Psychiatric News (8/9) reports, “When patients receiving mental health care were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire that asked whether they had access to guns, most provided a response,” investigators concluded after compiling “data on 128,802 patients who completed these questionnaires at either a primary care or mental health clinic between 2016 and 2019.” The study revealed that “overall, 83.4% of patients in primary care clinics and 91.8% of those in mental health clinics answered the question on access; in both settings those who did not respond were more likely to be older, male, live in a rural setting, and/or have a recent substance use disorder diagnosis.” The findings were published online Aug. 6 in JAMA Health Forum.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Patients Found Willing to Answer Routine Question on Firearm Access, Psychiatric News, August 9, 2021

Healio (8/9, Miller) reports, “Laws in 23 states that capped the number of days a Medicare enrollee could receive an initial opioid prescription may have had their intended effect,” investigators concluded. Such laws, “which were implemented between March 2016 and July 2018, limited the duration of first opioid prescriptions to seven days in 17 states, five days in two states and three days in four states.” The study revealed that “the number of days an opioid was prescribed for each Medicare enrollee dropped by a mean of 11.6 days during the five-year period, compared with a drop of 10.1 days in the control states.” The findings were published online Aug. 9 in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Opioid prescription laws provide ‘significant but limited outcome’ “Janel Miller, Healio, August 9, 2021

Psychiatric News (8/6) reported, “To help employers assist their employees with the transition” back to the workplace after months and months of pandemic-related telecommuting, “the Center for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the APA Foundation, has developed a guide for returning to the workplace.” This guide “offers insight into the concerns employees may have and tips on communicating with employees throughout the transition.”

Related Links:

— “APA Foundation Offers Advice to Employers to Help Workers Ease Transition Back to Workplace, Psychiatric News, August 6, 2021

The Wall Street Journal (8/7, Petersen, Subscription Publication) reported the rise of the Delta variant is creating new uncertainty about whether therapists and patients should resume in-person mental health treatment. According to psychiatrist Jay Shore, MD, MPH, who chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s telepsychiatry committee, digital tools are helping people get access to mental healthcare they might not otherwise get.

Related Links:

— “Online Therapy Got Popular During Covid. Should You Still See Your Therapist in Person? “Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2021

The New York Times (8/5, Stolberg) reports the Biden Administration, “worried that coronavirus vaccination rates among young people are lagging as the school year approaches, is enlisting pediatricians to incorporate vaccination into back-to-school sports physicals and encouraging schools to host their own vaccination clinics as part of a new push to get students their shots.” The initiative, “announced on Thursday by Education Secretary Miguel A. Cordona, is part of a broader ‘return to school road map’ aimed at getting students back to in-person learning this fall.” In order to help prevent transmission during school athletics, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have partnered with the Administration put out guidances for physicians “and update the forms required for school physicals.”

Related Links:

— “White House Makes Back-to-School Push for Student Vaccinations “Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times, August 5, 2021