrated with a robust set of community services. Recommendations are provided for improving community integration, state psychiatric hospital services and operations, and policies on all system levels. Click here to download the report.

Teams of scientists will use support from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research into the genetic underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease, analyzing how genome sequences - the order of chemical letters in a cell’s DNA - may contribute to increased risk or protect against the disease. The NIH awarded grants for using innovative new technologies and computational methods for the analysis. The scientists also will seek insights into why some people with known risks do not develop the disease. The awards, expected to total $24 million over four years, go to eight academic medical centers. Full Story

Demand for physician assistants and nurse practitioners has skyrocketed more than 300% in the last three years, and family physicians and internists remain highly sought, according to Merritt Hawkins 2014 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives. Full Story

U.S. News & World Report recently published a list of the top-ranked hospitals for psychiatry. Full Story

A new smartphone application could potentially transform how patients with mental illnesses are monitored and treated by clinicians, reported PsychCentral.com. Uri Nevo, Ph.D., and a team of scientists from Tel Aviv University developed a system that detects changes in patients' behavioral patterns, and then transmits them to professionals in real time. Full Story

San Francisco, CA lawmakers approved a law on July 8 allowing the forced treatment of mentally ill patients under certain conditions, drawing swift criticism from patient advocacy groups who say the measure tramples civil rights, according to Reuters. Full Story

The Affordable Care Act allowed states to expand Medicaid to many more low-income people, meaning persons with substance use disorders who were previously ineligible could now receive coverage for substance use treatment, which the law has deemed an "essential health benefit." But there is a hitch: Under an obscure federal rule enacted almost 50 years ago, Medicaid covers residential addiction treatment in community-based programs only if they have 16 or fewer beds, reported The New York Times on the Web. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is seeking comments on its FY 2015 - 2018 Strategic Plan "Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation" (Leading Change 2.0). Leading Change 2.0 outlines how SAMHSA will efficiently focus its work to increase the awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders, promote emotional health and wellness, address the prevention of substance abuse and mental illness, increase access to effective treatment, and support recovery. Full Story

Members of the AMA House of Delegates recently approved a resolution directing the AMA, along with interested specialty and state societies, to study and report back next year on the state of knowledge regarding integration of physical and behavioral health care, including pediatric and adolescent health care, and to provide recommendations for implementing models of physical and behavioral health care integration, reported Psychiatric News. Full Story

Directly educating community members and actively involving families in treatment can avoid the onset of full psychosis among at-risk young people and keep them in school and working, according to a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study. The national Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP) demonstration shows how a package of pre-emptive services can prevent young people exhibiting the earliest signs and symptoms of a psychotic disorder from converting to full-blown psychosis - enabling them to continue working and attending school.  Full Story

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