B H McFarland

..Although the two countries are very similar in many ways, there are potentially important differences in the levels of social and economic inequality and the organization and financing of and access to health care in the two countries...

..8) ask for improved physical health benefits but rarely do so for alcohol and drug (4.1) benefits (p < .001). Education of workers and payers will be needed to change opinions about treatment of addictive disorders...

..The objective of this project was to examine state psychiatric hospital utilization among persons with schizophrenia who maintained or lost Medicaid coverage...

..We used national data from 1997-2002 to describe recent trends in organizational and financial arrangements...

..On the other hand, state policies influencing Medicaid enrollment may have substantial impact on chemical dependency treatment outcomes...

..The measure is appropriate for retrospective severity assessment and may also be useful for pre-admission screening...

..After adjustment for covariates, most analyses were not statistically significant. It does not appear that Medicaid managed care had an adverse impact on outcomes for clients with substance abuse problems...

..Managed care patients had longer lengths of stay than their fee-for-service counterparts (even after adjustment for confounders). Secular trends and practice patterns may influence length of stay more than managed care...

..Results support future work on SPs as teaching and evaluation tools in substance abuse counseling. Findings also illustrate the need to refine definitions of authenticity for SPs as substance abuse clients...

..The implementation of a capitated chemical dependency benefit within the Oregon Health Plan in 1995 provided an opportunity to study the impact of funding mechanisms on access...

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..Clinical practices related to substance abuse counseling and intimate partner violence are discussed in light of these findings...

..This study assessed whether converting Medicaid from a fee-for-service program to a capitated, prepaid managed care program affected access to mental health services among clients who were treated for substance abuse...

..The ventral system is hypothesized to respond to the salience and immediacy of rewards while the dorsal system is implicated in the process of comparison and choice...

..There was no evidence that conversion of the Medicaid mental health system from fee for service to managed care led to changes in outcomes for rural clients with severe mental illness...

..Recently, two severity measures based on administrative data have been developed. This study validated these measures using prospective data...

..Additionally, clinical staff reported better subject engagement in treatment and psychosocial group sessions. This single-site study is an example of successful integration of an evidence-based treatment into community-based practice...

..Research coordinators and the staff found the use of an SP to be highly effective. The node is now making routine use of SPs in the implementation of CTN protocols...

..Given that acquisition costs of atypical antipsychotics are generally higher than typical antipsychotics, uncertainty exists whether the newer atypicals are cost effective alternatives when used in ordinary practice settings...

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..81) and fair to good for antidepressants and anxiolytics (kappa = 0.63, and kappa = 0.52, respectively). The findings suggest that Medicaid pharmacy claims data are reasonably accurate for quality assurance and accreditation purposes...

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..CONCLUSIONS: These results raise the possibility that state Medicaid policies may make it difficult for clients to obtain suitable chemical dependency treatment services...

..To examine the risk factors and precipitating circumstances associated with firearm suicide...

..Evaluation research is needed in areas such as standard setting, risk adjustment, and the linking of pharmacy data to outcome measures...

..These developments raise numerous questions regarding the adoption and implementation of policies pertaining to alcohol...

..No differences were found between the groups in follow-up acute psychiatric hospitalization or arrests. Low-intensity, short-duration involuntary outpatient commitment appears to have a limited, but important, impact...

..However, few data are available regarding Medicaid patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder...

..The instrument showed internal consistency when evaluated with coefficient alpha. As compared with community subjects, clinic patients had significantly lower scores, reflecting poorer physical and mental well being...

..Unfortunately, it may be unrealistic to expect that health care providers can modify the behavior of individuals at highest risk of suicide...

..The purpose of this study was to describe United States trends from 1983 through 2003 in antidepressant overdoses as well as trends in health care utilization and mortality...

..Further research is needed to understand the reasons for these differences and their potential clinical implications...

..Moreover, little is known about general population prevalences of older adults' efforts to change behavior, motivations to improve health behaviors, and perceived barriers to change...

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..This study examined the association between health-related quality of life (HRQL) and mortality risk, and compared the predictive ability of Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) with self-rated health (SRH)...

..The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which contact with health practitioners (dentists or physicians) affects smoking status among older adults...

..However, the Portland Target Cities Projects's emphasis on in-jail centralized intake was associated with enhanced client outcomes...

..57 in the urban sample and.31 in the rural sample. CONCLUSIONS: The MCAS-SR is a reliable self-report instrument and can be valuable as an outcome measure and in treatment planning...

..This five-site study compared Medicaid managed behavioral health programs and fee-for-service programs on use and quality of services, satisfaction, and symptoms and functioning of adults with serious mental illness...

..Physical inactivity in this population is linked to functional limitations, increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diminished quality of life, and disability. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for inactivity...

..The findings have implications for health behavior theories and interventions predicated on the notion that the health conscious individual attempts to improve his or her health by engaging in more than one of these behaviors at a time...

..CONCLUSIONS: Recent Russian immigrants to the United States appear to have low prevalences of anxiety and depression...

..Little is known about variations of overweight within subgroups of the elderly population. This study examined the factors associated with overweight and obesity among older men and women...

..Implications for the clinical management of suicidal behavior among patients with chronic conditions are discussed...

..The proposed planning project will set the stage for interventions as well as methodology to determine whether they are successful. ..

..Third, the research will examine ways to increase the assistance provided to people with major depressive disorder via computerized self-help systems. ..

..Analyses will take into account varying "times at risk" for subjects who may be hospitalized or arrested. The results will be of keen interest to decision-makers who determine Medicaid policies. ..

..Consequently, the methodology and the results will be of considerable interest to alcohol treatment clients, policy makers, and payers. ..

..Process measures will include the modality and extent of drug abuse treatment services (as well as information gleaned from chart review). The results will be important for justice system and Medicaid policy makers. ..

..The proposed study will examine the feasibility and utility of SPs in this environment. ..

..The investigators will explore application of hierarchical models and latent variable growth curves to the national data sets. The results will be of considerable interest to state Medicaid and alcohol drug abuse program directors. ..