More guides to help GPs commission mental health services

Do you tell your patients with knee osteoarthritis to exercise?

A year ago I blogged about the new mental health commissioning guides that the Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health (JCP-MH) had published for GPs. The JCP-MH is a collaboration between public sector organisations, charities and professional bodies. Their aim is to “inspire commissioners to improve mental health and wellbeing, using a values based commissioning [read the full story…]

MoodGym no better than informational websites, according to new workplace RCT

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In these times of austerity, there is a lot of interest in computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) as a treatment for people with depression and anxiety. It is hoped that this cheap and easy to deliver intervention can help to reduce the long waiting lists for face-to-face talking treatments. I’ve regularly blogged about cCBT over [read the full story…]

Insufficient evidence for low-intensity interventions to prevent depression relapse or recurrence

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Anyone who has ever been depressed knows that there is always a chance that the condition may return. We know that the more episodes of depression an individual has, the more likely they are to have further episodes, so it’s vital that we do all that we can to prevent relapse after depression. This feeling was [read the full story…]

LSE report highlights ‘massive inequality’ in the way the NHS treats mental illness compared to physical illness

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Mental illness accounts for nearly half of all ill health in people under 65, but only a quarter of people are given the treatment they need, according to a new report published today by the London School of Economics. The report has been written by a distinguished group of mental health and health policy professionals from [read the full story…]

Collaborating for cost effectiveness : CIPFA reports on “Sharing the Gain”

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For clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support services moving to agree Service Level Agreements this summer, this ‘how-to’ guide on developing and running shared public services is one for the week-end reading pile. Reducing costs via collaborative working is high on the agenda for public service bodies.  “Sharing the Gain” from CIPFA (the leading professional [read the full story…]

Rethinking physical activity for depression: what’s cost effective?

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Exercise is a good thing right? It seems obvious that people who are affected by mental health problems would benefit from getting themselves outside and becoming more active, but are these ‘treatments’ value for money when they are delivered in a structured way? The current NICE depression guideline recommends ‘structured’ physical activity programmes for depression [read the full story…]

When is it appropriate to prescribe antipsychotics to treat the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia?

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This topic has been well publicised in recent years and for good reason. We know that there is a huge disparity between the number of people with dementia who are prescribed antipsychotics (180,000 in England each year) and the number who may derive some benefit from the treatment (36,000). We also know that dangerous side [read the full story…]

An integrated approach to mental and physical health could save the NHS billions, says new report from the King’s Fund

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People with long-term conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, are two to three times more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population. However, a systemic failure to identify these problems and provide effective support is resulting in poorer outcomes for patients and could be costing the NHS billions, says a report [read the full story…]

Cost-effectiveness of molar endodontic retreatment compared with fixed partial dentures and single-tooth implant alternatives

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This study by Kim et al from March 2011  has had a summary prepared by the  Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD)  at the University of York. The CRD summary of the paper states:- This study examined the cost-effectiveness of strategies for the management of a tooth after failed root canal treatment, including non-surgical or [read the full story…]

The cost-effectiveness of public health interventions: positive findings reported

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It is imperative for the NHS to make best possible use of limited resources and the health and economic effects of lifestyle diseases are significant. The economic case for public health interventions … hitherto has lacked a systematic compilation of evidence … that would allow informed decisions about the allocation of resources between prevention and [read the full story…]