Rural Telepsychiatry: The Future Is Bright
November 15th 2013Various populations of patients can benefit from telepsychiatry. The goal is not to replace local mental health resources but to enhance existing capabilities. This article articulates successful interventions as well as topics to consider when developing a telepsychiatry service.
Diagnosing Psychiatric Disorders: The Synchronization of DSM-5 and ICD-10-CM
November 13th 2013The two most widely used classification systems are ICD-10 and DSM. These systems are mutually influential. Recent diagnostic guides highlight the importance of an integrated approach to presenting problems in a patient-centered framework. Specifics here.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression and Alzheimer Disease: An Emerging Therapy
November 11th 2013Demographic shifts and rising life expectancies will lead to an epidemic of chronic neuropsychiatric disease, and societal and public health costs will be enormous. Deep brain stimulation--a procedure that interfaces directly with the neural elements that drive pathological behavior--could be useful.
Risperdal Maker Pays High Price to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations
November 8th 2013Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from allegations relating to the prescription drugs Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor, including promotion for uses not approved as safe and effective by FDA and payment of kickbacks to physicians and to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy provider.
“Switching” of Mood From Depression to Mania With Antidepressants
Mood switching is not uncommon and it is much more prevalent in depressed juveniles than in depressed adults, and there is a large apparent excess of antidepressant-associated switching over reported spontaneous diagnostic changes to bipolar disorder. Details here.
A Risk Stratification Approach to Alcohol Detoxification
November 5th 2013The challenges of identifying patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal have been found to be mitigated by the development of a Risk Stratification Questionnaire, now being adopted by the VA regionally throughout New England. More in this video.
Dilemmas in the Mental Health System: Privacy and Liberty
October 31st 2013In this video, Dr Lloyd Sederer, Medical Director of the New York State Office of Mental Health; Adjunct Professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; and Mental Health Medical Editor for The Huffington Post discusses a topic close to his heart.
Eulogies for Psychiatrists Who Inspired: April 1, 2012–June 30, 2013
October 29th 2013A range of psychiatrists are remembered-from pioneers in psychoanalysis to trance studies; from psychopharmacology to reality therapy; from the normality of homosexuality to the psychopathology of “brain fag” syndrome; from flowers to film; from childhood to old age; from everyday clinicians to courageous challengers of the status quo; and from student to expert.
Film Review: The Last Interview of Thomas Szasz
October 22nd 2013A documentary film review that compels one to wonder if Szasz’s alleged suicide should be seen as a courageous adherence to the principles by which he lived or a symptom of a pathological avoidance of helplessness. Dr Szasz might reply that either way, it was his choice.
Why Psychiatrists Are Physicians First: Country Calm Before the Storm
October 16th 2013Most New Yorkers were afraid to venture outdoors after the Twin Towers toppled, so a short term, part-time locums post opened upstate, an escape from the decaying metropolis and retreat to the country. What could go wrong in such an idyllic setting?