Behavioral Health Management articles from March 2003

Behavioral Health Management archives from March 2003

Behavioral treatment meets the justice system. (Editorial).
March 1, 2003... In this issue, we take a look at that very broad intersection where the behavioral health treatment system ends and the corrections system begins. Advocates have long known that the corrections system has functioned as the "safety net" in the...

Buprenorphine and the future of addiction medicine. (Washington Insights).
March 1, 2003... The modern specialization of addiction medicine is largely the result of federal policy. The American Society of Addiction Medicine grew out of an older organization, the American Medical Society on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies, which...

Examining the intersection of the behavioral health and corrections systems: a look at the numbers shows that many people are caught between both systems. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... In the United States, the behavioral health system and the corrections system meet at a broad intersection where it's hard to know exactly where one system ends and the other begins. Public policy trends offer no guidance here; this complex...

Addressing concerns about drug courts: despite political popularity, this treatment method still garners some criticisms. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... Drug treatment courts began in the late 1980s as an alternative to traditional criminal justice prosecution for drug-related offenses and as a way to temper the huge amount of drug cases crowding the country's courts, jails, and prisons. Yet...

Treatment instead of incarceration: the authors say that "initiative approach" has advantages over the use of drugs courts. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... In the midst of a voter referendum campaign it's easy to lose sight of the larger picture. The day-to-day business of organizing voters, seeking support, and getting your message to the media is overwhelming. In last fall's elections, our...

Treating hidden clients. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... A provider develops a local solution for a problem plaguing the nation's jails They are not lost, just hidden for a time from the public's view, and it is easy for some to pretend that they do not exist, especially when they cannot be...

New medications for substance abuse treatment: paired with psychosocial intervention, these drugs could revolutionize the field. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... The next 10 years should prove to be exciting times for those treating chemical dependency. Medications that can treat addiction and its common side effects are finally becoming available, and these medications have the potential to...

Growth by integration and consolidation: information technology was a key part of Anthem, Inc.'s process to bring behavioral health services in-house. (Feature Article).
March 1, 2003... As the stigma placed on mental illness and its treatment has decreased, the demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment has grown. With that growth has come increased demand for benefits to cover these treatments. It's an enormous...

What it takes to be a clinical supervisor: rules for success at the managerial level.
March 1, 2003... You've proven yourself as a clinician and, when the opportunity presented itself, you accepted the promotion to clinical supervisor. Now you have your hands full: Your most senior clinician has a bad tendency to insult her colleagues in...

Building a data warehouse to measure value of services. (Infotech: the SATVA View).(Software and Technology Vendors' Association )
March 1, 2003... As an industry, behavioral health has not uniformly braced technology to address the challenges that we face. While the majority of providers have some type of information system solution for billing and reporting, fewer have implemented...

A progress report on Decision Support 2000+: some of the developers of the field's common data standards report on HIPAA's effect on their efforts and what they have planned next. (Feature Article).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act )
March 1, 2003... A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative, Decision Support 2000+, is developing a new set of data standards for the behavioral healthcare field. These include the transition to Health Insurance Portability...

Time to integrate? (Views From The Trenches).(behavioral health services integration with general healthcare)
March 1, 2003... Every five years or so, behavioral health gurus wonder about taking another run at integrating with general healthcare. Not long afterward, the rumblings subside and people return to their camps. With Magellan Behavioral Health just having...

Restrictive formularies.(health insurance company restriction of behavioral drugs )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... It's an exciting time in behavioral healthcare. With an array of new drugs introduced in recent years to treat a wide range of mental illnesses, providers have new tools to better manage patient care. Yet the high prices of new drugs often lead...

Weighing in on restrictive formularies.(health insurace industry restriction of drugs to treat mental illness)
March 1, 2003... As the population ages and the number of elderly people continues to rise, the number of prescriptions written will continue to increase, as well. People are living longer, healthier lives, and this has a lot to do with the use of drugs, with...

Medication access in mental healthcare.
March 1, 2003... In today's economically conscious healthcare climate, attention is increasingly focused on new means to curb costs. The mental health arena has not escaped this scrutiny. An estimated 18.5% of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental...

Executive Education Catalog--2003.
March 1, 2003... Dear Colleague, "Do You Have the Right Team?" This is the most common question Boards are asking CEOs and CEOs are asking themselves. Managers, too, are concerned about the knowledge and skills of their teams. They frequently feel...