Behavioral Health Management articles from September 2004

Behavioral Health Management archives from September 2004

Who's fit to work in the modern era?(Editorial)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... The concept of "fitness to work" has evolved. Attitudes of an earlier era, in which the focus was on excluding the "unfit," are no longer the focus of fitness-to-work efforts. Modern employers must focus instead on striving to match individuals...

What to do when the 'system' fails patients.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... Sheryl McCormick, a consumer advocate from Knoxville, Tennessee, recently wrote to me through my Web site dedicated to access to psychiatric medications (www.medaccessonline.com). She said, "My meds are over $800 a month, [which] doesn't...

Children in Bedlam.(Washington Insights)
September 1, 2004... In August, the Detroit Free Press ran a shocking expose detailing how Michigan children with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses fail to get mental health services. Hundreds of Michigan children end...

Community behavioral health and information technology: a tale of two funders.(In Retrospect)
September 1, 2004... It is a federal responsibility; it is a state responsibility. Over the past 40 years, community behavioral health funding has shifted from the federal government to the states and then partially back to the federal government (through...

Suicide prevention: a call to action for EAPs: an MBHO/EAP develops materials to educate employers about suicide and decrease its incidence among employees.(Employee assistance programs)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... Employee assistance programs (EAPs) have established themselves as effective change agents and positive influencers of organizational culture. As employers continue to struggle with a variety of human capital risks impacting organizational...

Addiction in the workplace: behavioral health professionals can help employers and employees alike increase productivity and improve workplace health.
September 1, 2004... Employers have come a long way in understanding addiction as a chronic illness or disease and that treatment works. Yet an incredible disconnect still exists between what employers know about addiction and what some employers do to help...

Assessing and monitoring fitness to work: tools to help providers evaluate their own or others' job candidates and employees.
September 1, 2004... employers often must assess employees' or prospective employees' "fitness to work." The focus of this article is on tools available to assist companies with assessing and monitoring employee fitness to work from a behavioral health perspective....

Psychiatric Polypharmacy and Children: Examining pediatric multipsychotropic regimens.(Pharmacologic Trends In Behavioral Health)
September 1, 2004... Several reports indicate an increase in the use of multiple psychotropic treatment regimens among children, (1,2) yet this practice lacks an evidence base. Estimates of multiple psychotropic prevalence range from 60% in a residential treatment...

A business case for increasing college mental health services: increasing counseling services can increase student retention rates--and ultimately a college's bottom line.
September 1, 2004... College students' mental health problems have gained academic administrators' attention in recent years. Last year, a large-scale study of more than 13,000 students at Kansas State University revealed that students' mental health problems have...

On campus, in recovery, but without support: only eight colleges in the nation have programs for students recovering from substance abuse.
September 1, 2004... Much has been written during the last few years on the problems of binge drinking on college campuses. The issue is pervasive, and it deserves all of the attention it has received. However, in the midst of the funding initiatives and studies...

Chronicling the growth of an addictions conference: SECAD's evolution mirrors changes in the field.(South East Conference on Addictive Disorders)
September 1, 2004... The first weekend in December is known by some in Atlanta as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) football play-off championship weekend, but to the addiction treatment field, the first week of December involves an even more memorable...

Late-life depression: old truths and new lessons: a noted expert shares his views on treating a vulnerable, often misunderstood patient population.
September 1, 2004... Depression in older people is a significant physical and mental health problem. Compelling evidence suggests it can be diagnosed accurately and treated effectively. When healthy, members of the current generation of older Americans are actually...

The accreditation process is what you make of it: preparing for accreditation can result in effective, system-wide change instead of only the usual grumbling.
September 1, 2004... Many people often wonder just what are the benefits of accreditation to an organization besides a pat on the back for a job well done, a certificate on the lobby wall, and knowing that an organization has passed muster when surveyed by a...

The Phoenix Career Academy Brooklyn, New York.(Facility Design Showcase)
September 1, 2004... The Phoenix Career Academy integrates in one location substance abuse treatment, education, primary health care, vocational skills training, and job placement. This infrastructure of buildings and technology was designed to facilitate and...

Behavioral health can be high-tech and high-touch.(Views On Technology)
September 1, 2004... How many times have you called a customer service number and were promptly encouraged to visit the company's Web site for faster service? It has become an increasingly common occurrence and appears to be an axiom of modern life, in which...

Professional liability insurance.(Product Spotlight)
September 1, 2004... Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) has more than 25 years' experience in providing healthcare providers with insurance solutions and now provides coverage to more than 70 healthcare professions. HPSO, along with the Nurses Service...

Self-assessment tools.(Product Spotlight)
September 1, 2004... The goal of the Council on Accreditation's COA Leadership Series is to provide management of human services organizations with the opportunity to quickly and easily compare their CQI program with recognized national best-practice standards for...

Intensive teen psychiatric program.(Product Spotlight)(Rogers Memorial Hospital )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Rogers Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit behavioral healthcare hospital with a 95-year tradition of providing inpatient, partial hospitalization (day treatment), and residential services for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. A...

Providers can help end workplace bias against gays and lesbians.(As I See It)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... American capitalism is built on the notion of opportunity--no matter who you are or where you are from, you can achieve your dreams if you work hard enough (or so the popular ideology goes). But we hardly live in an egalitarian society, and 40...

How many associations do we need?(Views From The Trenches)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... On the last day of each month, I dutifully and faithfully pay the bills. Tucked among them four or five times yearly are bills for my professional behavioral health association dues for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW),...