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What We’re Reading: Mental Health Staff Emergency; Infant Formula Companies Warned; Narcan in Stores
The demand for mental health staff in schools outweighs the supply; the FDA sends letters to 3 formula manufacturers for federal violations; Narcan is coming to stores around the country.
Mental Health Staff Short by Thousands
Educators are finding new ways to support student mental health in school amidst mental health staff shortages, according to The Washington Post. It would take 77,000 additional school counselors; 63,000 more school psychologists; and tens of thousands of school social workers to reach the levels recommended by professional groups prior to the pandemic, say those organizations. Some universities are expanding counseling programs, schools are hiring interns and trainees, and some states, like California, are presenting scholarships to entice students into mental health professions.
FDA Sends Warning Letters to Infant Formula Manufacturers
The FDA sent warning letters to 3 infant formula producers over violations of federal safety regulations, reported The Hill. The letters were sent to ByHeart, Mead Johnson Nutrition, and Perrigo Wisconsin following FDA inspections of their facilities; they applied limited recalls of some products over health concerns about the bacterium Cronobacter sakasakii. The FDA said the letters are not linked to current recalls and the products presently on the market aren’t a risk to consumers. The companies have to promise thorough cleaning and sanitation regiments, conduct investigations into the contaminations, and reassess company sanitation policies. They have 15 working days to create corrective plans for the FDA to review.
Naloxone Is Coming to Stores
Naloxone (Narcan), the first over-the-counter opioid overdose reversal medication, is being transported to drugstore and grocery chains around the country, said manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions, according to The New York Times. Stores like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and Rite Aid said they expect naloxone to be available online and on multiple store shelves in the first week of September. Scientists and health officials are hoping that medication will become commonplace in public libraries, subways, dorms, corner delis, and street vending machines. They also estimate it might become common in medicine cabinets as more people realize that illicit party drugs may be contaminated with fentanyl.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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