The Washington Post (7/1, Wan, Long) reports, “Nationwide, federal and local officials are reporting alarming spikes in drug overdoses – a hidden epidemic within the coronavirus pandemic.” Now, “emerging evidence suggests that the continued isolation, economic devastation and disruptions to the drug trade in recent months are fueling the surge.” Due to “how slowly the government collects data, it could be five to six months before definitive numbers exist on the change in overdoses during the pandemic,” but the “data obtained by The Washington Post from a real-time tracker of drug-related emergency calls and interviews with coroners suggest that overdoses have not just increased since the pandemic began but are accelerating as it persists.” Recently, “the American Medical Association…issued a warning, citing reports from officials in 34 states of rising overdoses and the increased spread of…synthetic drugs.”

Related Links:

— “‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic, ”
William Wan and Heather Long, The Washington Post, July 1, 2020

PatientEngagementHIT (7/1, Heath) reports a survey of 1,000 patients conducted by Wakefield Research shows that “nearly three-quarters of patients accessed their first-ever telehealth visit during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them [75%] reported high patient satisfaction with the experience.” Of those who accessed telehealth, 41% used it “for a wellness visit and 30 percent for chronic disease management,” while 20% used it for “acute care needs or mental health” and 14% used it “to check in on COVID-19 symptoms.” In addition, the survey shows that “patients expect telehealth to become a standard part of healthcare,” and 50% “would be willing to switch healthcare providers if it meant they would be able to continue accessing telehealth regularly.” Furthermore, 21% said they would use it “on a limited basis even if their insurance did not cover it, while 28 percent said they would whenever possible.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Patient Satisfaction High, Paves Path for Future Access, “Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, July 1, 2020

Medscape (7/1, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports, “Community-based services that tap into local environments not only reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) but also provide improved long-term outcomes for patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP),” investigators concluded in two studies. In one study, researchers “developed a program to reduce DUP to complement their first-episode service,” finding that they were “able to nearly halve the time from diagnosis to initiation of antipsychotic treatment.” The second study, which included more than 400 patients with FEP, found that early intervention services “significantly improved both symptoms and quality of life and reduced inpatient days in comparison with standard care.” The findings of both studies were scheduled for presentation “at the Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society…2020, but the meeting was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “Community Programs Improve Psychosis Outcomes, “Liam Davenport, Medscape, July 1, 2020

Psychiatric News (6/30) reports that “during a virtual U.S. House subcommittee hearing” conducted on June 30, American Psychiatric Association (APA) President Jeffrey Geller, MD, MPH, “urged Congress to take action to curb the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Speaking before the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health, Dr. Geller stated, “We expect that, even after the infectious aspect of this pandemic is over, we’re going to have a mental health pandemic that could go on for quite some time.” During the hearing, Dr. Geller voiced his support for a number of pending bills that would promote mental health.

MedPage Today (6/30) also reports Dr. Geller’s testimony.

Related Links:

— “Geller Testifies on Mental Health Needs During Pandemic and Beyond, Psychiatric News, June 30, 2020

The Washington Post (6/29, Chang) reports that Joshua Morganstein, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, said that the US is facing “three disasters superimposed on top of one another” referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, its economic consequences, and “civil unrest.” Morganstein said, “Certainly, one way of responding, and a common way of responding, is anger.” The Post offers “strategies to curb anger” including, according to Morganstein, “basic self-care.” Morganstein also suggested “more media breaks, more time walking outside, seeing our neighbors, saying hello, exchanging problem-solving and reminding each other that we’re in this together.” Morganstein further said, “One of the things that can feel very overwhelming and paralyzing for people is to sit in a passive mode,” and suggested that helping someone else shows “we are not helpless, we are not powerless, and there are things we can do to effect change.”

Related Links:

— “Americans are living in a big ‘anger incubator.’ Experts have tips for regulating our rage., “Elizabeth Chang, The Washington Post, June 29, 2020

MedPage Today (6/29, George) reports, “A higher level of early-life cognitive enrichment – such as learning a foreign language, reading and being read to, and playing games like checkers – was tied to a slower rate of late-life cognitive decline,” investigators concluded after evaluating “813 autopsied brains from the Rush Memory and Aging Project to explore whether early-life experiences were associated with Alzheimer’s pathology.” The study authors posited that the “effect occurred partly through an association with lower levels of Alzheimer’s pathology changes.” The findings were published online in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healthcare IT News (6/29, Jercich) reports according to the Commonwealth Fund, there has been a “plateau” in telemedicine appointments, which still make up “a relatively small percentage of rebounding ambulatory care services.” The study also shows “that telemedicine visits have actually been declining since April.” The study was based on data from “a sample of practices accounting for approximately 5 percent of ambulatory visits in the U.S.” In addition, “overall visits to ambulatory practices are still 10% below baseline numbers from the week of March 1.” The study shows that telemedicine visits rose from 0.1% of visits in the week of March 8 to 14% of visits in mid-April, but have since been declining as a percentage to 7.4% of visits in the week of June 14.

Related Links:

— “After initial spike, telehealth visits are on the decline, report finds, “Kat Jercich, Healthcare IT News, June 29, 2020

The AP (6/29, Nasir) reports that “racial trauma – the distress experienced because of the accumulation of racial discrimination, racial violence or institutional racism,” may “affect anyone who faces repeated prejudice,” but “in this moment, its impact on Black people is drawing particular attention.” According to the AP, “The unfortunate irony is that the very tool that may be helping to make more people aware of the racism and violence that Black and other people of color face is also helping to fuel their trauma.” In the weeks following the death of George Floyd, “the spread of the video that captured it has been a major catalyst for protests demanding a reckoning with racism – attended by people of all races, many of whom never before participated in such activism.” Past American Psychiatric Association president Dr. Altha Stewart said, “If you are in a situation where the danger seems ever-present, whether you’re seeing a bird watcher in Central Park being harassed, or someone falling asleep in their car in a parking lot … there is that constant physical presence of danger and the psychological awareness that danger is just around the corner.”

Related Links:

— “Images of brutality against Black people spur racial trauma, “Noreen Nasir, AP, June 29, 2020

Psychiatric News (6/26) reported that researchers found that “the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a psychological toll on health care professionals who work in large, urban medical centers.” The study was based on data from the “COVID-19 Healthcare Provider Study, an ongoing survey of health care workers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.” Researchers found that 74% of respondents “reported great distress over fears of transmitting the virus to their family and friends; 71% reported sleep disturbances and getting less than six hours of sleep per night; 65% reported feeling lonely at least several days a week; and more than 60% reported concerns over the health of their family and friends, maintaining social distancing from family, and uncertainty over their colleagues’ COVID-19 status. However, 61% reported feeling a greater sense of meaning or purpose.” The findings were published in General Hospital Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Takes Toll on Mental Health of Hospital Health Professionals, Psychiatric News , June 26, 2020

Medscape (6/25, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports, “Patients with schizophrenia appear to prefer long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics compared with oral versions of these medications primarily because injectables are more convenient and give individuals more control over their lives,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data on 1429 patients with schizophrenia who were participants in a double-blind, randomized, noninferiority study of paliperidone palmitate taken monthly vs once every three months.” The study also revealed that patients “prefer injections once every three months to monthly injections, citing the need for fewer” visits to physicians and less pain. The findings had been slated for presentation at the Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society 2020, but that meeting was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related Links:

— “Injectable vs Oral Antipsychotics: Which Do Patients Prefer?, “Liam Davenport, Medscape, June 25, 2020