The Washington Post (1/22, A1, Nirappil) reports that across the U.S., “the RSV wave has receded,” influenza “cases have rapidly dwindled,” and COVID-19 “hospitalizations rose briefly after Christmas, only to fall again.” The “early waves of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza peaked before the new year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” and “the expected winter uptick of coronavirus is nowhere close to overwhelming hospitals.” Still, “experts caution the country could see additional increases in flu, which sometimes has two peaks, and another RSV season in spring,” and warn the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 could continue to spread.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to Kaiser Health News (1/20, Kreidler), the NFL “is working its way toward the kind of mental health support for its players, coaches, and staff in which a range of counseling is standard and readily accessible.” In 2019, the league “implemented a formal program to manage its employees’ mental health needs,” a program that “mandates that each team have a licensed behavioral health clinician on staff.” The “individual franchises,” however, “still have great latitude in implementing that directive.” Meanwhile, “the NFL’s best chance to make big strides in its mental health coverage, clinicians say, may derive from the simple fact that it is continually drafting and developing new talent,” and younger players are “more open to the idea of dealing with their mental health.”

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— “NFL Has Been Slow to Embrace Mental Health Support for Players “Mark Kreidler, Kaiser Health News, January 20, 2023

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.

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— “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.”

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— “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