Under the headline “Patients Lose When Doctors Can’t Do Good Physical Exams,” Kaiser Health News (5/21, Boodman) offers an 1,800-word examination of an “increasingly commonplace” phenomenon “as medicine becomes more technology-driven: the waning ability of doctors to use a physical exam to make an accurate diagnosis.” The piece explains that crucial information that can be gleaned from simple observation has been largely “supplanted by a dizzying array of sophisticated, expensive tests.”

Related Links:

— “Patients Lose When Doctors Can’t Do Good Physical Exams,” Sandra G. Boodman, Kaiser Health News, May 20, 2014.

The New York Times (5/21, Hulse, Subscription Publication) reports that three ex-Senators, Republican Trent Lott and Democrats Tom Daschle and John B. Breaux, are working together “to push an expansion of tele-medicine as a way to improve health care access and cut costs.” On behalf of the Alliance for Connected Care, “a nonprofit collection of health care” professionals, “insurers, pharmacies, technology firms and telecommunications companies,” the three men are pursuing “legislative and regulatory changes to let more Americans essentially get much of their health care remotely.”

Related Links:

— “Ex-Senators on Both Sides of Aisle Join Forces on Health Care,” Carl Hulse, New York Times, May 20, 2014.

The Huffington Post (5/20, Hillin) reports on research by Dr. Dana Alonzo, associate professor at Columbia University, published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry finding that “the mental health effects of divorce may linger on well into adulthood, putting children of divorce at greater risk of suicide.” The study was based on US Bureau of the Census interviews with 49,093 people who were “asked questions regarding the marital status and the alcohol patterns of their parents; they were then analyzed for depression.”

The study found that “parental divorce increased the likelihood of suicide attempt by 14 percent.” The study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Related Links:

— “Adult Children Of Divorce Show Greater Risk For Suicide: Study,” Taryn Hillin, Huffington Post, May 20, 2014.

The Wall Street Journal (5/20, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that according to some preliminary research, job-training programs for individuals with an autism-spectrum disorder may improve interview skills and boost self-confidence. The piece cites a study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Adults With Autism Find New Source for Job Interview Advice,” Shirley S. Wang, Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2014.

HealthDay (5/20, Dallas) reports that according to the results of a review presented at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting, “after being discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU), patients are at much greater risk for developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” Researchers arrived at that conclusion after analyzing data from 28 studies involving “3,428 adults who survived an ICU stay. Of these, 429 were evaluated for symptoms of PTSD one to six months after they were discharged.”

Related Links:

— “ICU Patients at Much Greater Risk for PTSD: Study,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, May 19, 2014.

The NPR (5/20, Shute) “Shots” blog reports that “suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States, especially among teenagers and young adults.” However, “asking everyone who goes to the doctor if he is considering suicide isn’t the answer” to solving the problem, “according to” the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

HealthDay (5/20, Preidt) reports that a final recommendation from the USPSTF published online May 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine has deemed there is still insufficient “evidence to recommend either for or against patients getting routinely screened for suicide risk by their primary care” physicians. The “ruling applies to when doctors are dealing with teens, adults and older adults without a mental health disorder or symptoms of mental illness.”

Related Links:

— “Task Force Says Asking All Patients About Suicide Won’t Cut Risk,” Nancy Shute, National Public Radio, May 19, 2014.

In a 2,300-word piece, Gate House Media (5/17, Pierce) reported, “A mentally ill person can be forced to undergo diagnosis and treatment under certain conditions laid out in state involuntary commitment laws, and some states are examining those laws in an effort to prevent tragedies.” The majority of “states with proactive involuntary outpatient commitment laws require a history of past noncompliance with treatment, coupled with past hospitalizations and arrests, before a person can be forced into treatment.”

It is now estimated that “up to one in five inmates in jail and state prisons are mentally ill, according to separate reports by the US Justice Department and American Psychiatric Association.”

Related Links:

— “Focus: Safety concerns prompt states to revisit involuntary commitment laws that address mentally ill,” David Pierce, GateHouse Media, May 17, 2014.

The AP (5/16, Gurman) reported that some US police unions “are pushing for officers to be able to collect workers’ compensation benefits if they suffer post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], whether they got it from the general stress of police work or from responding to a deadly shooting rampage.” However, “some police chiefs and municipal leaders oppose lawmakers’ efforts,” saying that “they are concerned the benefits would strain budgets and lead to frivolous claims.”

Related Links:

— “POLICE UNIONS PUSH FOR MEDICAL COVERAGE OF PTSD,” Sadie Gurman, Associated Press, May 16, 2014.

The New York Times (5/17, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reported that according to CDC data released Friday, “more than 10,000 American toddlers 2 or 3 years old are being medicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outside established pediatric guidelines.” The article goes on to explain that “very few scientific studies have examined the use of stimulant medications in young children,” though the National Institute of Mental Health sponsored a small-scale study in 2006.

Related Links:

— “Thousands of Toddlers Are Medicated for A.D.H.D., Report Finds, Raising Worries,” Alan Schwarz, New York Times, May 16, 2014.

CNN (5/14, Kounang) “The Chart” blog reported that about 50 percent of all Americans “take at least one prescription drug each month,” while 10 percent take “more than four,” citing a report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The annual report, titled “Health, United States, 2013” included a special section on prescription drugs this year. It noted, for instance, that Americans spend “a lot on prescription drugs. In 2011, Americans spent $263 billion on prescription drugs, which accounts for 9.7% of all national health expenditures (up from 5.6% in 1990).”

MSNBC (5/15) reported that heart medications “topped the list of most common prescription drugs.” The article noted that cardiovascular medication for treating high blood pressure, heart disease or kidney disease, “along with drugs to target cholesterol saw the highest usage reported in the three-year span.”

Related Links:

— “50% of Americans take prescription drugs,” Nadia Kounang, CNN, May 14, 2014.