HealthDay (9/20, Collins) reports, “Nearly one in five counties across the United States lack psychiatrists or internet service, making it difficult for around 10.5 million Americans to find mental healthcare,” according to findings published online Sept. 14 in JAMA Network Open. Those “counties examined in the study were more likely to be in rural areas, have higher unemployment rates, and have populations that were more likely to be uninsured and lack a bachelor’s degree.”

Related Links:

— “Few Doctors, Spotty Internet: Finding Mental Health Care Tough for Many Americans,”Sarah D. Collins, HealthDay , September 20, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (9/19, Vaidya) reports a “study revealed fewer differences in health care utilization by race and ethnicity and preferred language when a mix of virtual and in-person care options was available to patients versus when only in-person care was available.” The study, published in JAMA Network Open, “aimed to examine rates of change in in-person and telehealth visits and between-visit interactions over time, as well as key patient characteristics associated with visits and between-visit interactions.”

Related Links:

— “Hybrid Care Could Help Curb Disparities in Healthcare Utilization,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence , September 19, 2023

Psychiatric News (9/19) reports, “Researchers have long known that people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) tend to die at younger ages than those who do not have these conditions – likely due to their higher risk of chronic illnesses that tend to be more severe and diagnosed later in life,” but an “article in JAMA Psychiatry examines why these patients may have been overlooked for palliative care and a few simple steps that psychiatrists can take to help connect patients to end of life care when needed.” The researchers wrote, “This population faces disparities at the patient, health care professional, and system levels, which are worsened by the prevalent stigma associated with major mental illness. The ensuing fragmentation impedes care integration and raises the likelihood of poor health outcomes.”

Related Links:

— “Palliative Care Said to Help Patients With Serious Mental Illness, Psychiatric News , September 19, 2023

Healio (9/19, Bascom) reports, “An umbrella review published” online in The BMJ and including 101 meta-analyses “provided a breakdown of the associations between cannabis and health outcomes, highlighting the uncertain potential for clinical use.” The umbrella review found that “cannabis-based medications seem to be effective for those with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and more.” Among “the general population,” however, “cannabis worsened cognition, psychotic symptoms and psychiatric symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Umbrella review reveals what the benefits and risks of cannabis are and for whom,”Emma Bascom, Healio, September 19, 2023

Healio (9/19, Cooper) reports, “Factors previously associated with short-term risk for new-onset bipolar disorder also were associated with significantly higher risk after more than 10 years of follow-up,” investigators concluded after tracking the “long-term association between bipolar at-risk…criteria – which includes subthreshold mania, cyclothymic features, subthreshold depression and family history of bipolar disorder (BD) – and the development of BD” in a study that included 60 participants. The findings were published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Patients at risk for bipolar disorder would benefit from long-term monitoring and support,”Justin Cooper, Healio, September 19, 2023

Healthcare Finance News (9/18, Morse) says, “Ahead of a hearing on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Tuesday, PhRMA released Nephron Research that contends PBMs are driving up profits and drug prices through fees.” The PBMs “demand double the amount of fees today than they did five years ago, according to the report released Monday.” To address the issue, “PhRMA recommends that PBM compensation no longer be tied to the price of medicines and they should instead receive a flat fee.” Additionally, “PBMs should share savings directly with patients so they don’t pay more than their insurer pays, PhRMA said.”

Related Links:

— “PBMs are driving up drug prices through fees, PhRMA report claims,”Susan Morse, Healthcare Finance News, September 18, 2023

Healio (9/18, Herpen) reports, “Individuals who sustained at least one head injury saw an increased risk for developing cognitive issues over a 30-year period compared to those who did not, according to” the findings presented in a poster at the American Neurological Association annual meeting. After examining “cognition in 11,677 individuals, with 2,110 having a recorded prior head injury,” investigators found that people “who sustained a head injury were at significantly increased risk for cognitive change after 30 years.”

Related Links:

— “Prior head injury linked to higher risk for cognitive change over 30 years,”Robert Herpen, Healio, September 18, 2023

According to HealthDay (9/18, Mundell), “seniors who develop dementia begin to lose their wealth in the eight years before a definitive diagnosis,” according to findings published online in a research letter in JAMA Neurology. Examining “medical records, researchers compared the financial health of two groups of participants: One group of about 5,400 people whose mental capacity (and that of their spouse) remained stable throughout those two decades, and another group of nearly 2,700 people where dementia was probable and then at some point definitively diagnosed.” The study revealed that “in the years leading up to a dementia diagnosis, average net worth fell by more than half.”

Related Links:

— “Older Americans’ Finances Decline in Years Before Dementia Diagnosis,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, September 18, 2023

Healio (9/18, Herpen) reports, “Patients with a psychotic-spectrum disorder may be more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease” (PD), “especially if they have an additional diagnosis of anxiety,” investigators concluded in a case-control study that examined “the prevalence of psychotic-spectrum disorders before development of PD in a cohort of Kaiser Permanente members in northern California, as well as the prevalence of comorbid anxiety or depression before PD diagnosis.” The study, which included “13,998 patients, including 3,501 with Parkinson’s disease,” revealed that the “odds of a PD diagnosis were 76% higher among those with a psychotic-spectrum disorder.” The findings were presented at the American Neurological Association annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Odds of PD diagnosis significantly higher among those with psychotic-spectrum disorders,”Robert Herpen, Healio, September 18, 2023

PatientEngagementHIT (9/15, Heath) reported, “The appointment scheduling process is proving not ideal, especially for Spanish-speaking or limited English proficiency (LEP) patients, according to data from RAND.” Published in Health Affairs, the study “showed that it’s harder for Spanish-speaking patients to get to the appointment scheduling process with front office staff in safety-net behavioral health clinics, let alone book the spot.” Rather, “Spanish-speaking patients are more likely than their White peers to be hung up on or told that nobody in the clinic could help them, posing serious barriers to treatment, the secret shopper survey showed.”

Related Links:

— “Appointment Scheduling Fixes Needed for LEP Patient Access,” Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, September 15, 2023