Little Help for Would-Be Suicides
Many adults with suicidal ideation don't consider getting mental health or substance abuse care, and those who do try to get care often have difficulty doing so, according to a study by Rachel Brook and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, Health Services Research Center. The authors interviewed 7,800 respondents to the Healthcare for Communities survey done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They found that nearly 3.6% of U.S. adults in households with telephones reported suicidal thoughts at least once in the past 12 months. Nearly three-fourths of those respondents (74%) had a probable psychiatric disorder or substance abuse problem, and 56% perceived a need for mental health or substance abuse care, the investigators noted. Of those who perceived that they needed care, 39% did not receive any, or they received delayed care or less than they needed. “Our findings suggest a need to improve access to treatment for high-risk patients and improve provider training in caring for persons with suicide ideation,” the authors wrote. The study was published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.
Narcotics: Top Recreational Drug
More people started using narcotic pain relievers for nonmedical purposes in the past year than marijuana or cocaine, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. According to the report, 2.4 million people 12 years old and older started using narcotics in the year before the survey, compared with 2.1 million who started using marijuana and 1 million who started using cocaine. Of those who used pain relievers, 48% used Vicodin, Lortab, or Lorcet; 34% used Darvocet, Darvon, or Tylenol with codeine; and 20% used Percocet, Percodan, or Tylox. OxyContin was near the bottom at 8%. “The initiation rates show we must continue our efforts to help the public confront and reduce all drug abuse,” SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said in a statement. Data for the report came from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
National Depression Survey
People who suffer from depression and have limited access to mental health treatment incur an average of nearly three times the annual out-of-pocket costs for medication, psychotherapy, and other treatment costs compared with patients who have less restricted access, a survey from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shows. The Harris Interactive online survey of 3,500 people found that those with limited access spent $4,312 annually versus $1,496 for those with less restricted access. In addition, patients with limited access to treatment for their depression were nearly three times as likely to have unpaid bills more than 60 days overdue and more than twice as likely to be unable to afford the necessities of life. “This survey pinpoints exactly how lack of access to treatment harms the job prospects, financial situation, and personal relationships of people living with depression,” said NAMI medical director Dr. Ken Duckworth. The survey was funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Postmarketing Study Failure
The Food and Drug Administration is doing a poor job of ensuring that pharmaceutical companies live up to postmarketing study commitments, according to a new report by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. Among the findings: that the FDA can't easily identify if the studies are progressing or what stage they are in; and that monitoring postmarketing studies “is not a top priority at FDA.” The IG reviewed new drug applications from 1990 to 2004; 48% of those applications had at least one postmarketing study commitment for which drug makers are required to submit annual status reports. The IG found that 35% of the reports that should have been submitted in fiscal 2004 were missing or had no information on the study commitments. The IG noted that the FDA has limited enforcement power in this area, but suggested that the agency require more, and more relevant, information from drug makers. In response, FDA said it could not do that without additional regulations, but agreed that it needed to do more to improve its monitoring and to ensure that commitments are honored and that annual reports are thorough.
Group Eyes Doctor, Nurse Shortage
Experts on health care workforce issues have formed the Council on Physician and Nurse Supply. According to the council, which comes out of the University of Pennsylvania, the United States may be short by as many as 200,000 physicians and 800,000 nurses by 2020. The council plans to collect data on the physician and nurse shortage, and talk with legislators and others about how the supply can be improved. Members of the council include Dr. Richard “Buzz” Cooper and Linda Aiken, Ph.D., both of the university, as well as James Bentley, Ph.D., senior vice president for strategic policy planning at the American Hospital Association; Dr. Peter Budetti, chair of the health administration and policy department at the University of Oklahoma; Dr. David Blumenthal, director of the Institute of Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Robert Graham, professor of family medicine at the University of Cincinnati; and Dr. William Jessee, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association. The council is funded by AMN Healthcare, the parent company of health care staffing firm Merritt, Hawkins. Its first meeting is planned for October.