Courier (12/10, Vakil) reported, “Americans seeking mental healthcare treatment turn to out-of-network” clinicians “at far higher rates than when seeking medical care, according to a recently updated studycommissioned by the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC.” In the study, which “analyzed 2016 and 2017 claims data from all 50 states and hundreds of preferred provider organization (PPO) health plans that insure 37 million people,” investigators “found that patients are more than five times as likely to go out of network when seeking care at behavioral inpatient or outpatient facilities, compared to medical or surgical inpatient or outpatient facilities.” Bruce Schwartz, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, stated, “People who have paid for their healthcare coverage aren’t able to get behavioral health services within the networks that the insurance companies are offering.” Dr. Schwartz also stated, “I think the reason why many psychiatrists have ceased to participate with these insurance companies is that insurance companies, via their payments rates, have essentially been rationing health care,” and “this discrimination pushes psychiatrists out of the network, Schwartz said.”

Related Links:

— “Even with insurance, Americans can’t find mental health providers, “Keya Vakil, Courier , December 10, 2019

Psychiatric News (12/10) reports, “Individuals over age 60 with schizophrenia who were prescribed long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics after being discharged from a hospital were significantly less likely to be rehospitalized within a year than those receiving oral antipsychotics,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data on 1,168 patients over age 60 with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were discharged between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2017.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the January issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Older Schizophrenia Patients Found Less Likely to Be Rehospitalized With LAI Antipsychotics, Psychiatric News, December 10, 2019

HealthDay (12/10) reports, “Bullied teens are more likely to develop mental health problems, and people with mental health problems are also more likely to become bullies, researchers report.” According to the study, “youth who said they’d been bullies were more likely to have a moderate to high rate of mental health problems than those who said they hadn’t bullied others,” and “that teens with moderate to high rates of mental health problems were more likely to bully others, compared to those without such issues.” The studywas published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Bullying’s ‘Vicious Circle’ Harms Mental Health, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, December 10, 2019

The New York Times (12/10, Underwood) “Parenting” blog reports that “one in nine children has an underlying clinical disorder that can be tied to particularly severe tantrums,” research indicates. According to the Times, “atypical or severe tantrums, which are often marked by extreme aggression, high frequency, suddenness and specific triggers, are often the first (and easiest to recognize) sign of a behavioral, mood or anxiety disorder.” The piece adds, “Note that the American Psychiatric Association only permits diagnosis of mood disorders at age six or older, though it can be helpful to learn early on if your child is demonstrating traits consistent with these disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Are My Kid’s Tantrums Abnormal?, “Paul L. Underwood, The New York Times, December 10, 2019

In a nearly 4,100-word piece, The Atlantic (12/9, Tullis) reports how in jails across the US, “people who should be placed in mental-health facilities for treatment are instead detained…for unconstitutionally long periods – sometimes months – before they have been convicted or even tried for any crime.” For example, “in Texas in 2018, the average period that people with mental illness not convicted of any crime were held in jail was 229 days, according to reporting by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.” In many cases, “their condition deteriorates further as they are held in facilities unable to care for them.”

Related Links:

— “When Mental Illness Becomes a Jail Sentence, “Paul Tullis, The Atlantic, December 9, 2019