Weekly News Digest
Week of 5/11–5/15

SAMHSA Seeks Public Comment on Issues Related to the Implementation of the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (5/14/2009)

In the April 29 Federal Register, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced plans to implement the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER). NASPER was enacted in 2005 to provide grant support to States to establish State-administered prescription drug monitoring programs (PMP) in order to ensure that health care providers have access to the accurate, timely prescription history information. Health care providers will use such systems for the “early identification of patients at risk for addiction in order to initiate appropriate medical interventions and avert the tragic personal, family, and community consequences of untreated addiction.”

Majority of America’s 2 Million Adolescents Suffering from Depression Episodes Did Not Receive Treatment in the Past Year (5/13/2009)

A new report which coincides with Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day reveals that 8.2 percent (2 million) youths aged 12 to 17 experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. Only about two-fifths (38.9 percent) of these adolescents received treatment during this period according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

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