President’s Message: New Year, New I.D.E.A.S.
We are often filled with hope and curiosity as the New Year approaches. We look ahead and ask: How will the next 365 days take shape? Keep Reading

Sneak Peek: APNA Annual Conference Call for Abstracts
The call for abstracts opens next month, so it’s time to start brainstorming! Explore the Call for Abstracts

“I feel energized by the enthusiasm of other attendees”
Paula Bolton shares her reasons for presenting on TMS and ketamine treatment strategies at the APNA Annual Conference. Hear from Paula

A Systematic Approach to Ethical Decision-Making for Nurses
This article, from the Nurses Service Organization, reviews a model that nurses can use to better understand conflicting issues and navigate ethical dilemmas. Learn More

Deadline Approaching: 2023 APNA Annual Awards Nominations
Don’t miss your chance to nominate a colleague to receive a year of national recognition and free attendance to the APNA Annual Conference this October at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. Nominate before the 1/9 Deadline

Between 2020 and 2021, the number of people who reported that their mental health was poor in 14 of the last 30 days increased by 11%, according to the United Health Foundation's annual "America's Health Rankings" report. However, the analysis found that the supply of mental health providers reached its highest levels since the report was first published in 2017. The number of mental health providers per 100,000 increased by 7% between 2021 and 2022 and has increased by 40% since the 2017 report. Full Story

Looking to help nurses facing mental, emotional and physical burdens from the demands of providing health care during the persistent and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic, the United Health Foundation has announced a three-year, $3.1 million grant partnership with the American Nurses Foundation. The goal of the program is to reduce burnout with an emphasis on nurses of color and those under age 35 through implementation of the Stress & Burnout Prevention Pilot program. Full Story

With many psychiatrists not accepting insurance, and fewer psychiatrists billing Medicare due to reimbursement cuts, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) are seen lately as part of the solution to the shortage of mental healthcare providers in the U.S. A recent report by Health Affairs indicates that the mental healthcare system relies more on PMHNPs to fill in the gap of Medicare patients with mental health needs. The study showed that from 2011 to 2019, PMHNPs provided almost one in three psychiatric visits to Medicare patients. While there was a 6% decrease in the number of psychiatrists billing Medicare, the number of PMHNPs increased by 162%, the report showed, reported MedScape. Full Story

Psychiatric News published a special report on Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The view of many mental health professionals is that people with antisocial personality disorder are untreatable. The article suggests the conclusion is premature because of the lack of relevant research on medications and psychotherapy to guide treatment decisions. Full Story

Dementia prevalence dropped 3.7 percentage points in the U.S. from 2000 to 2016, according to a RAND Corporation study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dementia prevalence was higher for women than men over the entire period, “but the difference shrank between 2000 and 2016.” For men, dementia prevalence decreased by 3.2 percentage points from 10.2% to 7%. The decrease was greater for women, though, at 3.9 percentage points, from 13.6% to 9.7%. Full Story

Recent studies of virtual reality programs helping people with serious mental illness (SMI) to overcome anxieties related to being in public or interviewing for jobs showcase the value of this tool in helping people across the spectrum of recovery. While pharmacotherapy can help to alleviate some of the symptoms of serious mental illness (SMI), vocational rehabilitation and related social programs are critical for helping people with SMI to re-enter the community. While there are more patients than there are programs to support them, recent studies suggest that virtual reality–based interventions might be able to fill some of this gap, reported Psychiatric News. Full Story

The experimental drug lecanemab shows “potential” as an Alzheimer’s disease treatment, according to new Phase 3 trial results, but the findings raise some safety concerns because of its association with certain serious adverse events, reported CNN. Lecanemab has become one of the first experimental dementia drugs to appear to slow the progression of cognitive decline. The long-awaited trial data, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, comes about two months after drugmakers Biogen and Eisai announced that lecanemab had been found to reduce cognitive and functional decline by 27% in their Phase 3 trial. Full Story

A mental health robot named Robin is making rounds at a Riverside, CA nursing home, reported KTLA.com. Robin visits with patients that are recovering from accidents or surgery, providing mental health services and a smile. Robin cognitively stimulates patients to feel happy and joy and comfortable again, it can even explain medical procedures if needed. There’s always a trained mental health professional on the back end, ready to assist. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is proposing to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). The proposal would update the federal regulations that oversee OUD treatment standards as part of HHS’ Overdose Prevention Strategy that supports President Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy. Specifically, the proposed rule change would allow Americans to access the treatment by allowing take home doses of methadone and the use of telehealth in initiating buprenorphine at opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Full Story

The Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (S.5212) was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). This piece of legislation, which has been endorsed by more than 160 health care organizations, including APNA, would remove numerous administrative and practice barriers for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), thereby improving access to health care for millions of Americans. Fundamentally, the ICAN Act means that APRNs, including nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives, and clinical nurse specialists will be able to care for their patients at the fullest extent of their abilities. Full Story

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced proposed changes to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records under 42 CFR part 2 (“Part 2”), which protects patient privacy and records concerning treatment related to substance use challenges from unauthorized disclosures. Specifically, the proposed rule increases coordination among providers in treatment for substance use challenges and increases protections for patients concerning records disclosure to avoid discrimination in treatment. Full Story

As 2022 concludes, the American Nurses Association (ANA) is calling on the 117th United States Congress to enact in any end-of-year package legislation to support the nation’s nursing workforce. These legislative priorities are necessary to protect nurses in the workforce, support their mental health and well-being and remove barriers that they often face when providing safe and quality patient care. Full Story

The Senate Committee on Finance released a bipartisan discussion draft of the mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) parity provisions to be included as part of the Committee’s broader legislative effort to improve mental health care for Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries. Policy proposals within the discussion draft include: (1) providing guidance to healthcare providers on partial hospitalization services for Medicare beneficiaries with SUD; (2) strengthening the accuracy and searchability of provider directories in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans; and (3) directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on coverage parity between behavioral and nonbehavioral health services in MA as well as provide a report on Medicaid payment rates for behavioral health services compared to medical and surgical services. Full Story

The NIH ADVANCE (Advancing Prevention Research for Health Equity) initiative has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input about interventions or strategies to prevent mental health problems and promote mental wellness in populations that experience health disparities (racial and ethnic minority groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities). NIH is particularly interested in interventions that move beyond the traditional approach of providing mental health treatment to instead address social determinants of health to prevent the development of mental health problems. You can find more information about potential topics of interest and learn how to submit a response by clicking here. Responses to the RFI should be submitted electronically on the RFI submission website by March 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

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 as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.