Youth with mental illness struggle to receive essential behavioral health care. One obstacle is denial of coverage by insurance. In California, managed care consumers may apply for independent medical review (IMR) which potentially overturns an insurance denial through the California Department of Managed Healthcare (CDMHC). The authors aim to…

Background: Pediatric mental health issues are increasing while access to care is decreasing. This is reflected in a growing number of patients seeking emergency psychiatric evaluations (EPEs) in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This was a retrospective review of patients seeking EPE in the ED of a children's hospital between September and…

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on the involvement of mental healthcare professionals in a co-design process of a digital healthcare platform. Many people with severe mental disorders need constant support and monitoring, and with long waiting lists and scarce resources in mental healthcare, there is a dire need for innovative digital solutions…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with high services use, but European data on costs are scarce. Utilisation and annual costs of 385 individuals with ASD (aged 4-67 years; 18.2% females; 37.4% IQ < 85) from German outpatient clinics were assessed. Average annual costs per person were 3287 EUR, with psychiatric inpatient care…

This study used administrative data to compare the socio-demographics, health conditions, and health service use of autistic adults with adults with and without other developmental disabilities, after matching for age and sex. Autistic women and men were more likely to have a wide range of physical and mental health conditions compared to adults…

Objective: To describe the use of psychiatric medication and related health service utilization among college students receiving care on- and off-campus. Participants and methods: 3959 students from a large southern university participated in the Healthy Minds Study in May 2018. Results: Of students surveyed, 17.6% took psychiatric medication in…

Background: Can disability support services (DS) facilitate access to mental health services (MHS) for people with intellectual disability? This study utilized 10 years of data from 6,260 persons in NSW who had received DS and specific MHS to quantify the relationship between DS utilization and MHS utilization in adults with intellectual…

Objective: U.S. and Canadian data demonstrate decreasing inpatient days, increasing nonurgent emergency department (ED) visits, and short supply of child psychiatrists. Our study aims to determine whether aftercare reduces ED visits and/or readmission in adolescents with first psychiatric hospitalization. Method: We conducted a population-based…

Objective: Epidemiological studies in the United States consistently find autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to be overrepresented in high socioeconomic status (SES) families. These findings starkly contrast with SES gradients of many health conditions, and may result from SES inequalities in access to services. We hypothesized that prenatal measures…

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate whether caregiver's variations in socioeconomic status (SES) has direct bearing on challenges of nurturing children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Oman. A cadre of caregivers (n = 150) from two types of SES (low-income and middle-high income) were compared based on four domains: (1)…

The paper gives an account of psychiatric services in Dubai (U.A.E). It describes the unique demographic constitution of Dubai and its complex health system. It also discusses the reasons behind the primitiveness of psychiatry in comparison to other medical specialties and services, especially considering the wealth of Dubai. The paper then goes…

The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) family of measures is routinely used in mental health services in the New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. However, the psychometric properties of the HoNOS65+ for elderly people have not been extensively evaluated. The aim of the present study was to examine the validity, reliability, and…

Psychiatric emergency services for children and adolescents vary in process, structure and outcome. There are few systematic studies on the type and prevalence of psychiatric problems encountered, related circumstances or resulting interventions. Evidence in these areas is important in evaluation of the function of mental health services in the…

University and college counseling services face growing demands for services and self-reported increases in the level of presenting psychopathology, including need for psychiatric hospitalization. However, challenges in communication often occur between the systems of an inpatient psychiatric unit and an outpatient college and/or university…

During the 1990s, a decision was made within the Learning Disabilities services of Camden & Islington to develop a local integrated service for people requiring an acute psychiatric admission. There had been little research at the time on the experiences of people with learning disabilities within the type of inner London acute mental health…