Recent posts

Scripps Announces New, Larger Behavioral Health Facility

By drwong
February 16, 2019

Partnership with leading care provider will increase bed capacity in San Diego County NAMI San Diego February 12, 2109   SAN DIEGO – Scripps Health will develop a new inpatient behavioral health facility in partnership with Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHC) that will provide treatment for three times as many patients as its existing behavioral...   read more


APA Calls for Protection of Transgender Rights After Supreme Court Allows Military Service Ban

By drwong
February 5, 2019

American Psychiatric Association Thurs Jan 24, 2019         APA has denounced a Supreme Court decision handed down earlier this week that gave a green light to the U.S. military to restrict service by individuals who are transgender. A sharply divided high court handed the Trump administration the victory for its policy banning...   read more


Contrary to conservative crabbing, a new study shows Medicaid expansion is really valuable

By drwong
February 1, 2019

Los Angeles Times By Michael Hiltzik Jan 29, 2019         A newly published study of the Medicaid expansion in California says that the program substantially reduced in-hospital mortality for patients who gained coverage, put hospitals on a firmer financial footing, and improved access to care, and better care, for millions of residents. Yet Robert...   read more


Does Marijuana Use Cause Schizophrenia?

By drwong
January 18, 2019

The New York Times By Benedict Carey Jan. 17, 2019   As the drug becomes more popular, concerns have been raised that its use can lead to psychotic disorders. Here’s what scientists know for sure, and what they don’t.             Nearly a century after the film “Reefer Madness” alarmed the...   read more


APA Leaders Say Texas ACA Decision Is 'Unconscionable,' Call for Overturn

By drwong
January 9, 2019

Psychiatric News By Mark Moran and Linda M. Richmond Dec 28, 2018   APA called for “a vigorous appeal effort” of last month’s decision by a Texas court that the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. “This ruling has an unconscionable result,” said APA President Altha Stewart, M.D. “Should this ruling...   read more


Trump rule would revive pre-existing condition discrimination

By drwong
January 3, 2019

American Medical Association By Tanya Albert Henry December 21, 2018   Physicians are all for increasing patient access to health care, but a U.S. Labor Department rule expanding association health plans (AHPs) will do the exact opposite, doctors tell a federal court in an amicus brief. The Trump administration’s rule will undermine the Affordable Care...   read more


Addicted to Vaped Nicotine, Teenagers Have No Clear Path to Quitting

By drwong
December 20, 2018

The New York Times By Jan Hoffman Dec 18, 2018             A Harvard addiction medicine specialist is getting calls from distraught parents around the country. A Stanford psychologist is getting calls from rattled school officials around the world. A federal agency has ordered a public hearing on the issue. Alarmed...   read more


Ruling ACA Unconstitutional Could Have Devastating Effects on Patients, American Psychiatric Association Warns

By drwong
December 18, 2018

American Psychiatric Association Mon Dec 17, 2018 APA is calling for vigorous appeal of Friday’s decision by a Texas court that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. “This ruling has an unconscionable result,” APA President Altha Stewart, M.D., said in a press statement. “Should this ruling stand, millions of our patients will lose their health...   read more


Reducing Firearm Deaths Requires Greater Attention to Suicide Prevention

By drwong
November 20, 2018

American Psychiatric Association Tues Nov 20, 2018             Mental health advocates must work to ensure that suicide is front and center of conversations about gun violence, Jeffrey Swanson, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at Duke University, wrote in a commentary in Psychiatric Services. Swanson is an expert in the epidemiology of gun...   read more


American Psychiatric Association Speaks Out Against Trump Administration's Efforts to Undercut Women's Preventative Care

By drwong
November 12, 2018

APA Psychiatric News Fri Nov 9, 2018 (Image: iStock/crankyT)           APA joined four other medical specialty organizations on Thursday to urge the Trump administration to reverse actions taken this week that will limit women’s access to contraception. The organizations spoke out just one day after the Trump administration issued a pair of...   read more