In an opposing viewpoint for USA Today (1/11), Wayne Lindstrom, CEO of Mental Health America, contends, “Rather than forcing more people into treatment, we should dedicate adequate resources toward prevention and early identification of emotional disturbances in children and fund cost-effective community-based interventions that work.” Lindstrom points out that “just two-thirds of those with severe mental illness and one-third with moderate illness receive appropriate services.” He concludes, “Expanding access to care under the Affordable Care Act and mental health parity law will serve people better than changing commitment laws that will change nothing.”

Related Links:

— “Opposing view: Don’t link violence with mental illness, “Wayne Lindstrom, USA Today, January 10, 2013.

USA Today (1/11) editorializes, “From a classroom at Virginia Tech to a strip mall in Tucson to a movie theater in Colorado, a common thread runs through many of the nation’s tragic mass murders: severe and untreated mental illness.” USA Today asserts, “Many states have become so strict that it is almost impossible to get people committed until they are in deep crisis, or try to commit suicide or harm someone. Just a third of the states permit commitment if a person could emotionally or psychologically harm themselves — a more sensible standard that allows earlier intervention.” According to USA Today, the shortage of psychiatric beds makes problems worse, and not enough community-based mental healthcare programs exist to help those in need of treatment.

The Daily Caller (1/11, Howley) reports that on Jan. 8, 52 “medical organizations…sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday invoking the Newtown, Conn. school shooting tragedy to request increased federal and state funding for medical programs, such as psychiatric care and an educational campaign that ‘reduces the stigma of seeking mental health services.'” Signatories to the letter included “the American Medical Association, followed by 51 other organizations that would benefit from increased government funding, including the American Psychiatric Association.” In addition to calling for increased funding for the prevention of violence, the letter states, “While the overwhelming majority of patients with mental illness are not violent, physicians and other health professionals must be trained to respond to those who have a mental illness that might make them more prone to commit violence.”

Related Links:

— “Medical organizations invoke Newtown to request more funding from Obama,”Patrick Howley, Daily Caller, January 10, 2013.

Medscape (1/11, Brauser) reports that Paul Appelbaum, MD, past president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and current chair of the APA Committee on Judicial Action, “met with members of Vice President Joe Biden’s Task Force on Gun Violence yesterday at the White House to discuss changes to the country’s mental health system.” Dr. Appelbaum “presented a four-part outline designed to address” the improvement of mental health in the US, including: “Appointing a presidential commission to ‘develop a vision’ for a better system of mental healthcare; designating a White House staffer as point person for facilitating responses from the Administration; improving early identification of those with mental health problems; and developing ‘sensible, nondiscriminatory approaches to keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.'”

Psychiatric News (1/11) reports that Dr. Appelbaum told the Task Force that “despite evidence of the effectiveness of mental health treatment, funding for mental health services has plunged in the last few years, particularly in the public sector.” He also “stressed as well APA’s willingness to work with the administration and Congress in efforts to improve access to and the quality of mental health services and public safety.”

Related Links:

— “APA Participates in White House Gun-Violence Meeting,Psychiatric News Alert, January 10, 2013.

HealthDay (1/11, Reinberg) reports, “Prescription painkillers are second only to marijuana when it comes to drug abuse,” according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report: State Estimates of Nonmedical Use of Prescription Pain Relievers: 2010-2011, sponsored by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Some 22 million Americans have misused prescription painkillers since 2002, according to” SAMHSA. “The report is based on data from the SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is a survey of approximately 67,500 people across the” US.

Related Links:

— “Prescription Painkillers Trail Only Marijuana in Abuse Rates, Report Shows,”Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, Janueary 10, 2013.