Psychiatric News (1/20) reported, “Telehealth options may help increase the likelihood that veterans with substance use disorder (SUD) will initiate and stay in treatment,” researchers concluded after analyzing “electronic health record data from 373 veterans between 21 and 87 years old who were referred to an outpatient alcohol and substance treatment clinic at a VA hospital.” The study team “compared treatment initiation and retention among veterans with SUD who received telehealth referrals during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of veterans who were only referred for in-person treatment before the pandemic lockdowns began.” The findings were published online Jan. 16 in the American Journal on Addictions.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Options May Boost Number of Veterans Who Begin Treatment for Substance Use, Psychiatric News, January 20, 2023

HealthPayerIntelligence (1/20, Waddill) reported, “The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a list of its top preventive care recommendations that were finalized in 2022.” According to this list, “there were two new topics that UPSTF introduced and on which the organization offered preventive care recommendations.” The task force “recommended screening for anxiety in children eight and older who do not display symptoms of anxiety,” while “the second new topic that received a finalized recommendation in 2022 was related to screening for depression and suicide risk in children and adolescents.” In addition, USPSTF “changed the grade level for two established recommendations” related “to cardiovascular disease preventive services.”

Related Links:

— “Most Impactful USPSTF Preventive Care Final Recommendations of 2022 ” Kelsey Waddill, HealthPayerIntelligence, January 20, 2023

The New York Times (1/19, Chung) reports, “The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, also known as the new 988 hotline, has been operational for only six months, and it has already handled more than two million inquiries across phone calls, chats and text messages,” a number that “far surpasses the inquiries received in the same time period the previous year, when the hotline was 10 digits long.” Besides “answering tens of thousands more calls, chats and text messages than in the past, the hotline has also been responding more swiftly and more locally.”

CNN (1/19, Howard) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “New 988 Mental Health Crisis Hotline Sees Record Demand “Christine Chung, The New York Times, January 19, 2023

Psychiatric News (1/19) reports, “Black and Native American/Alaska Native patients are less likely to attend follow-up outpatient mental health visits 30 days after discharge from hospital psychiatric units compared with white patients,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 2012-2013 New York state Medicaid claims.” The findings were published online Jan. 18 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Black, Native American/Alaska Native Patients Less Likely to Receive Follow-Up MH Care, Psychiatric News, January 19, 2023

Healio (1/19, Downey) reports, “The percentage of those with schizophrenia who were uninsured decreased after the Affordable Care Act” (ACA) “provisions were implemented, researchers” concluded in a study that “used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey from 2008 to 2020 to identify” 9,173,644 people with schizophrenia. Next, “the authors calculated descriptive statistics for the sample to assess differences in pre-ACA compared with post-ACA periods,” then “calculated probabilities of insurance coverage using a logistic regression analysis.” The findings were published online Jan. 18 in a research letter in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Affordable Care Act provisions reduced percentage of uninsured people with schizophrenia “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, January 19, 2023