Healio (2/14, Gramigna) reports, “The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9] appeared reliable and valid for depression screening among patients with neurological disorders,” researchers concluded after analyzing “PHQ-9 questionnaire responses from 277 patients admitted to a neurology department at Peking University,” then using “the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview…and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression to assess depressive symptoms.” The findings were published online Feb. 9 in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “PHQ-9 may offer effective depression screening in patients with neurological disorders “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 14, 2022

Bloomberg Law (2/14, Subscription Publication) reports HHS “announced that nearly $55 million will be awarded to 29 health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to Monday’s news release.” This “funding will support the use of telehealth, digital patient tools, and health information technology platforms.” According to HHS, “health centers have reported a 6,000% increase in the number of virtual visits from 478,333 in 2019 to 28,550,608 in 2020.”

Healthcare IT News (2/14, Jercich) reports these “one-time grants are intended to support the health centers in developing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based strategies that optimize the use of virtual care to increase access and improve clinical quality for underserved communities and vulnerable populations.”

Related Links:

— “HHS puts $55M toward virtual care for underserved groups “Kat Jercich, Healthcare IT News, February 14, 2022

Healio (2/11, Herpen) reported, “A variety of social and environmental factors are crucial to assess rates of self-injury mortality [SIM] and suicide,” investigators concluded in a study that “utilized a partial panel time series with underlying cause-of-death data in 101,325 SIMs from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for the intervals of 1999 to 2000, 2007 to 2008, 2013 to 2014 and 2018 to 2019, which included all suicides, accidental and undetermined drug intoxication deaths and self-harm behaviors.” The findings were published online Feb. 9 in JAMA Network Open. They “ identified 8 factors associated with the SIM rate in 2018-2019: centralized medical examiner system (β = 4.362), labor underutilization rate (β = 0.728), manufacturing employment (β = −0.056), homelessness rate (β = −0.125), percentage nonreligious (β = 0.041), non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity (β = 0.087), prescribed opioids for 30 days or more (β = 0.117), and percentage without health insurance (β = −0.013) and 5 factors associated with the suicide rate: percentage male (β = 1.046), military veteran (β = 0.747), rural (β = 0.031), firearm ownership (β = 0.030), and pain reliever misuse (β = 1.131).

Related Links:

— “Social, environmental factors key to assessing rates of self-injury mortality and suicide “Robert Herpen, Healio , February 11, 2022

According to Politico (2/13, Ollstein, Wilson), now, as Democrats pivot to crack “down on insurers who routinely deny mental health and addiction claims” in an effort to assure mental health parity, the health “insurance industry and its allies, which have successfully staved off tougher enforcement, are lining up against the measures,” spending time “talking with committee chairs and sending letters to key lawmakers to stop a pair of bills, including tougher enforcement such as stiff fines.” Mental healthcare clinicians, “looking to counter the insurance industry’s claims, are also ramping up their lobbying and urging Congress on as they consider penalizing insurers.” Saul Levin, MD, MPA, FRCP-E, FRCPsych, CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association, told Politico, “This is the big issue for us on the Hill.” Dr. Levin added, “If you can’t provide care, what are we here for?”

Related Links:

— “Mental health push in Congress sparks lobbying frenzy “Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Wilson, Politico, February 13, 2022

The AP (2/12, DiLorenzo) reported that during the recent Tokyo Olympic Games, the subject of mental health “shook up those Games and made everyone take notice.” Now, during the winter games in Beijing just six months later, “the conversation has evolved: The subject pops up regularly, but no one is shocked when it does.” After “several elite athletes stumbled in Beijing, they were often quick to remind the world that they’re human, too.” Now, “as more athletes acknowledged what they face behind the scenes, the stigma around talking about mental health” may “merely become one more challenge in the mix.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health hovers over Olympics, on its way to mainstream “Sarah DiLorenzo, AP, February 12, 2022