Forbes (10/29) contributor Robert Glatter, MD, wrote, “Over 80% of emergency physicians believe that the mental health systems currently in place in their communities and surrounding regions are not providing optimal care for patients.” This finding is “based on a national survey of nearly 1,500 emergency physicians by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).” In response to this problem, “leaders in emergency medicine and psychiatry are launching ‘COPE,’ the Coalition On Psychiatric Emergencies, to help streamline and make improvements for patients who require urgent psychiatric intervention.”

Related Links:

— “Most ER Doctors Don’t Believe The Mental Health System Is Working For Patients,” Robert Glatter, MD, Forbes, October 28, 2015.

In a more than 4,500-word investigatory piece that was also broadcast on the “All Things Considered” program, Daniel Zwerdling of NPR (10/28) and Michael De Yoanna of Colorado Public Radio outline the cases of several soldiers with mental health issues, which in conjunction with secret recordings by soldiers and data from FOIA requests, indicate that “the Army has been pushing out soldiers diagnosed with mental health problems.” According to NPR, data show that 22,000 soldiers have been “separated” for “misconduct” after returning from war zones and being diagnosed with mental health issues, thereby becoming ineligible for medical benefits. Some have claimed the reason is that “it takes less time and money to get rid of problem soldiers on the grounds of misconduct.”

Related Links:

— “Missed Treatment: Soldiers With Mental Health Issues Dismissed For ‘Misconduct’,” Daniel Zwerdling, NPR, October 28, 2015.

Reuters (10/28, Bryan) reports that at a conference devoted to aviation security, experts and pilots expressed their opinion that providing support for pilots with mental health issues would probably help prevent pilot suicides more effectively than the requirement of having two flight personnel present at all times in airliner cockpits. One consulting psychologist pointed out that in previous incidences in which a pilot was suspected to have committed suicide, another pilot in the cockpit was unable to take back control of the plane. Instead, the psychologist made the recommendation to provide pilots with mental health awareness training, not just for themselves, but also for other aircrew members, an idea pilot groups also promote.

Related Links:

— “Support, not two in cockpit, key to reducing pilot suicide risk, experts say,” Victoria Bryan, Reuters, October 27, 2015.

The Huffington Post (10/28, Almendrala) reports, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed more than 1,400 children with” autism spectrum disorder (ASD) “and found that about 13 percent of them seemed to shed their ASD-associated behaviors as they grew up.” Working together with NIH and the University of Washington, the CDC found that most of such children “were simply misdiagnosed or intentionally diagnosed with ASD for other reasons.” The findings were published online Oct. 20 in the journal Autism.

Related Links:

— “Some Children Do Outgrow Autism, But It’s Not What You Think,” Anna Almendrala, Huffington Post, October 27, 2015.

Reuters (10/28, Seaman) reports that about one in seven health plans offered on the Federal marketplace in 2015 did not provide access to in-network physicians for at least one medical specialty, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers looked at 135 plans in 34 states, finding that 18 plans in nine states lacked in-network specialists for at least one specialty within a 100-mile radius. According to the article, the most commonly excluded specialties were endocrinology, rheumatology, and psychiatry.

NPR (10/28, Kodjak) reports in its “Shots” blog that the study “was actually designed to be easy on health plans,” as it focused on the most populous areas in 34 states. Lead author Stephen Dorner, a researcher at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “said it’s likely the health insurance plans in rural areas lack even more specialists, simply because there aren’t any located within 100 miles of the customers.”

The Los Angeles Times (10/28, Levey) reports Dorner “said the findings suggest that state and federal regulators need to develop clearer network adequacy standards for health plans.”

Related Links:

— “Specialized healthcare may be lacking under Obamacare plans,” Andrew Seaman, Reuters, October 27, 2015.