In continuing coverage, the NPR (7/6) website posted audio of a “Morning Edition” story noting that a “Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee has begun recruiting for additional mental health” professionals. The recruitment is “part of a nationwide” VA “effort to bring on about 1,600 new psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to reduce wait times for treatment.” NPR notes that VA “says it will be aggressive in recruiting candidates for the new mental health positions and hopes to have most on board within six months.”

Official To Senators: VA Is Hiring More Mental Health Professionals. American Medical News (7/6, Fiegl) reports, “Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Patty Murray (D, Wash.) has introduced legislation that would require more oversight of federal suicide prevention programs” and that “would expand mental health coverage to family members of servicemen and women to help them cope with deployments.” Murray’s “committee held a June 27 hearing to discuss the Mental Health Access to Continued Care and Enhancement of Support Services and several other pieces of legislation. The VA has taken steps to improve access, said Madhulika Agarwal, MD, MPH, the VA deputy undersecretary for health policy and services,” who noted that VA has launched an initiative to hire more mental health professionals.

Related Links:

— “VA Hospital Recruits Mental Health Providers, “Erin Toner, NPR, July 5, 2012.

MedWire (7/6, Cowen) reports, “Suicidal behavior is common among young people with bipolar disorder (BD), with around one in five attempting to take their own lives,” according to a study published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The 413-patient study also revealed that “increased depression severity and a family history of depression are the most significant predictors for suicide attempts in young people with the mood disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide attempts common in young bipolar patients, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 5, 2012.

HealthDay (7/4, Dallas) reported, “Students with visible disabilities and those receiving special education services for behavioral problems are at greater risk of being bullied and of bullying others,” according to a study published June 27 in the Journal of School Psychology. In the study of “more than 800 special-ed and general-ed students between the ages of nine and 16 from nine different schools,” researchers found that “not only were special-ed students at greater risk for being bullied or bullying others,” but also that “students with visible or more obvious disabilities, such as language or hearing impairments or mild mental handicaps, were victimized most often.”

Related Links:

— “Special-Ed Students at Greater Risk of Bullying, Being Bullied: Study, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, July 3, 2012.

The Washington Post (7/5, Kliff) “Wonkblog” reports, “Health care spending for 14- to 18-year-olds has grown faster than any other age group with private coverage.” The blog post explains that according to a report from the Health Care Cost Institute, one of the factors driving up health spending for teenagers is “the increased use of mental health services. In 2010, the average teenager was prescribed 1.2 central nervous system drugs, which treat conditions like depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Maybe we should blame teenagers for our health spending problems, “Sarah Kliff, The Washington Post, July 3, 2012.

Modern Healthcare (7/4, Zigmond, Subscription Publication) reported, “Behavioral healthcare groups have inched a little closer to their goal of ensuring that the country’s mental-healthcare facilities are eligible for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s meaningful-use incentives.” Just “before leaving for this week’s July 4 recess, Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) introduced the Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2012, which would include behavioral health [professionals] — such as psychiatric hospitals, mental-health and substance-abuse professionals, community mental-health centers, and inpatient or outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities — in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act that was enacted as part of the Recovery Act in 2009.” Last year, “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced similar legislation in the Senate.”