The Huffington Post (7/6, Gates) reports that according to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “an estimated 4.8 million adults aged 50 and older used an illicit drug — whether it was an illegal substance or non-medical use of a prescription — last year.” The increase in the number of older substance abusers in the past decade prompted the National Institutes of Health to release its first consumer alert for seniors last month. Beyond the dangers of illegal substances, “with the average 50-year-old man taking four prescription drugs per day, the likelihood of addiction to necessary medicines is high.” The Post includes a slideshow gallery highlighting the top five most commonly abused prescription medicines among the 50+ demographic, according to health reports.

Prescription Medication Abuse Credited With Increasing Heroin Addiction. The Morristown (NJ) Daily Record (7/6, Townsend) reports, “The use of prescription pills among adolescents and teenagers has reached epidemic proportions in New Jersey and has led to increased heroin addiction, one expert said. And on Tuesday, a special state task force will address the issue at a hearing at Daytop New Jersey, a drug treatment center for adolescents, in Mendham.” Frank Greenagel, a recovery counselor and Rutgers University professor, “said the rise in heroin addiction is directly tied to the number of painkillers readily available by legal means and on the black market.” Greenagel said that “the overprescription of painkillers by doctors and dentists’ needs to be curbed.”

Related Links:

— “Drug Use & Baby Boomers: 5 Prescription Drugs With High Potential For Abuse, “Sara Gates, The Huffington Post, July 5, 2012.

In the New York Times (7/6) “Well” blog, Pauline W. Chen, MD, writes that despite the physical demands of nursing, “there are few work-based resources for nurses who are ill or depressed. Few hospitals have preventive programs that mandate, for example, safe patient lifting practices or policies that support nurses who may be temporarily disabled.” Meanwhile, “nurse managers often have little training in how to handle nurses with health problems, and many staff nurses themselves are unaware of how they might recognize and help a colleague whose work is impaired by illness.”

Related Links:

— “When It’s the Nurse Who Needs Looking After, “Pauline W. Chen, M.D., The New York Times, July 5, 2012.

In continuing coverage, the NPR (7/6) website posted audio of a “Morning Edition” story noting that a “Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee has begun recruiting for additional mental health” professionals. The recruitment is “part of a nationwide” VA “effort to bring on about 1,600 new psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to reduce wait times for treatment.” NPR notes that VA “says it will be aggressive in recruiting candidates for the new mental health positions and hopes to have most on board within six months.”

Official To Senators: VA Is Hiring More Mental Health Professionals. American Medical News (7/6, Fiegl) reports, “Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Patty Murray (D, Wash.) has introduced legislation that would require more oversight of federal suicide prevention programs” and that “would expand mental health coverage to family members of servicemen and women to help them cope with deployments.” Murray’s “committee held a June 27 hearing to discuss the Mental Health Access to Continued Care and Enhancement of Support Services and several other pieces of legislation. The VA has taken steps to improve access, said Madhulika Agarwal, MD, MPH, the VA deputy undersecretary for health policy and services,” who noted that VA has launched an initiative to hire more mental health professionals.

Related Links:

— “VA Hospital Recruits Mental Health Providers, “Erin Toner, NPR, July 5, 2012.

MedWire (7/6, Cowen) reports, “Suicidal behavior is common among young people with bipolar disorder (BD), with around one in five attempting to take their own lives,” according to a study published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The 413-patient study also revealed that “increased depression severity and a family history of depression are the most significant predictors for suicide attempts in young people with the mood disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide attempts common in young bipolar patients, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 5, 2012.

HealthDay (7/4, Dallas) reported, “Students with visible disabilities and those receiving special education services for behavioral problems are at greater risk of being bullied and of bullying others,” according to a study published June 27 in the Journal of School Psychology. In the study of “more than 800 special-ed and general-ed students between the ages of nine and 16 from nine different schools,” researchers found that “not only were special-ed students at greater risk for being bullied or bullying others,” but also that “students with visible or more obvious disabilities, such as language or hearing impairments or mild mental handicaps, were victimized most often.”

Related Links:

— “Special-Ed Students at Greater Risk of Bullying, Being Bullied: Study, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, July 3, 2012.

The Washington Post (7/5, Kliff) “Wonkblog” reports, “Health care spending for 14- to 18-year-olds has grown faster than any other age group with private coverage.” The blog post explains that according to a report from the Health Care Cost Institute, one of the factors driving up health spending for teenagers is “the increased use of mental health services. In 2010, the average teenager was prescribed 1.2 central nervous system drugs, which treat conditions like depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Maybe we should blame teenagers for our health spending problems, “Sarah Kliff, The Washington Post, July 3, 2012.

Modern Healthcare (7/4, Zigmond, Subscription Publication) reported, “Behavioral healthcare groups have inched a little closer to their goal of ensuring that the country’s mental-healthcare facilities are eligible for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s meaningful-use incentives.” Just “before leaving for this week’s July 4 recess, Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) introduced the Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2012, which would include behavioral health [professionals] — such as psychiatric hospitals, mental-health and substance-abuse professionals, community mental-health centers, and inpatient or outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities — in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act that was enacted as part of the Recovery Act in 2009.” Last year, “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced similar legislation in the Senate.”

According to the Huffington Post (7/4, Wood), veterans who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan are “at risk of a ‘downward spiral’ that leads to depression, substance abuse and sometimes suicide, as Eric Shinseki, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said in a recent speech.” Shinseki’s agency, which operates a veterans’ suicide crisis line and “70 mobile outreach vans,” is “making a determined and costly effort to reach those who live in remote areas or who may be unaware of VA services.” The mental health budget for VA and its mental health staff have both increased in recent years. The Post explained that VA is “also expanding its secure teleconferencing facilities and expects this year to provide 200,000 mental health consultations with veterans who lack easy access to its outpatient clinics or outreach vans.”

Related Links:

— “Iraq, Afghanistan War Veterans Struggle With Combat Trauma, “David Wood, The Huffington Post, July 4, 2012.

The Baltimore Sun (7/5, Wenger) reports, “A dramatic change in how Maryland pays for substance abuse treatment programs is leaving some [care organizations] short on cash and displacing more than 200 drug and alcohol addicts, even as the state’s four-year transition to a new funding system has significantly increased the number of people getting help.” Now, “under the new system, the state will pay for more treatments through Medicaid reimbursements, a strategy that officials say will ultimately provide health care access to more Marylanders.” While “many addiction specialists agree that the move will eventually help more people…right now they’re trying to find ways to keep displaced clients in treatment” as “centers are facing the loss of millions of dollars in grants.”

Related Links:

— “Substance abuse funding change challenges some Md. providers, “Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun, July 4, 2012.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (6/30, Jones), psychiatrists at Veterans Affairs “hospitals in Milwaukee and Madison know the Fourth of July holiday is difficult for veterans, so they begin talking to their patients several weeks in advance to come up with plans to handle fireworks,” which can remind veterans of combat. For example, Michael McBride, MD, MS, a psychiatrist at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, “increases medications during this time of year to help some of his patients get through Independence Day. He also discusses coping strategies such as wearing earplugs, using deep breathing techniques or staying inside during fireworks displays.”

Related Links:

— “For many veterans, July Fourth bombast rekindles fears, “Meg Jones, Journal Sentinel, June 30, 2012.