Category: mental health

Lawsuit Details How The Sackler Family Allegedly Built An OxyContin Fortune

WBUR and other media organizations sued Purdue Pharma to force the release of previously redacted information in a case brought by the Massachusetts attorney general.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Postpartum Psychosis Is Real, Rare And Dangerous

Postpartum psychosis is rare but very real, doctors say. And, unlike in some countries, U.S. moms who need inpatient psychiatric care can’t bring along their babies, adding to the trauma.

Meth’s Resurgence Spotlights Lack Of Meds To Combat The Addiction

While headlines continue to focus on the nation’s opioid crisis, a growing toll of overdoses and deaths related to methamphetamine use suggests this drug is making an under-the-radar comeback.

Newsom Diverges Sharply From Washington With Health Care Budget

California Gov. Gavin Newsom made health care a priority in his proposed state budget, asking lawmakers to authorize state-funded financial aid for health insurance, impose a penalty on uninsured Californians and expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants.

To Get Mental Health Help For A Child, Desperate Parents Relinquish Custody

To get care for their 12-year-old son’s severe mental illness, Toni and Jim Hoy had to give up custody of him and allow the state of Illinois to care for him. It happens to hundreds, perhaps thousands of children each year. The exact number is unknown because two-thirds of states do not keep track.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Nurse Denied Life Insurance Because She Carries Naloxone

The U.S. surgeon general has called on “bystanders” to be equipped with the opioid reversal drug to save lives. But when a nurse answered that call, her application for life insurance was denied. Why?

Nonprofit Bets Asian-American Students Can Learn To Avoid Unhealthy Gambling

It’s not clear why Asian-American college students have higher rates of compulsive gambling than their peers, but a nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area arms them with strategies to avoid getting hooked.

Gun Control Vs. Mental Health Care: Debate After Mass Shootings Obscures Murky Reality

More than half of mass shooters have serious mental health disorders, experts say, but the vast majority of mentally ill people are not violent. Some clinicians suggest strategic interventions, including closing loopholes in background checks to buy firearms and allowing family members to confiscate guns under temporary court orders for relatives at risk of doing harm.