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Introduction Some Background on Kaiser Permanente and Behavioral Health Historical Articles of Interest Listing Articles related to the over medicating of patients Special Articles of Interest NEW: The Real Kaiser Permanente - Off site compilation of Kaiser Behavioral Health Horror Stories https://kaiserpapers.com/therealkaiser/
18 June 2017 - DMHC reaches Settlement with Kaiser who has corrected Deficiencies.
There isn't much to say about this - it is what it is. The DMHC Decision/Agreement is here:
http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/
DMHC June 12, 2017 Survey of Kaiser - https://www.dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/055_r_full%20service-behavioral%20health_061217.pdf
Kaiser's Response to the highly critical June 12, 2017 DMHC Survey of Kaiser: http://dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/055_r_full%20service-behavioral%20health_pr_061217.pdf
5 Jul 2017 - Commentary on the above: If there is little in the way of incentive to change, they are not going to do it. It there is no real punishment, painful fine or mandatory restitution, they will never make the required and ordered changes. Kaiser Papers commentary specific to the DMHC 2017 Survey of Kaiser Permanente. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/2017dmhc.html Oct 14, 2015 - Class Claims Kaiser Has Lax Suicide Care by Barbara Wallace http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/10/14/class-claims-kaiser-has-lax-suicide-care.htm "LOS ANGELES (CN) - A class led by a woman who sought care while suicidal claims Kaiser's mental health care does not measure up, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. ........ "With no other choice to save her life, given her deep depression and suicidal ideation, and the ineffectiveness of her monthly medication appointments with Kaiser psychiatrists without accompanying therapy, S.F. sought and began weekly individual therapy outside Kaiser," the complaint continues. Three years later, S.F. felt emotionally stable enough to handle her business affairs and submitted claims for reimbursement to Kaiser, according to the complaint. Kaiser denied her claims. S.F. contends her therapy expenses should be reimbursed because her Kaiser psychiatrist and a Kaiser Licensed Clinical Social Worker both knew she was seeing outside therapists and recommended that she continue."
Sept 16, 2015 - Kaiser loses in court, now hiring mental health workers By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen, Vallejo Times-Herald http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_28830043/kaiser-loses-court-now-hiring-mental-health-workers Kaiser Permanente increased by nearly half the number of its mental health clinicians in California in the past four years and plans to hire another 354 by the end of this year, officials announced. ........Kaiser Permanente hopes to hire 354 more mental health professionals throughout California by the end of 2015, especially those with backgrounds reflecting the diversity of the communities served, officials said.
May 13, 2015 - "Kaiser Permanente fired a psychologist who blew the whistle on the HMO's pattern of unlawful delays in providing mental health care according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, whose members plan to picket the healthcare giant." Quote attributed to Katherine Proctor who is with Courthousenews. See: http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/05/13/union-protests-kaisers-firing-of-whistleblower.htm and http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/05/14/union-accuses-kaiser-of-firing-whistleblowing-psychologist
February 25, 2015 The Los Angeles Times along with several other newspapers reports that the California Department of Managed Health Care is once again making it know that Kaiser Permanente is letting down it's patients by not cleaning up their Mental Health Departments.
DMHC stated that only two out of four deficiencies have been corrected since 2013. DMHC Director Shelley Rouillard wrote “Kaiser’s actions have not been sufficient to ensure enrollees have consistent timely access to behavioral health services.”
The uncorrected deficiencies are: • Deficiency 3: Although the Plan has made significant strides toward correcting deficiencies concerning its obligation to monitor and provide access to behavioral health services, the Department concludes that the Plan’s corrective actions have not sufficiently fixed the access-related problems identified.
• Deficiency 4: Although the Plan implemented policies requiring internal review of printed and on-line health education materials prior to making those materials available to enrollees, the Department’s review revealed individual cases in which providers disseminated inaccurate and misleading health education information to enrollees regarding the scope of their coverage for behavioral health services.
The complete report/survey may be read in pdf form here: http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/desktopmodules/dmhc/medsurveys/surveys/055bhfu022415.pdf
Californians with questions about access to care can contact the DMHC Help Center at 1-888-466-2219 or visit www.HealthHelp.ca.gov.
Introduction Some Background on Kaiser Permanente and Behavioral Health Historical Articles of Interest Listing Articles related to the over medicating of patients Special Articles of Interest
August 9, 2013 -- Kaiser to pay $9M to settle autism therapy suit
Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay up to $9 million to settle a class action that alleged the health plan illegally refused to provide behavioral therapy for autistic children before it was mandated by state law.
The lawsuit was filed in Southern California in April 2009 on behalf of Andrew Arce of Los Angeles and others like him. Andrew was 2 years old when Kaiser denied coverage for applied behavioral analysis even though its own doctors said it was medically necessary. Please read the complete article written by Kathy Robertson of the Sacramento Business Journal at: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/08/08/kaiser-to-pay-9m-to-settle-autism-suit.html Kaiser Self Promotion of Study - How does it feel to patients knowing they were part of an experiment/study that appears to have harmed children? Patient records are where many Kaiser studies come from. Rushing too medicate in an effort to keep patients quiet often harms patients and future generations when long-term testing has never been done with these drugs. We invite you to listen to former Kaiser Permanente Physician, Dr. Daniel Trussell speaking on the Highway2Health, November 9, 2004 program about the overuse of psychotropics,the testing of them and the reality of how patients might unnecessarily be encouraged to use them to quite frankly, shut them up. This program is titled "A Candid Conversation on Psychotropic Medications and The Current State of Psychiatry" by Dr. Daniel Trussell. Originally recorded on November 9, 2004 It has been placed online at: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/audio/daniel-trussell-md-nov-9-2004.mp3 Please note that the audio could be of a better quality but this is what we have available right now. It is worth listening to especially if you are considering these medications and know little about them. More of Dr. Trussell presentations are located at: https://kaiserpapers.com/programs.html
To listen to this program online please click the arrow button:
Introduction Some Background on Kaiser Permanente and Behavioral Health Historical Articles of Interest Listing Articles related to the over medicating of patients Special Articles of Interest Introduction
What I would like to see happen is for all Kaiser Permanente patients who were diagnosed too quickly as depressed, thus given medication, all Kaiser Permanente patients who found themselves stuck with the same counselor, Kaiser Permanente patients who needed weekly sessions, but were granted only a limited number of sessions per benefit year, Kaiser Permanente patients who felt all therapy options were not exhausted before being put on medication, and all those concerned about their loved ones who have gone through Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health and want to complain - to please contact us. Please send an e-mail to: vickie at kaiserpapers.com
Those affected by and associated with, Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health, need to listen more and also speak up."
If you would like your story placed online, please include that information in your email. Historic Articles of Interest Some Background on Kaiser Permanente and Behavioral Health
First before browsing the following list of informative information on how the behavioral health system is often taking advantage of the patient, here is some really important background on Kaiser Behavioral Health:
The following is from "Nicholas A. Cummings Collected Papers Vol. I" - Page 128 - 129 Note: Nicolas A. Cummings led the Behavioral Health Division and worked it into a money making enterprise. He also is the person that made sure psychiatric services were provided by HMO's. That sounds good doesn't it? Read the following to learn the motives behind the actions:
The Beginning of the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Benefit
"Kaiser Permanente soon found, to its dismay, that once a health system makes it easy and free to see a physician, there occurs an alarming inundation of medical utilization by seemingly physically health persons. In private practice the physician's fee has served as a partial deterrent to over-utilization, until the recent growth of third party payment for health care services. The financial base at Kaiser Permanente is one of per capitation, and neither the physician nor the Health Plan derives an additional fee for seeing the patient. Rather than becoming wealthy from imagined physical ills, the system could be bankrupted by what was regarded as abuse by the hypochondriac.
Early in its history, Kaiser Permanente added psychotherapy to its list of services, first on a courtesy reduced fee of five dollars per visit and eventually as a prepaid benefit. This was initially motivated not by a belief in the efficacy of psychotherapy, but by the urgent need to get the so-called hypochondriac out of the doctor's office. From this initial perception of mental health as a dumping ground for bothersome patients, twenty years of research has led to the conclusion that no comprehensive prepaid health system can survive that does not provide a psychotherapy benefit.
Early investigations confirmed physicians fears they were being inundated, for it was found that 60% of all visits were by patients who had nothing physically wrong with them. Add to this the medical visits by patients whose physical illnesses are stress related (peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, hypertension, etc.), and the total approaches a staggering 80 to 90% of all physician visits. Surprisingly as these findings were 25 years ago, nationally accepted estimates today range from 50 to 80% (Shapiro, 1971) Interestingly, over 2,000 years ago Galen pointed out that 60% of all persons visiting a doctor suffered from symptoms that were caused emotionally, rather than physically (Shapiro, 1971). -------------------------
Timothy Leary was the Director of the Kaiser Foundation Psychological Research from 1952 to 1958. He did a lot of research on how to control and manipulate a population. He led a wild lifestyle up at Kaiser where -
"In the mid-1950s Leary worked as director of Psychological Research at the Kaiser Foundation and taught at Berkeley University. There he and his wife were involved in heavy drinking and adulterous wife swapping. In early 1960, he joined the Harvard Center for Personality Research. That same year Leary took his first dosage of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and he was permanently changed. Believing that psilocybin mushrooms created mystical perception that could reprogram the brain, Leary persuaded the school authorities to allow him to devise and administer the "Harvard Drug Research Program." Please read: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/tleary.html
There are several variations of why Tim Leary was fired from Kaiser. Most of the explanations sound petty. Only one sounds logical and provides a reasonable explanation. The following version is from Nicholas A. Cummings who replaced Timothy Leary. Quotes are from: "The Entrepreneur of Psychology: The Collected Papers of Nicholas A. Cummings" pages 5 and 6 - The Role of the Somatizer inb the Development of the Health Plan
Early in the 1950's, the Permanente physicians discovered that 60% of all visits to physicians were by patients who either had no physical illness, or had a physical illness that was being exacerbated by psychological factors. Today, this is a nationally recognized phenomenon, and the American Medical Association (AMA) accepts 60% to 70% as the national figure. The reason it was first discovered at Kaiser Permanente was the nature of the health plan itself. See: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/tleary.html#leary1
The Leary material is very important as it sources all that has followed while providing somewhat of a road map for understanding what in the world these people are really doing.
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/whccamp/meetings/transcript _9_8_00_s3_4_5.html "Targeting the insurance companies of the nation is important to identify the idea that upstream intervention is going to save the insurance dollar. There is cost savings and the business department of Kaiser has data to support that.
As long as the outcomes are behaviorally based, we can measure the outcomes in terms of reduced medical visits and reduced medical visits translates to dollars, savings. " mirrored at: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/cam1.html
Now Learn how this branch of medicine is used to control, bribe and sometimes treat people.
A Letter from Douglas Beech, M.D. While reading about the outcome of Dr. Thomas Jensen’s suit against Kaiser Permanente’s San Diego HMO in the October 6 issue, I was painfully reminded just how far the collective mentality of psychiatry has plunged into a managed care paradigm of minimalism.
Dr. Jensen protested the policy of the HMO that "required" psychiatrists to prescribe without personal examination of a patient. Physicians who participate in such a practice do not have the HMO policy to blame, but the outcry suggested that the policy was responsible for physicians’ not performing their required duty. Please read: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/beechy.html
Kaiser Defends Mental Health Coverage As 'team-Based' Kaiser Permanente, under investigation in California for requiring psychiatrists to write drug prescriptions for mental health patients whom they have not seen, on Thursday defended its practice as "team-based."https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/team.html
LEADER'S MANUAL FOR ADOLESCENT GROUPS ADOLESCENT COPING WITH DEPRESSION COURSE Gregory Clarke, Ph.D. Peter Lewinsohn, PhD ... In short - Kaiser realizes that there is big money to be made in kid's being labeled as depressed. It is a great excuse for another study that leads to many new government funded contracts. http://www.kpchr.org/public/acwd/CWDA_manual.pdf
Kaiser Mid Atlantic States caring for mental health of adolescents.
Development of KP Services for Adolescents "In 1955, KP San Francisco opened one of the first teen clinics in the country (Charles Wibbelsman, MD, personal communication).a In 1986, KP expanded that care by opening a comprehensive teen center in Panorama City, California. The center is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that includes nurses, physicians specializing in adolescent medicine, a health educator, and a social worker. The center maintains a collaborative relationship with the department of obstetrics and gynecology and monitors pregnant and high-risk teens to assure compliance with established standards of health care delivery and confidentiality. " http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/winter02/westeast.html regarding the above article please again review the top listed article about Dr. Leary
Phantom Mental Health Services at Kaiser Permanente? April 28, 2004 - Kaiser Papers Hawaii received the following press release from Dr. Russell M. Holstein regarding Kaiser Permanente's failure to deliver quality mental health care services. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/phantom-mental-health-services-at-kaiser-permanente.html HIDDEN LIMIT ON MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT AT KAISER https://kaiserpapershawaii.org/
Articles related to the over medicating of patients
The following is reported as the current state of over medication of children. Did you know that in 1970, Kaiser reported to Congress that 30% of the students in San Francisco area Elementary Schools were medicated and the Congressional Investigator reportedthat this was an instance of disease being created for a drug? - See: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/1970.html
Teen Screening - The Truth There is An 84 - 94% Chance Your Child Will Incorrectly Be Determined to Have a Mental Illness http://www.teenscreentruth.com/
Is your child being "mentally screened" at school without your knowledge or permission?
Students have been lured into taking the "test" by being given free movie tickets and food. From what I understand, TeenScreen is now in place in over 12 states, and in over 450 schools. To see if your state is supporting TeenScreen, check out this web site. http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2006/0524zizza.html
Alliance for Human Research Protection GAO Report "Two million people are injured annually from prescribed pharmaceuticals--106,000 die from adverse prescription drug effects--in addition to 98,000 drug related deaths in hospitals due to errors." http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/148/28/
Drip Drip Drip - Paxil Info Leaks Out April 25, 2006. By Evelyn Pringle Secrecy agreements in litigation hide information about defective products or a company's negligence, and sometimes go so far as to prohibit the parties from discussing that there ever was a lawsuit. Such is the case with Paxil and as a result, unwitting patients continued to take the drug long after its dangers were known to GlaxoSmithKline.
Many lawsuits filed against Glaxo have been settled out of court, with confidential agreements that prevent the public from knowing about the harmful effects of the Paxil. http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/paxil.html
Treatment for Depression More Than Triples in the US in the Last 10 Years
Children Should Not Be Over Medicated Like many mental health reform advocates, I was thrown into the fire via a deeply personal life experience.When I carefully "weaned/tapered" a child off 20mg of the powerful antidepressant Paxil, little did I know that the personal can be quite political. Families in this great country of ours, if not throughout the entire world, are much safer and happier as children live their lives again without antidepressants and psychotropic drugs. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/druggedkids.html
Prescribing Practices BY DANIEL B. BORENSTEIN, M.D The patients were evaluated by other mental health professionals or trainees, following which the Kaiser psychiatrists were asked to prescribe psychotropic medications without a comprehensive or any other face-to-face evaluation. Apparently, this practice had been going on for more than 10 years and had never caught the attention of either the licensing authorities or the psychiatric society. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/frompresident.html
Kaiser therapists stage one-day strike Kaiser’s requirement that they take on 10 new patients a week—in addition to their regular caseload—so overloads the system that it takes about two weeks for a new patient to get an initial appointment with a counselor, and sometimes three to four weeks for a follow-up visit. http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep98/strike.html
Health care system plays mind games with emotionally ill, critics say Kaiser sent her to a psychiatrist who put her on Prozac and suggested that she attend group therapy, neither of which, she said, helped her with the insomnia, anger and depression she was suffering from a childhood trauma.
"It seemed like the psychiatrist's primary job was dispensing Prozac," Ann said. "There was no mention of psychotherapy. I was sent to a group and listened to other women's horror stories. It was really of no help." http://www.nomanagedcare.org/mindgmesa.htm
From Frontline - Is the FDA Hazardous to your health? More than a dozen prescriptions drugs have been pulled off the market...... http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/ Teens and depression Some experts contend that deep feelings are part of growing up and that, in any case, drugging kids isn't the sole answer In only six minutes according to Kaiser Permanente they can diagnosis your psychiatric condition. Amazing! https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/povs.html
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights - Commissioner's Fraud Report Written for law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and others concerned with bringing escalating mental health fraud under the law, this report from CCHR provides information on criminal and civil fraud prosecutions in the mental health industry.
Understanding the Opportunities of Integrated Primary Care Integrated delivery systems such as Kaiser Permanente currently have an advantage for successfully implementing IPCs because the financial incentives are more easily aligned than is usually the case.
"Three tenets are important to recognize as being inherent in this shift:
Healthcare design is best done from a population management point of view.
Resources need to be allocated to fit the composite of healthcare needs of members, viewed from a population management perspective.
Special Articles of Interest
January 2015 - They simply want Kaiser to follow the law and provide mental health care. That is all they are asking. http://www.thenation.com/blog/196009/these-mental-health-patients-are-being-neglected-epidemic-scale#
June 14, 2014 - The Press Democrat - Reporter Martin Espinoza Andy Weisskoff, who worked as a psychotherapist at Kaiser for nearly eight years, accuses the HMO of giving short shrift to one-on-one therapy and under-staffing the ranks of therapists. The practice, he claims, creates long waits between individual therapy sessions, leading to a deterioration in his patients' mental health.
Details at psychotherapist Andy Weisskoff's blog -Kaiser Mental Health Clients, Family and Friends: Speak Up at: http://90daystochange.com/kaiser-mental-health-consumers-start-here/ and here: http://90daystochange.com/about/
April 4, 2014 - LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (CN) - An elderly man killed his wife of 40 years because of Kaiser's poor psychiatric care, he and his brother-in-law claim in Gwinnett County State Court. Representation by: James R. Hodes and Esther Panitch of The Panitch Law Group in Atlanta. http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/04/04/66789.htm
Charles Dion sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, on behalf of himself and other plan members with serious mental illnesses, in Alameda County Superior Court. ...... The class claims Kaiser participates in unfair business practices, and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.
The class is represented by Robert S. Gianelli and Jully C. Pae of Gianelli and Morris, a Law Corporation, in Los Angeles, and Scott C. Glovesky in Pasadena. http://www.gmlawyers.com/
Dr. Andris Skuja, a Kaiser psychologist, offered strong words in reaction to the news of the $4 million fine and cease-and-desist order.
"This
action confirms what every Kaiser clinician knows," Skuja
said. "Kaiser
doesn't take mental health care for its patients seriously."
(as published in the Sacramento Bee -- http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/26/5524446/kaiser-mental-health-care-lacking.html
)
Here is the cease
and desist order.
http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/
Here is the original accusation:
http://wpso.dmhc.ca.gov/
June 14, 2014 - The Press Democrat - Reporter Martin Espinoza Andy Weisskoff, who worked as a psychotherapist at Kaiser for nearly eight years, accuses the HMO of giving short shrift to one-on-one therapy and under-staffing the ranks of therapists. The practice, he claims, creates long waits between individual therapy sessions, leading to a deterioration in his patients' mental health.
Details at psychotherapist Andy Weisskoff's blog -Kaiser Mental Health Clients, Family and Friends: Speak Up at: http://90daystochange.com/kaiser-mental-health-consumers-start-here/ and here: http://90daystochange.com/about/
April 4, 2014 - LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (CN) - An elderly man killed his wife of 40 years because of Kaiser's poor psychiatric care, he and his brother-in-law claim in Gwinnett County State Court. Representation by: James R. Hodes and Esther Panitch of The Panitch Law Group in Atlanta. http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/04/04/66789.htm
Charles Dion sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, on behalf of himself and other plan members with serious mental illnesses, in Alameda County Superior Court. ...... The class claims Kaiser participates in unfair business practices, and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.
The class is represented by Robert S. Gianelli and Jully C. Pae of Gianelli and Morris, a Law Corporation, in Los Angeles, and Scott C. Glovesky in Pasadena. http://www.gmlawyers.com/
Although this very nice article is basically about the Kaiser employees that work in the Mental Health division it does point out matters more along the lines of false advertising, false promises and not honoring contracts caused by Kaiser inaction.
The
article is here:
http://nuhw.org/nuhw-brings-
October 2, 2013 - Filed in Alameda County, California -
California Class Action Case RG13697775 - denied access to mental health services, dissuaded from pursuing mental health services, provided with delayed access to mental health services and/or provided with inaccurate and confusing information from Kaiser regarding mental health services available Filing found here for your viewing: https://kaiserpapers.com/legalstuff/pdfs/Futterman-v-KFHP.pdf Further information including contact info at: https://kaiserpapers.com/legalstuff/cla.html
August 9, 2013 -- Kaiser to pay $9M to settle autism therapy suit
Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay up to $9 million to settle a class action that alleged the health plan illegally refused to provide behavioral therapy for autistic children before it was mandated by state law.
The lawsuit was filed in Southern California in April 2009 on behalf of Andrew Arce of Los Angeles and others like him. Andrew was 2 years old when Kaiser denied coverage for applied behavioral analysis even though its own doctors said it was medically necessary. Please read the complete article written by Kathy Robertson of the Sacramento Business Journal at: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/08/08/kaiser-to-pay-9m-to-settle-autism-suit.html
March 18, 2013 - DMHC Report -- Date Issued To Public File Final Report of a Routine Medical Survey Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. Behavioral Health Services Completed -- March 6, 2013 http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/library/reports/med_survey/surveys/055bh031813.pdf Kaiser Response to the above survey - March 18, 2013: http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/library/reports/med_survey/surveys/055bhplanresponse031813.pdf
NOV. 2011 - Kaiser Permanente Makes Billions In Profits While Overburdening Staff: Report from http://www.nuhw.org/ Kaiser Permanente, one of the country's largest health care organizations, is providing rushed and sloppy mental health treatment in California by an overburdened staff -- even though the company makes billions in profits, according to a new report. The following report has been mirrored for historical purposes from https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/pdfs/CareDelayedCareDenied.pdf See: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/sloppy-mental-health-treatment.html
Exposure to Antidepressants in Early Pregnancy May Increase the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/antidepressants-in-early-pregnancy.html
Kaiser Self Promotion of Study Exposure to Antidepressants in Early Pregnancy May Increase the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/antidepressants-in-early- pregnancy.html
TRIAGE AS TREATMENT Phantom Mental Health Services At Kaiser-Permanente Russell M. Holstein, Ph.D. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/phantom-mental-health-services-at-kaiser-permanente.html
Nov - 2011 - "Drawing on a survey of hundreds of Kaiser’s mental health clinicians as well as documentation from regulatory agencies, court filings, patients and frontline caregivers, this study finds that Kaiser frequently fails to comply with California laws aimed at protecting patients’ timely access to appropriate services. Furthermore, it finds that Kaiser’s failures are systematic and often purposeful." Read the NUHW Report: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/pdfs/CareDelayedCareDenied.pdf mirrored here for historical purposes: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/pdfs/CareDelayedCareDenied.pdf
For those that question the profits cited please review the IRS reports that Kaiser files at: http://www2.guidestar.org/ These reports are free to download and view.
Behavioral Health Quality Improvement Committee Description of the various programs in Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health, the various job functions of the the Committe members, physicians,etc., ease of patient self referral without approval, inpatient, outpatient, drugs, division descriptions of the sections and subsections of this department. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/bhq.html
Are We Too Quick To Medicate Children? Los Angeles Times Report by Melissa Healy November 5, 2007 http://www.latimes.com/features/la-he-psychkids5nov05,0,5905395, full.story?coll=la-tot-features mirrored for historical purposes at: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/quicktomedicatechildren.html
Kaiser Behavioral Health Hacks provided the teen patient data for TeenScreen. Please Read: "In a study of a screening program implemented by Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii, research analyzing feedback from over 5,000 youth showed that computer-based screening was very inexpensive when compared to traditional clinical services. A cost analysis showed a total cost of $70 per visit for a standard preventive visit compared to $15 per visit for a computer-assisted health visit (Paperny, D.M. et. al., 1997, 1999)." See: http://tinyurl.com/23qvte and mirrored for historical purposes at: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/pdfs/comprende.pdf
"When Stepdad Becomes The Odd Man Out" by: Tony Zizza With the arrival of Father's Day this month, seems like it's just another day for stepdads to hear (and feel) they aren't "real." This is incredibly interesting, but it does nothing to shed the sadness off the daily situation for the true American heroes on June 20th - stepdads. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/stepdad.html
Daniel E. Troy, Chief Counsel Food and Drug Administration Amicus Brief, September 3, 2002 ; See also: Gary Young, FDA legal strategy would preempt tort suits National Law Journal March, 2004, vol. 128; Pg. 3 www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1076428430132 On August 6, Harris portrayed the changes - such as label warnings - through the prism of FDA officials who consistently side with industry, not drug safety. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, for example planted the view that the agency's advisory committees "are vulnerable to a growing chorus of criticism," implying they are not persuaded by evidence. He then planted the insidious suggestion (which Harris dutifully reported as fact): "Now, instead of waiting for proof, the agency has promised to issue public health alerts about drug risks even when problems are only suspected. And over the last year, it has demanded that pharmaceutical companies add tough warnings for drugs as diverse as the antidepressant Zoloft, because it might lead a small number of teenagers to become suicidal, and the popular pain pill Advil, because it might in rare cases cause heart attacks. "
Gardiner Harris was badly misled by FDA officials whose concern is clearly with business interests when he wrote that proof was needed. In point of fact, the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act (21 CFR 201.57(e) ) REQUIRES warnings when there is reason to suspect a hazard: "the labeling shall be revised to include a warning as soon as there is reasonable evidence of an association of a serious hazard with a drug; a causal relationship need not have been proved." See: http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/09/30.php
Irving Kirsch, Alan Scoboria, Thomas J. Moore, Antidepressants and Placebos: Secrets, Revelations, and Unanswered Questions, Prevention & Treatment, Volume 5, Article 33, posted July 15, 2002 there is now unanimous agreement among commentators that the mean difference between response to antidepressant drugs and response to inert placebo is very small. It is so small that, despite sample sizes involving hundreds of participants, 57% of the trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry failed to show a significant difference between drug and placebo. Most of these negative data were not published and were accessible only by gaining access to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) documents. The small difference between the drug response and the placebo response has been a "dirty little secret," known to researchers who conduct clinical trials, FDA reviewers, and a small group of critics who analyzed the published data and reached conclusions similar to that of the authors. It was not known to the general public, depressed patients, or even their physicians. http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume5/pre0050033r.htm
Dr. Mosholder's embargoed report and the accompanying Suppressed FDA memos are posted on the AHRP website at: http://www.ahrp.org/risks/SSRImosholder/index.php
ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP) ... paid lobbying efforts on behalf of industry are carried out under the pretext of advocacy in the public interest.
The Boston Globe reports that "little attention has been paid to smaller nonprofits, especially patient groups that are largely funded by the drug industry." Much as doctors are on the take, a lot of so-called patient "advocacy" groups are pimping for the drug and medical device industry. http://www.ahrp.org/cms/
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has submitted documents to the FDA and other regulatory agencies, contradicting its decade long denial that its antidepressant drug,paroxetine (Paxil / Seroxat) increased the risk of suicidal behavior in the company’s controlled clinical trials,. http://www.gsk.com/media/paroxetine_adult.htm
In a letter to healthcare professionals this week, GSK warned about the increased suicide risk stating: "There is a possibility of an increased risk of suicide related behavior in young adults ages 18-29" -- whether the drug is prescribed for depression or for other conditions not associated with suicide. http://www.gsk.com/media/paroxetine/adult_hcp letter.pdf
Despite the acknowledged suicide risk, GSK attempts to persuade physicians (in the letter to healthcare professionals) to continue to prescribe their drug, offering the company's faith-based "belief" in the drug's benefit: "GSK continues to believe that the overall risk-benefit of paroxetine in the treatment of patients with MDD and other non-depressive disorders remains positive…" http://www.gsk.com/media/paroxetine/adult_hcp_letter.pdf
Read the complete MedWatch 2006 Safety Summary, including links to the Dear Healthcare Professional Letter and the revised approved product labeling at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2006/safety06.htm#paxil
"GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and FDA notified healthcare professionals of changes to the Clinical Worsening and Suicide Risk subsection of the WARNINGS section in the prescribing Information for Paxil and Paxil CR. These labeling changes relate to adult patients, particularly those who are younger adults."
Study: ADHD drugs send thousands to ERs By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Wed May 24, 7:42 PM ET
DEAR PHARMACIST SUZY COHEN ADHD DRUGS NOT A CURE https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/dearsuzyletter.html By: Suzy Cohen, a registered pharmacist, syndicated writer for the Tribune Media Services SOME OF PSYCHIATRY’S & PSYCHOLOGY’S RECENTLY CONVICTED SEX CRIMINALS PSYCHIATRISTS & PSYCHOLOGISTS: PROFESSIONAL RAPISTS, PERVERTS AND PEDOPHILES PSYCHIATRISTS WHO MUST REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDERS http://www.psychcrime.org/rape/index.html
...more than 100 cases of psychotherapist sexual activity with a patient to the State’s Attorney for prosecution. Florida law presumes that patients being treated for mental or emotional troubles are vulnerable and specifically forbids psychotherapists from engaging in sexual activity with them. PSYCHIATRIC SEX CRIMES EXPOSED IN FLORIDA Paxil Protest Long Overdue by Tony Zizza My fellow Americans, brace yourself for the first annual Paxil Protest. Sponsored by the cutting edge non-profit organization, SSRI Citizen, this long overdue protest takes place September 26th through September 28th, 2005, at 200 North 16th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is one of the many key sites where Paxil's manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline is stationed. Paxil is an extremely powerful and dangerous antidepressant that has created havoc for millions of people and their families worldwide. It's worth noting that Paxil isn't even allowed to be given to children under the age of 18 in GSK's home country of Great Britain. http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2005/0928zizza.html GPs under fire for Prozac prescriptions to children Around 40,000 children are prescribed anti-depressant medication when they should be offered 'talking' therapy first, a Government watchdog has warned. New national guidelines tell doctors not to prescribe pills as a 'first line' defense against depression. Instead GPs should offer three months of 'talking' therapy first, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The recommendations come after the revelation that half of children and teenagers on anti-depressants receive no psychological support. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_ id=363698&in_page_id=1774
Kaiser Permanente's Behavioral Health Patient Rights & Responsibilities - Hawaii Region http://improvehealthcare.netfirms.com/KaiserRights.htm http://improvehealthcare.netfirms.com/
New Warnings Sought on Antidepressants By GARDINER HARRIS Published: September 12, 2004 For anyone taking an antidepressant please read these facts. Used appropriately with a true medical reason they can be be good medicine but prescribed inappropriately to treat any and everything is not right.
They must be used exactly as instructed by the company that manufactures them.
They not only can harm your body creating disease but flippantly using them ages your skin and other parts of the body, often dramatically. The latter statement is my personal observation on what is visibly happening to people. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/warnsought.html
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/ PsychCrime - Database of convicted mental health practitioners reported to CCHR International since 1990. It is, by far, an incomplete list and does not include all cases reported to law enforcement agencies or the courts.
Citizens Commission on Human Rights July 2004 Health care system plays mind games with emotionally ill, critics say More family doctors prescribe antipsychotic drugs https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/July%202004%20Fraud% 20Report.doc
Depression fastest-growing diagnosis, report says Nearly 350,000 visits by young Canadians to family physicians last year resulted in recommendations that they take antidepressant drugs that are not clinically indicated for people under 20 and that research suggests may actually increase their likelihood of suicide. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/growdiagnosis.html
Often, Time Beats Therapy for Treating Grief - By JANE E. BRODY https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/timegrief.html
Study Advises Against Drugs for Children in Depression Pediatricians and family physicians should not prescribe antidepressants for depressed children and adolescents because the drugs barely work and their side effects are often significant, Australian researchers have concluded. https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/nodopeforchildren.html
Top 10 Reasons for Not taking Anti Depressants unless you truly have a proven medical reason to do so https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/donttakeit.html
"When Step dad Becomes The Odd Man Out" Article of the perils of being a step parent by Tony Zizza https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/stepdad.html
Before you switch insurance companies make sure you are off any and all anti-depressants! - When Amy M. left her steady job to become a freelance advertising copywriter,she had no idea the antidepressant she took to combat depression would have an unexpected side effect. She couldn't get health insurance.
"I was turned down by Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser,"
said the 35-year-old Oakland resident, who has been taking the antidepressant Celexa for several years.
"My rejection letters from the insurance companies stated the reason for the denial: antidepressants." Link to story: https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/cele.html
Coordination of resources is a vital, albeit challenging goal, given the current fragmentary nature of healthcare funding. " https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/bruns.html
An area woman is suing the maker of Paxil, an antidepressant, in the death of her husband in 2001. LITCHFIELD - In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Litchfield Superior Court, Erin Hopey, the widow of the late Douglas Bruce Hopey, and administer of his estate claims SmithKline Beecham Corporation,
the maker of Paxil is to blame for her husband’s suicide. http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10339515&BRD= 1652&PAG=461&dept_id=12530&rfi=6 Prozac May Be Hazardous to Your Health Insurance - by Vicki Lankarge https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/prozacharm.html
Kaiser
Study Refutes Notion that young Children
are Over Prescribed
Researchers analyzed the medical
and pharmacy
records of
all children
between the ages of 2 and 5 who received care
from Kaiser
Permanente Northwest physicians from January
1997 through
December 1998. Of these 38,664 children,
about one in 300
(three-tenths of 1 percent) had been
prescribed
a psychiatric medication.
https://kaiserpapers.com/behavioral/dopertot.html