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I came across this blog entry of Dr.Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. while doing working on a legislative history of the subject. It's well thought-out, informative, and most importantly (to me) easy to read. A quick glance at other postings of his showed quite a bit of interesting material on a number of mental health topics His blog entries are listed here but I'm not positive on how to follow/subscribe/etc to just his blog entries on that site, still kind of a rookie at this. Anyway, for those interested in the topic I thought it was a pretty good primer on it, if a few years old.
PS- Just an FYI, you can click on my fish at the bottom of the page to feed them. They will swim around an react to the food dropped in to their 'pond'. Juvenile yes, but hey, it's the little things in life, right? :)
25 March, 2010
06 March, 2010
03 March, 2010
Managed Care at the Pearly Gates
Three health care professionals find themselves at the Pearly Gates.
Saint Peter asks the first, "Why do you belong here?"
The first replies, "I was a great surgeon. I have saved countless lives."
"Welcome," says Saint Peter, "We've been expecting you."
Saint Peter then asks the second, "Why do you belong here?"
The second answers "I was a family practitioner. I treated young and old alike. I made them well again."
"Welcome," says Saint Peter, "We've been expecting you."
Finally, Saint Peter asks the third, "Why do you belong here?" The third says, "I ran an HMO. I helped allow for thousands to receive medical care."
"Okay," replies Saint Peter, "But you can only stay a day and a half."
**rimshot**
Saint Peter asks the first, "Why do you belong here?"
The first replies, "I was a great surgeon. I have saved countless lives."
"Welcome," says Saint Peter, "We've been expecting you."
Saint Peter then asks the second, "Why do you belong here?"
The second answers "I was a family practitioner. I treated young and old alike. I made them well again."
"Welcome," says Saint Peter, "We've been expecting you."
Finally, Saint Peter asks the third, "Why do you belong here?" The third says, "I ran an HMO. I helped allow for thousands to receive medical care."
"Okay," replies Saint Peter, "But you can only stay a day and a half."
**rimshot**
The Short Life of a Diagnosis
Thought this article brought up a few interesting points for contemplation. First, with the latest version of the DSM in the works this article gives a glimpse of the problems with diagnosing and labeling of disorders. Second, bearing in mind the healthcare reform debate, mental health coverage depends largely on the existence of a diagnosis and specifically a diagnostic code to determine how MUCH coverage one can receive. Or rather, how much the insurance company will pay for (how many sessions @ '$x' rate).
Looking at the mental health side of healthcare it's hard to believe that anyone can accurately say how long or how many visits you can expect results in. Depressed? Oh, you should be able to clear that up in 3 weeks, tops. One session per week. Not likely. And should you be of the millions dependent on Medicaid you are limited even further by who will even take you as a patient, much less provide quality treatment/therapy. Sure, a psychiatrist could write you a script for whatever the happy-pill-du-jour is, but that treats the SYMPTOMS, not the CAUSE of the depression. And to paraphrase Dean Wormer, "Dependant upon anti-depressants is no way to go through life, son". True, they may make life manageable in the short or even fairly long-term, but ultimately it's paying to trade one problem for another.
Veering back on topic, it's important to be aware of the potential changes in the DSM in regards to mental health diagnosis and how easily people could be left without help should their condition fail to be included in this latest edition.
-Question for the masses: Should coverage be dependent on having a 'classifiable' condition?-
And now, for no particular reason......Ty Webb's thoughts on the college experience.
Looking at the mental health side of healthcare it's hard to believe that anyone can accurately say how long or how many visits you can expect results in. Depressed? Oh, you should be able to clear that up in 3 weeks, tops. One session per week. Not likely. And should you be of the millions dependent on Medicaid you are limited even further by who will even take you as a patient, much less provide quality treatment/therapy. Sure, a psychiatrist could write you a script for whatever the happy-pill-du-jour is, but that treats the SYMPTOMS, not the CAUSE of the depression. And to paraphrase Dean Wormer, "Dependant upon anti-depressants is no way to go through life, son". True, they may make life manageable in the short or even fairly long-term, but ultimately it's paying to trade one problem for another.
Veering back on topic, it's important to be aware of the potential changes in the DSM in regards to mental health diagnosis and how easily people could be left without help should their condition fail to be included in this latest edition.
-Question for the masses: Should coverage be dependent on having a 'classifiable' condition?-
And now, for no particular reason......Ty Webb's thoughts on the college experience.
02 March, 2010
Mental Health Anti-Stigma PSA
I wanted to post this as a comment under the SLOtheStigma post but it wouldn't let me. Need to figure this blog thing out a bit more. Either way, here's an anti-stigma PSA from a few years back that always stuck out to me for some reason.
Parity law requires mental health benefits comparable to physical care benefits
Great quote at the end of this article:
"Mental health is just as important as physical health," she said. "You don't have one without the other."
"Mental health is just as important as physical health," she said. "You don't have one without the other."
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