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