USA Today (11/5, Zoroya, Hoyer) reports on its front page that, according to data released by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2013, the VA “failed to schedule a third of new mental health patient appointments within 14 days.” Delays to see a psychiatrist appear to last about three weeks on average, the article points out.

Related Links:

— “Many veterans face frustrating delays for mental health care, “Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, November 5, 2013.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/4, Smydo) reports that approximately 200 physicians across Pennsylvania voiced concerns about increasing psychiatric caseloads when the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s House of Delegates complained of an inpatient psychiatric bed shortage and requested the state to implement a computerized tracking system to identify where inpatient psychiatric and detoxification beds are available. As some patients wait in emergency departments for days for placement, the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Pennsylvania chapter’s former president Michael Turturro stated, “They’re not getting the same type of treatment they would get as an inpatient.” Area health professionals attribute the shortage to the closure of Mayview State Hospital as well as state budget cuts.

Related Links:

— “Pennsylvania doctors complain of lack of psychiatric beds and seek solutions, “Joe Smydo, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 3, 2013.

HealthDay (11/2, Preidt) reported that, according to a study due for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, “the risk of domestic violence often is passed from parents to their children.” After analyzing data on some 1,600 US families, researchers found that almost “four out of five families in which parents were involved with intimate-partner violence had adult children who committed violence against partners, and three-quarters of those families had adult children who became victims of domestic violence.”

Related Links:

— “Domestic Violence Travels Down Through Generations, Study Finds, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 1, 2013.

Medwire (11/1, Grasmo) reports that, according to a study published online Oct. 18 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “anxiety disorders are common in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder [BD] and adversely affect their outcomes.” The study, which had a five-year follow-up period, revealed that “62% of 413 children and adolescents aged 7–17 years with confirmed bipolar disorder had at least one anxiety disorder.” Of that group, approximately “half were diagnosed with two or more anxiety disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Comorbid anxiety problematic for adolescents with bipolar disorder, “Ingrid Grasmo, Medwire News, November 1, 2013.

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have issued a joint reportsaying that not enough is being done to stop concussions in young athletes. The 306-page report, called “Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture,” faults players, parents, and coaches for not reporting concussions. Combined, the three major television news networks gave over five minutes of coverage to the story. Major newspapers, wire services, and consumer medical journals also cover the story, many noting that high-school athletes appear to have a greater risk of concussions than college athletes do and that the current sports culture discourages youngsters from reporting concussions and finishing treatment.

The CBS Evening News reported, “Parents and doctors now know that young athletes should not try to just shake off a head injury.”

Related Links:

— “Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, The National Academy Press, October, 2013.