Psychiatry - December 2008 - (Page 63)

[journal watch] neuropsychiatric syndromes. PMID: 18562406 Catatonia in autism: implications across the life span. Kakooza-Mwesige A, Wachtel LE, Dhossche DM. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008 Sep;17(6):327–335. Epub 2008 Apr 21. Synopsis: Authors review the evaluation, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment of catatonia in autism, including overlap of symptoms between autism and catatonia. PMID: 18427869 Multidisciplinary approach of organic catatonia in children and adolescents may improve treatment decision making. Lahutte B, Cornic F, Bonnot O, et al. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Aug 1;32(6):1393–1398. Epub 2008 Mar 7. Review. Synopsis: Based on a review of the literature, authors discuss 38 cases of children and adolescents with catatonia due to an organic condition, including clinical onset and presentation, therapeutic approach, and underlying organic conditions: infectious diseases (N=10), neurological conditions (N=10), toxic induced states (N=12), and genetic conditions such as inborn errors of metabolism (N=6). PMID: 18417262 Ms. Alexander is a freelance writer/editor who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. NEWS FROM MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA New Act Puts Mental Health and Addiction Treatment on Equal Footing with Other Medical Problems by David Shern, PhD, President and CEO, Mental Health America T he passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act will finally close loopholes that for too long allowed health insurance plans to discriminate against people with mental health conditions. This important new law puts mental health and addiction treatment on an equal footing with that of other medical problems, recognizing that mental health conditions are just as treatable as cancer and diabetes. In fact, people with diabetes or cancer are likely to have a co-occurring mental health condition. The parity bill—and recent legislative changes to Medicare that equalize coverage for outpatient mental healthcare by reducing the copay for those services—also recognize the value of integrating mental health with overall health. We are increasingly recognizing the intrinsic link between mental health and overall health. The World Health Organization has called integrating mental health services into primary care the most viable way of closing the treatment gap for untreated mental illnesses, characterizing primary care for mental health as affordable and an investment that can bring important benefits. Primary care providers now provide over half of mental health treatment in this country and about 25 percent of all primary care recipients have diagnosable mental disorders (most commonly, anxiety and depression). According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, 42 percent of patients with clinical depression and 47 percent of patients with generalized anxiety disorder were first diagnosed by a primary care physician. Yet many mental health problems are not identified in primary care, perhaps as many as 50 percent. These undiagnosed disorders need to be properly identified and treated. Improving the integration and facilitating access to more specialized mental health treatment through the primary care system would undoubtedly help remedy this problem. In addressing how to integrate mental health and general health, the Surgeon General’s 2000 report, “Integration of Mental Health Services and Primary Health Care,” provides a set of 12 core principles to facilitate the development and implementation of national and local programs. These include having the needs of mental health consumers and their families drive service delivery and systems of care; promoting health for all Americans and overcome disparities in the burden of illness; incorporating research, training, and practice in partnerships with consumers, families, and professionals; offering new types of financial incentives to encourage team approaches to care; designing reimbursement to support evidence-based care; making integrated service delivery be guided by a commitment to collaboration or collocation of services; having integrated service feature the treatment of chronic illness; standardizing quality and outcome measures; developing integrated programs that build on existing models; making research findings salient to stakeholders; developing training that builds on collaborative partnerships; and marshalling of information technology as a tool for communication. The passage of parity and the Medicare legislation helps remove some of the economic barriers to the implementation of integrated care. With changes occurring in Washington, there is now a clear window of opportunity to enact broader policies that promote integration and improve the mental and overall health of Americans. [VOLUME 5, NUMBER 12, DECEMBER Psychiatry 2008 63

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Psychiatry - December 2008

Psychiatry - December 2008 Editor’s Message Contents Editorial Advisory Board Antidepressant Prescribing by Specialty and Treatment of Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder Pain, Pain, Go Away: Antidepressants and Pain Management Why Psychotherapy Helps the Patient in Chronic Pain General Medical Drugs Associated with Depression Katatonia: A New Conceptual Understanding of Catatonia and a New Rating Scale Thermoregulation and the Role of Calcium Signalling in Neurotransmission Cognition and Schizophrenia: Is There a Role for Cognitive Assessments in Diagnosis and Treatment? Journal Watch Information for Authors

Psychiatry - December 2008

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