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Biomedical subjects

R W Manderscheid

Publications and source records attributed to R W Manderscheid.

81 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Issues at the clinical-research interface: placebo effect control groups.

At the clinical-research interface, controls are a significant issue in group therapy evaluation. The authors describe and analyze their unique experience with placebo effect control groups conducted prior to brief, group psychotherapy for married couples. Procedures are outlined and participant reactions noted. Solicited ratings and spontaneous comments provide assessment data. The evidence suggests the feasibility of placebo effect control groups in the context studied. Proposed methodological refinements and clinical implications may be useful for future research efforts.

Adult↗

Changes in serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity during group psychotherapy.

This psychobiological study investigates married-coupled group psychotherapy from pre- and postsession serum dopamine dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) determinations, the Free Association Test (FAT), and a Postsession Questionnaire (PSQ). Experimental manipulations permit controls for the assessment of DBH variations. Group, gender, and individual linear regression analyses are interpreted by a stressor-destrssor typology. DBH levels significantly increase during psychotherapy. Increments are comparable with those from physical work. Most variability in DBH is predicted from a small set of psychological variables. Psychological stressors and destressors show psychobiochemical individuality. Implications of psychological stressors for psychosomatic vulnerability are discussed.

Adult↗

The new informatics of national healthcare reform.

The President's Health Security Act has succeeded in attracting America's attention. Several of its initiatives have been well-publicized and hotly debated in Congress. The act also includes a number of implications for healthcare informatics, and devotes an entire chapter to this subject, although this area has not received as much publicity. Every behavioral healthcare provider's information system would be significantly affected by enactment of the Health Security Act. Selected forms and data elements for the management and delivery of behavioral healthcare services would need to be standardized. Organizations of behavioral healthcare providers, managed care companies and purchasers would increasingly share selected patient and subscriber information in aggregated form, for a variety of purposes. As a result, tougher laws to protect patient data privacy will likely be forthcoming. The following article gives an overview of the informatics needs of the soon-to-be reformed American healthcare system, into which behavioral healthcare will be integrated. As part of the larger system, behavioral healthcare services and information systems will need to comply with the same guidelines and requirements, outlined below, as other healthcare providers. Preparation to meet the information demands of the evolving healthcare system will require adaptation of existing computerized information systems, utilization of new technology, consultation with the system's major shareholders and attention to continuous quality improvement processes.

Computer Communication Networks↗

The National Reporting Program for Mental Health Statistics: history and findings.

The National Reporting Program for Mental Health Statistics had its origins in the decennial U.S. census, with enumeration of the "insane and idiotic" in 1840. A series of special censuses of the insane and feebleminded in public and private hospitals and other institutions began in 1904, and annual censuses of patients in mental institutions were conducted from 1926 to 1946. The National Institute of Mental Health of the Public Health Service took over responsibility for the annual census of patients in mental institutions in 1947. Coverage and content remained the same until the mid-1960s, when only State and county mental hospitals were included in the census. Because the annual census could not provide the data needed, separate programs were begun for inpatient and outpatient service. These were integrated into the National Reporting Program in 1966. Trend data for the last 40 years describe how the specialty mental health sector has developed. Non-Federal general hospitals with separate psychiatric services increased dramatically, from 81 in 1940 to 1,531 in 1982, as did community mental health centers, from 125 in 1965 to 691 in 1980. There was generally less emphasis on inpatient care and more on outpatient care. Full-time equivalent staff in specialty mental health facilities increased from about 325,000 in 1970 to about 432,000 in 1982. Expenditures by facilities also increased dramatically.

Community Mental Health Centers↗