Recent posts

California Senate votes to expand powers of nurse practitioners

By editor
May 13, 2015

May 7, 2015 Reporting from Sacramento Addressing a doctor shortage that is especially dire in rural parts of California, the state Senate voted Thursday to let nurse practitioners do much more for patients, including diagnosing and ordering treatment and prescribing drugs, without supervision by a physician. Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said his bill will...   read more


MOST US CHILDREN WITH MENTAL ILLNESS GO UNTREATED

By editor
May 9, 2015

by Fran Lowry May 07, 2015 More than 17 million children in the United States have or have had a diagnosable mental illness, yet most are not treated, according to the first annual Children's Mental Health Report released by the Child Mind Institute (CMI) in New York City. The fact that so many children are struggling with...   read more


American Psychiatric Association replies to the NY Times article on Torture

By editor
May 2, 2015

The APA response written by Saul Levin, MD to the NY Times Torture Article As you may know, following actions taken by our government in the wake of Sept. 11, there have been numerous reports and questions about a wide range of health professionals’ involvement in interrogation and torture.  Most recently, yesterday, the New York Times reported...   read more


Study rules out link between autism and MMR vaccine even in at-risk kids

By editor
April 22, 2015

By MELISSA HEALY APRIL 21, 2015, 8:06 PM At least a dozen major studies have found that early childhood vaccines do not cause autism. But one possibility remained: that immunizations could cause autism in a small group of children who were already primed to develop the disorder. Now, new research has ruled out that possibility...   read more


County Backs Forced Care of Mentally Ill

By editor
April 22, 2015

"Laura's Law" allows courts to require outpatient treatment By Joshua Stewart • U-T11:40 a.m.April 21, 2015Updated4:41 p.m. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to implement "Laura's Law," which will give courts power to order treatment for mentally ill people under certain conditions. Supervisor Bill Horn cast the lone opposing vote. San Diego —...   read more


Kids in foster care are struggling

By editor
April 17, 2015

BY ROBERT P. HOLLOWAY SPECIAL TO THE BEE 04/16/2015 5:00 PM 04/17/2015 12:00 AM When I was a young boy, my parents decided to share their love by fostering children. Two children stayed with us briefly. Then, a 4-year-old girl was sent to us who had experienced numerous forms of abuse. After a year, we...   read more


SENATE PASSES MEDICARE SGR BILL

By editor
April 15, 2015

The New York Times (4/15, A16, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that the Senate “on Tuesday approved sweeping changes in the way Medicare pays doctors, clearing the bill for President Obama and resolving an issue that has bedeviled Congress and the Medicare program for more than a decade.” Senators voted 92 to 8 to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth...   read more


Use of Meds by L.A. County Foster, Delinquent Kids Prompts Reform

By editor
April 15, 2015

By GARRETT THEROLF Los Angeles County officials are preparing to crack down on doctors who inappropriately prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to foster youth and children in the juvenile delinquency system, according to a copy of the plans obtained by The Times. Social workers and child welfare advocates have long alleged that the widespread use of the...   read more


Lawmakers Address California's Deeply Fragmented Mental Health System

By editor
April 13, 2015

By ABBY SEWELL APRIL 13, 2015, 3:00 AM Advocates and mental health practitioners say that California's approach to mental health — and particularly to involuntary treatment — is deeply fragmented across its 58 counties. Lawmakers are trying to address the inconsistency of policies and approaches, but activist groups often disagree about the appropriate balance between...   read more


The Nightmare Outcome of a Son's Mental Illness

By editor
April 13, 2015

By ABBY SEWELL APRIL 13, 2015, 3:00 AM Cynthia Hernandez was thinking about the missing dog when she awoke early that September morning in her family's two-story tract home, tucked away in a residential enclave north of a busy commercial corridor in Chino. The 10-year-old cocker spaniel, Sandy, hadn't been seen since the day before....   read more