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Joint Commission Updates National Patient Safety Goal for Suicide Prevention
The Joint Commission this week updated its National Patient Safety (NPS) Goal for Suicide Prevention that takes effect on July 1, 2019.
According to the Joint Commission, the accrediting body made the revisions because there has been no improvement in lowering the U.S. suicide rate, even though suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the country. The changes came after the Joint Commission held five technical expert panel (TEP) meetings between June 2017 and March 2018.
The updated NPS Goal for Suicide Prevention is part of the Joint Commission’s broader effort to minimize ligature risk. NABH has played a role in that effort, as five NABH members served on the 26-member TEP.
CDC Reports Suicide Rate Among Working Age Population Rose 34% Between 2000-2016
The U.S. suicide rate among working aged (16–64 years) adults increased 34 percent to 17.3 per 100,000 people in 2016 from 12.9 per 100,000 in 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported.
Construction and Extraction was the occupational group with the highest male suicide rate in 2012 and 2015, while the Arts, Design, Entertainment, and Sports was the occupational group with the highest female suicide rate for those same years.
The CDC recommended a comprehensive approach to prevention and said strategies might include enhancing social connectedness; expanding access to relevant resources; strengthening state or local economic supports; implementing practices that encourage help-seeking and decrease stigma; and providing referrals to mental health and other services.
CMS Proposes Expanding Coverage for VNS Devices
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changes that would expand Medicare coverage for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) devices for treatment resistant depression (TED).
In a decision memo, CMS specified this would happen through Coverage Evidence Development, or CED, when offered in a CMS-approved, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a follow-up duration of at least one year with the possibility of extending the study to a prospective longitudinal study when the CMS-approved, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial has completed enrollment, and there are positive interim primary endpoint findings.
Learn more about the proposal and coverage indications here.
USA Today Reports on Rise in Alcohol-related Deaths
The number of deaths attributable to alcohol increased 35 percent and the death rate rose 24 percent between 2007 and 2017, USA Today reported recently, citing a new analysis from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
“One alarming statistic: Deaths among women rose 85 percent,” the article noted. “Women once drank far less than men, and their more moderate drinking helped prevent heart disease, offsetting some of the harm,” adding that deaths among men rose 29 percent.
The article features personal stories, as well as a map of the United States that provides statistics about the changes in alcohol-related deaths for each state during this 10-year period.
CMS Report Shows Considerable Increase in Telemedicine for Medicare Beneficiaries
A majority of all Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth (85.4 percent) had at least one mental health diagnosis, and psychotherapy is among the services most commonly provided through telehealth, CMS concluded in its recent report to Congress on telehealth.
The 21st Century Cures Act required CMS to provide information on the populations of Medicare beneficiaries—such as those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid—and those with chronic conditions whose care “may be improved most in terms of quality and efficiency by the expansion” of telehealth.
According to the report, data showed that telehealth services is concentrated in states that have large rural areas, many of which are designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). The 10 states with the highest use of telehealth are California, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll Finds Slight Uptick in ACA Favorability
The latest health tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 53 percent of the public view the 2010 Affordable Care Act favorably, compared with four in 10 who have an unfavorable view of the landmark healthcare law.
The slight uptick came after this month’s midterm elections, in which Democrats regained a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, months after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, the midterm elections also resulted in Medicaid expanding in three additional states, which brings the total number of states that have expanded their Medicaid programs to 37 (including Washington, D.C.).
“And as a possible indicator of how some other states may expand their Medicaid programs in the future, most of those living in a non-expansion state say that if their state government chooses not to expand, voters themselves should be able to decide if their state expands their Medicaid program,” the tracking poll noted.
HRSA Launches SUD Workforce Loan Repayment Program
HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has launched its National Health Service Corps Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Workforce Loan Repayment Program to help boost the SUD workforce in underserved areas.
Participants are eligible to receive up to $75,000 in student loan repayment if they agree to a three-year work commitment at NHSC-approved sites.
According to HRSA, this loan repayment program is separate from the loan repayment program in H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act that President Trump signed recently. Click here to learn more about the program.
SAMHSA Will Host ISMICC Meeting on Dec. 11
HHS has announced the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will host a meeting of the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee at SAMHSA on Monday, Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. ET.
The notice said the meeting will feature information on federal efforts related to serious mental illness (SMI) and serious emotional disturbance (SED), including federal coordination, strategies, data evaluation, and recommendations for action.
Register Now for the 2019 NABH Annual Meeting
Please visit NABH’s Annual Meeting homepage today to register and reserve your hotel room for the 2019 NABH Annual Meeting — Behavioral Healthcare: Improving Coordination, Collaboration, Integration. We look forward to seeing you at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. from March 18-20, 2019!
For questions or comments about CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.