Kaiser Health News (8/25, Pattani) reports, “A recent report from the Legal Action Center and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative found that despite widespread consensus on the importance of addiction treatment in the” emergency department (ED) “and an unprecedented rise in overdose deaths, many hospitals fail to screen for substance use, offer medications to treat opioid use disorder or connect patients to follow-up care.” The report also found that “many patients who don’t receive those services die shortly after discharge or within a year of their” visit to the ED. Now, “a growing number of emergency” departments and “health professionals are trying to change that by developing new approaches to address the missed treatment opportunity in” EDs. The article details programs in California, Tennessee, New York and North Carolina.

Related Links:

— “From Uber Rides to Patient Advocates: What It Takes to Increase ER Addiction Treatment “Aneri Pattani, Kaiser Health News, August 25, 2021

The New York Times (8/25, Blum) interviews “experts about ways to potentially ease anxiety as some workers” who have been working from home for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic now “head back to their desks.” The Times adds that “the Americans With Disabilities Act offers protections for workers with physical and mental impairments, and grants” people “the right to ask for a reasonable accommodation if” they “have a mental health condition.” Still, “the word ‘reasonable’ is key, and it can be tricky to identify, said Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation,” but “the more employers can be flexible and really think about reassuring people coming back to the workplace, and being open and communicative and really checking in, they may be able to reduce the high levels of anxiety that many people are experiencing.”

Related Links:

— “Feeling Anxious About Returning to the Office? Here’s What You Can Do. “Dani Blum, The New York Times, August 25, 2021

According to Healio (8/25), in an Aug. 25 press release, “the American Psychiatric Association has underscored the importance of providing mental health access and support for individuals involved in the ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.” Not just “U.S. service members, individuals in the foreign service and their families,” but also “their Afghan co-workers and families who were evacuated should all receive support, the APA noted in” the release. Because “U.S. asylum seekers and refugees” are “at increased risk for developing mental disorders, such as PTSD and depression, the association highlighted the critical importance of providing mental health resource access for all.”

Psychiatric News (8/25) quotes APA President Vivian Pender, MD, who said, “The APA wants to extend its knowledge and resources around trauma-based care, grounded in years of research, to assist all those coming from Afghanistan.” For his part, “APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, agreed.” Dr. Levin stated, “We should ensure that our country provides the needed mental health resources to address this traumatic situation for all who need them.”

Related Links:

— “APA pledges mental health support in wake of Afghanistan evacuation, Healio, August 25, 2021

Healio (8/24, Laday) reports, “Patients with PTSD demonstrated a two-fold higher likelihood of being diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], compared to those without PTSD,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 10,942 patients with SLE and matched them 1:10 with 109,420 control participants.” The findings were published online in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

Related Links:

— “Patients with prior PTSD twice as likely to develop lupus “Jason Laday, Healio , August 24, 2021

Healio (8/24, Gramigna) reports, “Vulnerable subgroups of veterans had increased risk for cannabis use disorder and nonmedical use,” investigators concluded after analyzing data from “3,119 U.S. veterans who responded to the 2012 to 2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III.” The findings of the survey study were published online Aug. 19 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Among veterans, the odds of nonmedical cannabis use and use disorder were elevated among vulnerable subgroups, including those with lower income or psychiatric disorders and among survey participants residing in states with medical marijuana laws.

Related Links:

— “Sociodemographic factors impact veterans’ risk for cannabis use disorder “Joe Gramigna, Healio , August , 2021