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Latest News Around the Web

US Overdose Deaths Declined For Third Straight Year In 2025, CDC Data ShowUS Overdose Deaths Declined For Third Straight Year In 2025, CDC Data Show

The AP (5/13, Stobbe) reports preliminary data released Wednesday by the CDC show that “about 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year – about 14% fewer than the previous year.” This marks the “third straight annual drop, making it the longest decline in decades.” Declines were observed “across a number of drug types, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. Overdose deaths fell in the vast majority of states, although seven saw at least slight increases, including jumps of 10% or more in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.” Nevertheless, “the number of Americans dying from overdoses is still high, and deaths declined at a slower pace last year.” Researchers believe that “a number of things could cause deaths to rise again – including government policy changes or a shift in the drug supply.”

Reuters (5/13, Sunny) reports the wide availability of naloxone “has significantly contributed ​to the drop, according to experts.” Furthermore, “deaths involving opioids ‌fell ⁠to an estimated 44,564 in 2025 from 55,296 a year earlier, the CDC estimates showed. Synthetic opioids, including Fentanyl, ​are the ​single largest ⁠contributor to overdose deaths in the country.”

Related Links:

— “US overdose deaths fell again in 2025, but some worry about policy and drug supply changes,”Mike Stobbe , AP, May 13, 2026

Expansion of telemedicine has not increased total healthcare visits, medical spending

The American Journal of Managed Care (5/12, Hohmann) reports, “A study of more than 3 million insured Americans found that the dramatic expansion of telemedicine following the COVID-19 pandemic has not significantly increased total healthcare visits or medical spending.” For clinicians and healthcare “administrators navigating telemedicine coverage decisions, this study provides meaningful reassurance that adopting or expanding virtual care in their systems is unlikely to meaningfully increase total visit volume or costs.” For policymakers, “the data suggest that extending CMS telemedicine flexibilities carries limited near-term fiscal risk, though the question of whether telemedicine can meaningfully expand access to underserved populations remains open.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Didn’t Break the Bank—and the Data Prove It,”Maggie L. Shaw, Ella Hohmann, American Journal of Managed Care , May 12, 2026

OpenAI Lawsuit Alleges ChatGPT Gave Drug Advice Leading To Fatal Overdose

Bloomberg Law (5/12, Watwe, Subscription Publication) reports a new lawsuit filed against OpenAI Foundation and Sam Altman by the family of a college student alleges that “ChatGPT caused their son’s fatal overdose after he followed medical advice about mixing substances from the chatbot.” According to the complaint filed Tuesday in the Court of California for the County of San Francisco, “on the day of the overdose, the chatbot ‘actively recommended’ a mixture of Xanax and Kratom,” and further suggested the student “could add Benadryl to get the effect he wanted.” The lawsuit is the latest “in a string of litigation over the real-world harms linked to chatbot usage. Earlier lawsuits have focused on harmful mental health effects caused by…frequent chatbot interactions.”

Related Links:

— “OpenAI Hit With Overdose Suit Targeting ChatGPT Drug Advice (1),”Shweta Watwe, Bloomberg Law, May 12, 2026

LGBTQ Teens Struggle To Find Affirming Therapy

Fierce Healthcare (5/12, Gliadkovskaya) reports, “As almost 1 in 4 American teens identify as LGBTQ, affirming therapy can be life-saving,” but “availability is shrinking.” Additionally, many therapists do not “accept insurance, citing difficulties in becoming in-network with payers and low reimbursement rates.” Although “parity laws have been around for decades…true parity has not been achieved and is not well enforced.”

Related Links:

— “The broken pipeline of mental healthcare for LGBTQ teenagers,” Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, Sam Donndelinger, Fierce Healthcare, May 12, 2026

Relationship Between Depression, Age-Related Brain Decline May Depend On Person’s History With Mood Disorder, Study Suggests

HealthDay (5/11, Thompson) reports, “The relationship between depression and age-related brain decline might depend on a person’s history with the mood disorder, a new study says.” Investigators “had thought that people experiencing ‘brain fog’ from aging might be more apt to relapse into depression.” However, “they found the opposite was true – people with sharper brains were more likely to fall back into depression.” One researcher said, “People often think of memory problems as simply a consequence of depression, but our findings suggest the relationship is more complex. … Among people with a history of depression, those with better cognitive performance were actually more likely to experience future depressive symptoms.” Meanwhile, “people who’d never had depression were more likely to have their first bout if their cognitive scores were lower, researchers found.” The findingswere published in BMJ Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Sharper Brains May Face Higher Depression Relapse Risk, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 11, 2026

Foundation News

Schuster to Receive Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

Janice Lynch Schuster will be awarded the 2020 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for her op-ed, “People are not defined by their diseases” in the October 14, 2019 Baltimore Sun. The MFP Board unanimously felt that her article very effectively portrayed not only how hurtful stigma can be, but that health care providers themselves may be the culprits thoughtlessly participating in stigmatizing people – particularly when people are abusing drugs. Her statement inspires others to seek and give help, and to reframe substance abuse as a disease that must be treated scientifically and empathically.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award, which carries a $500 prize, will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on October 8.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy piece published in a major newspaper (preferably local or regional) that accomplishes one or more of the following:
Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family
member, or simply in the community.
Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental
illness.
Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

New Radio Ad Explores Racial Inequities and Mental Health in Current Crises

Institutional and structural racism are major factors in these times of pandemic and civil unrest. The African American community is particularly hit hard by the coronavirus, police brutality, and the economic burdens that come with them. The ad explains how there is hope and help available.

Racial Inequities and Current Crises in AmericaRacial Inequities and Current Crises in America, MP3, 712KB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

The Foundation Strongly Condemns All Forms of Racism

A Message from the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry Board of Directors:

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry strongly condemns all forms of racism.  The Foundation calls on all Americans and all levels of government to actively oppose racism, and all related violence and brutality. The Foundation recognizes that there are wide disparities in treatment of mental illness and access to care related to race. Consistent with our mission to fight stigma associated with mental illness and to promote awareness and access to care for all individuals regardless of race, the Foundation pledges to support programs which combat racism.

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry stands in solidarity with the agendas of the American Psychiatric Association, Maryland Psychiatric Society, and the Black Psychiatrists of America.  We endorse the following action items outlined by the Black Psychiatrists of America:

• Declare racism a public health problem and establish national goals for addressing this as a health equity issue. Give priority to addressing the issues of health care disparities including the mental health needs of historically marginalized communities across the US.
 
• Provide adequate funding for the clinical care, training, and research needed to eliminate health disparities and require racism impact statements for all government funded services and research. 
 
• Establish a governmental multidisciplinary and ethnically diverse commission with representatives from the major health care professional associations in medicine, nursing, psychiatry, public health, psychology, social work, etc., and the faith-based community to provide recommendations to Congress regarding policies on how best to improve the health and well-being of our nation’s Black citizens.
 
• Declare “Civic Mental Health” a national priority and incorporate it into the educational curriculum from K-college, as well as in the training of local, state and national officials, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system. 
 
• Establish police community review boards with power to take action in areas of police misconduct pending formal review by the appropriate authorities. This will offer a level of empowerment when communities feel they have a voice that can be heard. 
 
• Assure adequate insurance coverage for mental disorders and emotional distress that are the outgrowth of racism, police brutality, discrimination of all kinds and violence. 

The Maryland Psychiatric Society has also put out a statement on their website.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) also condemns racism and has published their statement, too.

New Radio Ad Explores Mental Health in the Wake of the Coronavirus

A recent poll shows that more than half the people in the United States are feeling extremely worried by the coronavirus. They find they aren’t sleeping properly, are distracted, or being driven into depression. The ad explains how there is hope and help available.

The Coronavirus and Your State of MindThe Coronavirus and Your State of Mind, MP3, 721KB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.