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Latest News Around the Web

Sexual, Physical Assault May Raise Suicide Risk Among US Soldiers.

HealthDay (1/23, Preidt) reports that “U.S. military personnel who were the victims of sexual or physical assault as adults are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts or actions, according to a new study” published Jan. 18 in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. Meanwhile, college students “were more likely to think about or commit suicide if they were sexually assaulted as children or adults.” Investigators came to these conclusions after having “273 active-duty U.S. Air Force personnel with an average age of about 26 and 309 undergraduate college students with an average age of about 20 complete surveys anonymously.”

Related Links:

— “Physical, Sexual Assault May Raise Soldiers’ Suicide Risk, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, January 22, 2013.

Panel Advises Women Should Undergo Screening For Domestic Violence.

The Los Angeles Times (1/22, Morin) reports on a recommendation published online Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which advised that “women of childbearing age should undergo screening for domestic violence and other forms of abuse while visiting their doctor or clinic.” The recommendation “marks a significant change from 2004 when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found insufficient evidence to support screenings for so-called intimate partner violence, or IPV.” According to the panel, “if abuse is confirmed, physicians should provide patients with, or refer them to, intervention services.”

Bloomberg News (1/22, Ostrow) quotes David Grossman, a member of the task force and senior investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, who said, “We hope the clinicians get the message that screening for intimate partner violence works, particularly for women of childbearing age. As far as screening for men and screening for the elderly, we would say that we just don’t know about the effectiveness of that. We’re basically saying clinicians need to use their judgment.”

Related Links:

— “Doctors urged to screen women for domestic abuse, “Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2013.

Sebelius Vows Mental Health Insurance Coverage Will Be Finalized This Year

CQ (1/19, Norman, Subscription Publication) reported that “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Friday that a delayed final rule on equal insurance coverage for mental health services will be issued this year, and she stressed that officials are working to ensure that the regulation is integrated with the health care law.” She also told the crowd, at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, “that 65 million adults will have mental health coverage once the overhaul law goes fully into effect in 2014,” and that “health and substance abuse coverage is required in” the essential health benefits mandated by the law. Of the long wait for the rules, Sebelius said “I think the timing is actually going to be very helpful,” adding “that interim final rules have been out since February 2010 and have offered some general guidance.” She continued, promising more specifics soon, “Definitely this year. We are in the process of finalizing them now. It will be done.”

HHS Releases Omnibus HIPAA Rule.

CQ (1/18, Subscription Publication) reports that late Thursday, HHS issued “what they say is the largest expansion of privacy and security protections for patient information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA].” According to an HHS statement, the final omnibus rule “provides individuals new rights to their health information, and strengthens the government’s ability to enforce the law.” Among the regulations included in the rule are “increased penalties for noncompliance based on the level of negligence,” and the right for patients to request “a copy of their electronic medical record in an electronic form.”

Senate Hearing To Address Mental Health.

The Hill (1/18, Viebeck) “Healthwatch” blog says the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will host a January 24 hearing, in which the heads of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Institutes of Mental Health will discuss “how to improve treatment for the mentally ill in light of recent mass shootings.” Although President Obama’s plan to reduce gun violence calls for rules implementing mental health parity and Federal research on gun violence, advocates “say more work is needed to strengthen the U.S. mental healthcare system, which has faced cuts in recent years.” Committee staff said the hearing “will provide senators an opportunity to examine the most pressing problems in our mental health system, including a need to focus on prevention and early intervention.”

Related Links:

— “HELP panel to hold hearing on mental health,”Elise Viebeck, The Hill, January 17, 2013.

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