HealthDay (9/13, Preidt) reports, “Patients seeking help for mental health problems wait hours longer in the emergency department than other patients do,” researchers found after examining data “from more than 200,000” ED visits in the US that occurred “between 2002 and 2011.” The findings were published in the September issue of Health Affairs.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Patients Face Longer Waits in ER,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 13, 2016.

Kaiser Health News (9/13, Gold) reports, “Schools do not all screen students for mental health issues, and the practice varies widely” depending upon states. But even when children are screened, “many areas lack the community-based mental health treatment options that would be needed to help them.”

Despite the fact that two years ago, “the federal government announced $48 million in new grants to support teachers, schools and communities in recognizing and responding to mental health issues,” mental health issues “continue to go unidentified and untreated” in many school-age kids.

Related Links:

— “Parents Often Battle To Get Their Children Mental Health Services At School,” Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News, September 13, 2016.

Healio (9/12, Oldt) reported, “College students who experienced childhood bullying and victimization were more likely to report symptoms of depression, anxiety and” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), researchers found after surveying “482 undergraduate students about their childhood bullying experiences and current psychological functioning.” The findings were published online Aug. 16 in Social Psychology of Education.

Related Links:

— “Childhood bullying predicts depression, anxiety, PTSD in young adulthood,” Healio, September 12, 2016.

Healio (9/12, Oldt) reports a review published online June 27 in LGBT Health concluded “suicide prevention interventions for sexual and gender minority youth are lacking, despite higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among this population.” The review’s authors “suggest research methodologies be adapted to unique needs of sexual and gender minority youth at risk for suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Review calls for increased efforts in suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth,” Healio, September 12, 2016.

The New York Times (9/13, D5, Span, Subscription Publication) reports that beneficiaries are often told Medicare will no longer cover physical therapy or nursing home stays because they are “stable and chronic,” or have reached “maximum functional capacity,” or they have plateaued.

Seniors “with chronic and progressive diseases – dementia, Parkinson’s, heart failure” – are typically given this incorrect assessment, even though a 2013 settlement of a class-action suit mandated that Medicare “cover skilled care and therapy when they are ‘necessary to maintain the patient’s current condition or prevent or slow further deterioration.’”

In addition, last month, a Federal judge ordered CMS “to do a better job of informing health care” professionals “and Medicare adjudicators that the so-called improvement standard was no longer in effect.” The judge said that while CMS does not have to further update its manuals, it must do a better job of educating the medical community about these changes.

Related Links:

— “Failure to Improve Is Still Being Used, Wrongly, to Deny Medicare Coverage,” Paula Span, New York Times, September 12, 2016.