mHealth Intelligence (8/2, Melchionna) reports, “A…study found that telehealth use increased between 2019 and 2021. Various patient- and [practitioner-level] factors such as age, area of residence, and type of [clinician] practice setting had a significant impact on outcomes.” This “high level of satisfaction with telehealth also indicates the need for further reimbursement.” The findings were published in JCO Oncology Practice.

Related Links:

— “Age, Residence Type, and Practice Setting Affect Telehealth Use,” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, August 2, 2023

Medical Economics (8/2, Bendix) reports “the COVID-19 pandemic has abated, but its influence on the mental health of” physicians “and their patients lingers, and in some ways has gotten worse, according to results of a new survey” from AdvancedMD, which “queried 200 of its customers – independent practice owners and physicians – about their own mental health and that of their patients.” In the survey, “84% said patient stress levels and mental health disorders have increased over the past three years, 64% said their work-related stress levels are higher now than in 2020, and 44% said they rely on exercise to manage stress.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health impact of COVID remains for doctors and patients,”Jeffrey Bendix, Medical Economics, August 2, 2023

MedPage Today (8/2, DePeau-Wilson) reports “continuing adjunctive antidepressant treatment for up to a year following remission of an acute depressive episode in patients with bipolar I disorder showed no significant benefit for preventing relapse, a randomized trial showed.” At 52 weeks, about “31% of patients treated with maintenance escitalopram (Lexapro) or bupropion XL (Wellbutrin XL) for that duration of time experienced a subsequent mood episode, as compared with 46% of those who switched to placebo at 8 weeks.” The findings were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (8/1, Bender, Subscription Publication) reports, “Bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to a sixfold increased risk of early death from external causes and a twofold increased risk of dying prematurely from somatic disease than the general population,” researchers concluded after identifying and tracking “the health of 47,000 patients, aged 15-64, with BD between 2004 and 2018.” The study also revealed that “patients with BD are three times more likely to die prematurely of all causes vs the general population, with alcohol-related diseases contributing to more premature deaths than cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.” The findings were published online in BMJ Mental Health.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

CNN (8/1, McPhillips) reports that “amid an ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants in the US, federal agencies are calling on drugmakers to boost manufacturing and on health care [practitioners] to closely monitor prescribing practices.” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and Drug Enforcement Administration leader Anne Milgram wrote in a joint letter on Tuesday, “The FDA and DEA do not manufacture drugs and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug. … That said, we are working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain to understand, prevent, and reduce the impact of these shortages.”

The Hill (8/1, Shapero) reports the DEA and the FDA “laid out steps they are taking to mitigate the ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants.” Milgram and Califf “said their agencies are calling on drug manufacturers to increase production of prescription stimulants to meet their allotted quotas for the year and urging those who do not want to boost production to relinquish the rest of their allotment so it can be redistributed.”

Related Links:

— “FDA, DEA call on drugmakers to boost manufacturing amid ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, August 1, 2023