Psychiatric Times Vol 20 No 5

Poetry of the Times

Proponents of mental health care parity have reintroduced the legislation that died in the U.S. House of Representatives last year. While the idea of parity has broad bipartisan support, the debate continues over how much it will cost, who will foot the bill, and how it should best be administered. In a time of war and tight budgets, will the bill get the attention it deserves?

What does the state of psychiatry look like? Surveys have been conducted and data have been broken down into compensation levels, specialties, service costs and insurance coverage. Finally enough data exist to give an overall view of where most psychiatrists stand today in the medical workforce.

Substance abuse and addiction are among the most challenging health problems facing our society. Breakthrough discoveries in science continue to refine our understanding of drug abuse and addiction and are yielding new opportunities to translate basic research findings into tangible treatment products. Read about the progress being made by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the world's largest supporter of research on the health aspects of addiction.

There are many factors that contribute to patients with schizophrenia not taking their medication, including side effects and lack of education. What can clinicians do to help their patients adhere to treatment? Should clinicians be spending more time educating their patients? How will long-acting medications affect adherence issues?

Although there is no pharmacological agent that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of autism, new studies are showing promise in not only discovering the cause of autism, but pharmacological treatments as well.

The idea that drug response could be based on a patient's genetic background first surfaced over 100 years ago. Since then, technology has advanced to the point where prescribing medications based on a patient's genetic makeup no longer seems like science fiction. This article looks at the latest research on the pharmacogenetics of psychotropic medications and shows how far we still have to go.

Increasing variations in mechanisms of action of atypical antipsychotics, side-effect profiles, and efficacy among the atypicals enable clinicians to tailor treatments to individual response, side-effect history, and current medical conditions.

With all the various types of medications as well as different formulations that can be used to treat ADHD in adolescents, choosing the right one can be a difficult task. This analysis of the options will help make that choice easier.