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Can neurons tell us when to stop drinking?
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareIt’s summer. You're on vacation, poolside and drinking your favorite alcoholic beverage. But how many drinks do you have? Other than the need to drive, is there something else that tells you when to stop refreshing your drink? According to new research findings, we may be able to influence alcohol drinking behavior by activating particular neurons. These findings provide insight into another mechanism underlying alcoholism.
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CMS changes meaningful use reporting period for 2016 to 90 days
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationHere’s looking at you, CMS. This hat is tipped for you. So must be the sentiment across thousands of healthcare organizations when in early July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that the meaningful use reporting period should be reduced from one year to just 90 days in 2016 for returning participants in the incentive program. "This increases flexibility and lowers the reporting burden for hospital providers," the organization said in a statement posted on its website.
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How nurses help underserved communities
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareNurses have a rich history of contributing to the welfare of underserved populations. As the backbone, lifeblood, and connective tissue of the healthcare industry, nurses interface regularly with citizens who are most in need of compassionate care grounded in nursing science. When Lillian Wald founded The Henry Street Settlement in 1893, she was doing what nurses do best, which is recognizing a problem that can be mitigated by the nursing process and nursing intervention.
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Ready or not, MACRA is coming
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationFrom meaningful use to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the headlines in healthcare for the foreseeable future will surround the latest payment carrot-and-stick regulations. Like meaningful use, which is now regular vernacular in healthcare, the potentially disruptive MACRA will soon be just as popular of an expression for those in every aspect of the care protocols. Right now, not so much.
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What’s behind the rise in teen depression?
Christina Nava Mental HealthcareBack in high school, I had a friend who was depressed. His teacher, who had seen us together in the halls frequently, pulled me aside one day to express her concerns because he had developed a bad attitude and started sleeping in class, and his grades were plummeting.
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How the brain adapts to childhood adversity
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareMental illnesses in children are so complex that healthcare professionals cannot always detect them. Symptoms for mental disorders can be so nonspecific that even parents cannot tell if their child is being rambunctious or seriously ill.
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One step closer to ending an era of stigma
Jessica Taylor Mental HealthcareWednesday, July 6, marked a big day for the U.S. when a bill that should significantly change mental healthcare overwhelmingly cleared the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote of 422-2. Introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act would "make available needed psychiatric, psychological and supportive services for individuals diagnosed with mental illness and families in mental health crisis, and for other purposes."
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Marijuana may help clean out amyloid beta from your brain
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareThe U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) considers marijuana a Schedule I narcotic, and as such is considered to have no medical value. Medical research is continuing to show otherwise. The Salk Institute located in La Jolla, California, recently reported that a team of scientists have demonstrated that the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — may help remove the "cellular glue" that is part of the damaging pathology in Alzheimer's disease. The results have been published in the June issue of Nature.
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News of tragedy affects overall mental health
Kelly Sharp Mental HealthcareWithin the past few days, America has been shaken by several shocking deaths. Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, were killed at the hands of police officers. Then, five police officers were killed by a sniper during a protest in Dallas about the death of Sterling and Castile.
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Researchers find brain circuit that spurs bullying in mice
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareBullying — whether physical, emotional or social — should not be considered a normal rite of passage or "kids just being kids." The effects of bullying can be serious, including depression, low self-esteem, health problems and even suicide.
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