Healio (10/12, Bascom) reports, “Alcohol and tobacco use were both notably associated with suicide attempts among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to” findings presented at the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference. Data derived “from the CDC’s Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey showed that 37.1% of high school students had poor mental health and 9.3% attempted suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “Study findings ’emphasize the relationship’ between substance use and teen suicide,”Emma Bascom, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/12, Cooper) reports, “A study of more than 110,000 patients receiving psychotherapy found improved continuity of care and significantly fewer days between appointments after the switch to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to findings published online Oct. 11 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. The study revealed that “improvements in patient engagement were observed across all demographic subgroups and major mental health conditions,” thereby supporting “further use of virtual psychotherapy.”

Related Links:

— “Virtual psychotherapy improved patient engagement, cut time between visits during pandemic,”Justin Cooper, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/11, Monostra) reports, “The majority of adults with diabetes say their diabetes team has never discussed the topic of mental health with them, even though most self-reported feelings of emotional distress, according to” the findings of a survey study published online in the journal Diabetic Medicine. The 478-survey response study also revealed that “of a group of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, 69% had self-reported anxiety and 65% self-reported depression.”

Related Links:

— “Most adults with diabetes report emotional distress, but do not discuss it with care team,”Michael Monostra, Healio, October 11, 2023

CNN (10/11, Musa) reports, “The number of drug overdose deaths in the” US “is still increasing every month, according to new data” from the CDC, “but the pace appears to be slowing.” According to “new estimates from the” CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, “more than 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in May, an increase of more than 2,700 from the previous year.” Meanwhile, “there were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, compared with 109,261 in the 12-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.”

Related Links:

— “US overdose deaths continue their rise, data shows, with ‘devastating impact’ on population,”Amanda Musa, CNN, October 11, 2023

The New York Times (10/11, Ives) reports California has banned “the use of ‘excited delirium’ as a cause of death, rejecting a term that prominent medical associations have said is rooted in racism and is often used to justify the deaths of people in police custody.” The American Psychiatric Association is among major medical groups that “have dismissed the term as pseudoscience.”

Related Links:

— “California Bans ‘Excited Delirium’ as a Cause of Death,”Mike Ives, The New York Times, October 11, 2023

HealthDay (10/11, Murez) reports, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about risks of using compounded versions of the drug ketamine, often taken for psychiatric disorders.” Such drugs “are not evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. They’re also not regulated like approved drugs, so they present a greater risk.” Compounded ketamine products are increasingly being used “for mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to the FDA.” However, in a statement, the FDA said, “Despite increased interest in the use of compounded ketamine, we are not aware of evidence to suggest that it is safer, is more effective, or works faster than medications that are FDA-approved for the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Warns of Dangers of Compounded Ketamine for Psychiatric Use,”Cara Murez, HealthDay, October 11, 2023

ABC News (10/10, Cahan) reports, “In the face of widespread staffing shortages amid the ballooning demand, 988 centers all over the country are being forced to make…tough decisions for frequent callers, sources informed ABC News.” The article adds, “According to Vibrant Emotional Health, the national organization administering the new 988 hotline, crisis centers across the country are using callers’ names, numbers or even ‘the sound of their voice’ to potentially limit services.” However, “leading mental health professionals disagree that such an approach is likely to help patients.” Mark Olfson, a psychiatrist and former chairman of the scientific advisory committee for the American Psychiatric Association, said, “I am aware of no evidence that restricting crisis mental health services leads to positive outcomes.”

Related Links:

— “Amid nationwide mental health crisis, suicide prevention hotlines struggle with repeat callers,”Eli Cahan, ABC News, October 10, 2023

The AP (10/10, Nguyen) reports, “More Californians with untreated mental illness and addiction issues could be detained against their will and forced into treatment under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom” (D), “a move to help overhaul the state’s mental health system and address its growing homelessness crisis.” This “new law, which reforms the state’s conservatorship system, expands the definition of ‘gravely disabled’ to include people who are unable to provide themselves basic needs such as food and shelter due to an untreated mental illness or unhealthy drugs and alcohol use.” The law will go into “effect in 2024, but counties can postpone implementation until 2026.”

Related Links:

— “New California law aims to force people with mental illness or addiction to get help,”Trân Nguyễn, AP, October 10, 2023

The Hill (10/6, Weixel) reported that on Friday, the Biden Administration “extended flexibilities regarding controlled substances to be prescribed via telemedicine.” The Drug Enforcement Administration “said in a notice it would allow [clinicians] to continue using telemedicine to prescribe certain controlled substances through the end of 2024.”

Psychiatric News (10/6) reported that “earlier this year, the DEA proposed regulations that would curtail telemedicine prescribing flexibilities extended to qualified health professionals during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.” The article added, “APA filed two letters in response to these proposed rules in March, urging that the DEA balance common-sense safeguards for DEA enforcement without decreasing access to lifesaving treatment.” The agency “received more than 38,000 comments on the proposed telemedicine rules and last month held two days of public listening sessions related to those rules.” During the public meeting, APA Committee on Telepsychiatry Chair Shabana Khan, MD, said, “Rather than a mandatory blanket requirement [for an in-person visit], the need for an in-person examination of a patient really should be left to the clinical discretion of a practitioner who has the knowledge, skills, and experience to make that decision. … Reducing flexibility in modalities of care increases inequity, forcing practitioners to cherry-pick patients that have the ability to travel to in-person care.”

Related Links:

— “DEA extends pandemic telehealth rules for prescribing controlled substances,”Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, October 6, 2023

HCPlive (10/6, Derman) reported, “A newly developed prediction model for opioid treatment may help detect risk of opioids by three weeks,” researchers concluded after creating “a prediction model to see if people with opioid use disorder” (OUD) “were at a risk for opioid return during early stages of treatment – which they were.” Included in the participant sample were “2199 adult trial participants aged >18 years old.” The findingswere published online Oct. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry. “A simplified score provided good clinical risk stratification wherein patients with weekly opioid-negative UDS (Urine Drug Screen) results in the 3 weeks after treatment initiation had a 13% risk of return to use compared with 85% for those with 3 weeks of opioid-positive or missing UDS results.”

Related Links:

— “New Decision Analytical Model Predicts Risk of Opioid Use Disorder Return,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, October 6, 2023