USA Today (8/7, Vanden Brook) reports a study by the RAND Corp. and commissioned by the Pentagon found, “Just 30% of troops with depression and 54% with PTSD received appropriate care after they were deemed at risk of harming themselves.” The report, titled “Quality of Care for PTSD and Depression in the Military Health System,” also determined “that one third of troops with PTSD were prescribed a medication harmful to their condition.”

Related Links:

— “Troops at risk for suicide not getting needed care, report finds,” Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, August 7, 2017.

The AP (8/4, Izaguirre) reports many homeless people who are addicted to illicit substances are denied treatment for lack of valid photo identification. According to 2016 data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, less than one of every 10 of the US’ “substance abuse treatment facilities offer certified opioid treatment programs.”

A SAMHSA spokesman said ID requirements are aimed at preventing people from enrolling in multiple programs and selling opioid medications, although one expert said some facilities deny applicants who present alternate forms of identification, despite the fact that such documents are in fact acceptable.

Related Links:

— “For homeless on heroin, treatment can be elusive with no ID,” ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE, Associated Press via Washington Times, August 4, 2017.

NBC Nightly News (8/3, story 7, 2:20, Holt) reported on “an alarming rise in girls taking their own lives.” NBC’s Rehema Ellis said that “disturbing new numbers from the CDC” indicate “too many teenagers are not getting the help they need, especially girls aged 15 to 19.”

On its website, NBC News (8/3, Fox) reports that the analysis, from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, indicates that “the suicide rate among teenaged girls continues to rise and hit a 40-year high in 2015.” Researchers found that “suicide rates doubled among girls and” increased “by more than 30 percent among teen boys and young men between 2007 and 2015.”

CNN (8/3, Scutti) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Suicides in Teen Girls Hit 40-Year High,” MAGGIE FOX, NBC News, August 3, 2017.

NPR examines the suicide of Madison Holleran, a track runner at the University of Pennsylvania, and her hidden struggle with anxiety and depression.

Related Links:

— “Trying To Understand ‘What Made Maddy Run’,” Ailsa Chang, NPR, August 2, 2017.

The AP (8/2, Tanner) reports that research published in JAMA Surgery “suggests many surgery patients often end up with leftover opioid” pain medications and “store the remaining” tablets “improperly at home.”

Reuters (8/2, Cohen) reports that investigators found that in “six earlier studies, 67 percent to 92 percent of patients who were prescribed opioids following surgery reported winding up with leftover” medication. Meanwhile, “five studies found that only one in four patients reported storing opioids in a locked location.”

Related Links:

— “LEFTOVER OPIOIDS ARE A COMMON DILEMMA FOR SURGERY PATIENTS,” LINDSEY TANNER, Associated Press, August 2, 2017.