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DSM-5 Field Trials Begin
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is getting its first real-world trial at 11 large medical centers and among nearly 4,000 mental health professionals, the American Psychiatric Association has announced. The field trials will test whether proposed diagnostic criteria are understandable and easy for practitioners to use, accurately describe psychiatric problems, and yield consistent diagnoses. Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric/mental health nurses will test the new criteria by using them repeatedly to evaluate new and existing patients. After this testing phase, the manual will undergo a second round of public comment, editing, and more field trials lasting into 2012. “It is important that the proposed diagnostic criteria are subjected to rigorous and empirically sound field trials before DSM-5 is published in 2013,” Dr. David Kupfer, DSM-5 Task Force chair, said in a statement.
Grants Fund Lupus Research
The Lupus Foundation of America has made six new grants for studies into what it considers neglected areas of lupus research: pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in lupus, lupus nephritis, and neuropsychiatric lupus. “The research funded this year tackles some of the most complex and challenging areas of lupus research,” said Sandra C. Raymond, president and CEO of the Washington-based foundation. “These areas of research have suffered from a lack of resources, and in some cases have seen little advancement.” With the new grants, Dr. Bruce C. Richardson of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will study the genetics of male lupus; Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago will look at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in lupus; Dr. Richard J. Quigg of the University of Chicago will study complement manipulation in lupus nephritis; Dr. Martin G. Pomper of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore will assess imaging microglial activation in neuropsychiatric lupus; Dr. Michelle A. Petri of Johns Hopkins will study the use of levothyroxine in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; and Dr. Kathleen M. O'Neil of the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City will look at the effect of puberty on SLE.
Giving Back to the DEA
Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site, a man dumped a kitchen drawer full of medications, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.
IOM Backs Nursing Expansion
The roles and responsibilities of nurses should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles that prevent nurses from taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved educational system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurses do not have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” AMA board member Rebecca J. Patchin said in a statement.
New Rules Target Fraud
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules aimed at fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rules are authorized by the Affordable Care Act and would tighten screening of providers wishing to bill government programs for services, for example, by using broader criminal background checks and even fingerprinting. The rules also require states to terminate from their Medicaid and CHIP programs any provider who has been thrown out of Medicare or another state's health programs. The proposed rule asked for advice on how best to ensure provider compliance.
DSM-5 Field Trials Begin
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is getting its first real-world trial at 11 large medical centers and among nearly 4,000 mental health professionals, the American Psychiatric Association has announced. The field trials will test whether proposed diagnostic criteria are understandable and easy for practitioners to use, accurately describe psychiatric problems, and yield consistent diagnoses. Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric/mental health nurses will test the new criteria by using them repeatedly to evaluate new and existing patients. After this testing phase, the manual will undergo a second round of public comment, editing, and more field trials lasting into 2012. “It is important that the proposed diagnostic criteria are subjected to rigorous and empirically sound field trials before DSM-5 is published in 2013,” Dr. David Kupfer, DSM-5 Task Force chair, said in a statement.
Grants Fund Lupus Research
The Lupus Foundation of America has made six new grants for studies into what it considers neglected areas of lupus research: pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in lupus, lupus nephritis, and neuropsychiatric lupus. “The research funded this year tackles some of the most complex and challenging areas of lupus research,” said Sandra C. Raymond, president and CEO of the Washington-based foundation. “These areas of research have suffered from a lack of resources, and in some cases have seen little advancement.” With the new grants, Dr. Bruce C. Richardson of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will study the genetics of male lupus; Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago will look at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in lupus; Dr. Richard J. Quigg of the University of Chicago will study complement manipulation in lupus nephritis; Dr. Martin G. Pomper of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore will assess imaging microglial activation in neuropsychiatric lupus; Dr. Michelle A. Petri of Johns Hopkins will study the use of levothyroxine in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; and Dr. Kathleen M. O'Neil of the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City will look at the effect of puberty on SLE.
Giving Back to the DEA
Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site, a man dumped a kitchen drawer full of medications, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.
IOM Backs Nursing Expansion
The roles and responsibilities of nurses should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles that prevent nurses from taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved educational system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurses do not have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” AMA board member Rebecca J. Patchin said in a statement.
New Rules Target Fraud
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules aimed at fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rules are authorized by the Affordable Care Act and would tighten screening of providers wishing to bill government programs for services, for example, by using broader criminal background checks and even fingerprinting. The rules also require states to terminate from their Medicaid and CHIP programs any provider who has been thrown out of Medicare or another state's health programs. The proposed rule asked for advice on how best to ensure provider compliance.
DSM-5 Field Trials Begin
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is getting its first real-world trial at 11 large medical centers and among nearly 4,000 mental health professionals, the American Psychiatric Association has announced. The field trials will test whether proposed diagnostic criteria are understandable and easy for practitioners to use, accurately describe psychiatric problems, and yield consistent diagnoses. Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric/mental health nurses will test the new criteria by using them repeatedly to evaluate new and existing patients. After this testing phase, the manual will undergo a second round of public comment, editing, and more field trials lasting into 2012. “It is important that the proposed diagnostic criteria are subjected to rigorous and empirically sound field trials before DSM-5 is published in 2013,” Dr. David Kupfer, DSM-5 Task Force chair, said in a statement.
Grants Fund Lupus Research
The Lupus Foundation of America has made six new grants for studies into what it considers neglected areas of lupus research: pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in lupus, lupus nephritis, and neuropsychiatric lupus. “The research funded this year tackles some of the most complex and challenging areas of lupus research,” said Sandra C. Raymond, president and CEO of the Washington-based foundation. “These areas of research have suffered from a lack of resources, and in some cases have seen little advancement.” With the new grants, Dr. Bruce C. Richardson of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will study the genetics of male lupus; Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago will look at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in lupus; Dr. Richard J. Quigg of the University of Chicago will study complement manipulation in lupus nephritis; Dr. Martin G. Pomper of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore will assess imaging microglial activation in neuropsychiatric lupus; Dr. Michelle A. Petri of Johns Hopkins will study the use of levothyroxine in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; and Dr. Kathleen M. O'Neil of the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City will look at the effect of puberty on SLE.
Giving Back to the DEA
Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site, a man dumped a kitchen drawer full of medications, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.
IOM Backs Nursing Expansion
The roles and responsibilities of nurses should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles that prevent nurses from taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved educational system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurses do not have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” AMA board member Rebecca J. Patchin said in a statement.
New Rules Target Fraud
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules aimed at fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rules are authorized by the Affordable Care Act and would tighten screening of providers wishing to bill government programs for services, for example, by using broader criminal background checks and even fingerprinting. The rules also require states to terminate from their Medicaid and CHIP programs any provider who has been thrown out of Medicare or another state's health programs. The proposed rule asked for advice on how best to ensure provider compliance.