Psychiatric News (7/27) reports, “Last week, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar formally renewed the agency’s determination that the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency,” an extension that “keeps many regulatory changes and waivers relevant to psychiatrists – such as relaxed telemedicine restrictions – in effect for the time being.” In a letter (PDF) sent to Azar, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, wrote, “APA recently surveyed its membership to understand the impact of easing telehealth regulations on practice during the PHE [public health emergency],” finding “a major shift to the use of telehealth after the PHE was declared.” Dr. Levin continued, “These survey results mirror national research on telehealth that show improved access to care, reduced no-show rates, and a high rate of patient satisfaction.”

Related Links:

— “HHS Renews Declaration of Public Health Emergency for COVID-19, Psychiatric News, July 27, 2020

Medscape (7/24, Hughes, Subscription Publication) reported, “In the past 5 years, there has been a significant drop in the use of prescription opioids and in deaths associated with such use; but at the same time there’s been a dramatic increase in fatalities involving illicit opioids and stimulants, a new report from the American Medical Association (AMA) Opioid Task Force shows.” Even though “the medical community has made some important progress against the opioid epidemic, with a 37% reduction in opioid prescribing since 2013, illicit drugs are now the dominant reason why drug overdoses kill more than 70,000 people each year, the report says.” In an attempt “to improve the situation, the AMA Opioid Task Force is urging the removal of barriers to evidence-based care for patients who have pain and for those who have substance use disorders (SUDs).” Task force chair and immediate past president Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A., told Medscape Medical News, “It is critically important as we see drug overdoses increasing that we work towards reducing barriers of care for substance use abusers. … At present, the status quo is killing far too many of our loved ones and wreaking havoc in our communities.”

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

NPR (7/27, Hamilton) reports the findings from “two studies presented Monday at this year’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference” suggest that “vaccines that protect against the flu and pneumonia may actually protect people from Alzheimer’s, too.” University of Texas researchers in the first study “combed through millions of medical records in a national database” and found that “people who got at least one flu shot had a 17% reduction in risk,” and those “who got regular vaccinations saw their risk drop another 13%.” The second study by Duke University and the University of North Carolina examined “the medical records of more than 5,000 people who were at least 65 years old,” and found people “who received a pneumonia vaccine before age 75 were at least 25% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”

CNN (7/27, Kane, Lamotte) reports experts “say more studies are needed to pin down the relationship between getting those vaccines and the reduced risk.” The article adds, “If getting vaccinated for flu or pneumonia, just on its own, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, then these are important messages to get out to the public, Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer Maria Carrillo told CNN.”

Related Links:

— “Flu Shot And Pneumonia Vaccine Might Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk, Research Shows, “Jon Hamilton, NPR, July 27, 2020

The Washington Post (7/24, Blakemore, Blakemore) reported data from six recent studies indicate that while “more education and higher incomes are associated with a lower risk of depression and discrimination for white people and black women…for high-achieving black men, more success actually increases the likelihood they will experience symptoms of depression and anxiety.” The researchers wrote in a separate article, “Race alone may not be the issue here. Instead, it is an issue of race and gender, that may stem from hopelessness, inequality and blocked opportunities.” Click here to learn more about the studies referenced in this article.

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— “The Washington Post, Requires Subscription

HealthDay (7/23, Preidt) reports, “Hundreds of suicides could be prevented in the United States each year if the minimum age for buying a handgun was raised to 21 in the 33 states that have a minimum age of 18,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data on suicides by teens ages 13-20 in the 46 states that didn’t change their handgun sales policies between 2001 and 2017.” The study revealed that “a minimum age of 18 to buy a handgun was associated with 344 extra deaths on average among young people ages 18-20 during the study period,” whereas “a minimum age of 21 to buy a handgun was associated with an 18% lower rate of suicide among those ages 18-20.” The findings were published online July 22 in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “With Tighter Handgun Laws, U.S. Would See Fewer Suicides by Young People, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 23, 2020