By Christine Baugh The most recent issue of the Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics (generously made available for free by the American Society of Law Medicine and Ethics) included several articles examining state concussion laws. One theme that arose across the articles is that although concussion-related legislation is on the books in all 50 states and the…
By Kelsey Berry In a recent article in Science Translational Medicine, former NIMH Director Steve Hyman explores possible reasons for the policy failure to prioritize treatment of mental disorders worldwide, even when evidence and cost-effective interventions are available and validated. Hyman notes a number of potential factors, loosely falling into four categories. Stigmatization challenges; Fear…
[Blogger’s Note: I am very pleased to share this post by my colleague at Seton Hall Law, Tara Adams Ragone. This post was cross-posted at Health Reform Watch.] By Tara Adams Ragone Social media recently focused my attention on two very different law enforcement interactions with people with mental illness that reinforce the need for…
By Donald W. Light Based on https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/lab/blog/436-new-prescription-drugs-a-major-health-risk Few people know that new prescription drugs have a 1 in 5 chance of causing serious reactions after they have been approved. That is why expert physicians recommend not taking new drugs for at least five years unless patients have first tried better-established options and need to. Faster reviews…
By Michelle Meyer By now, most of you have probably heard—perhaps via your Facebook feed itself—that for one week in January of 2012, Facebook altered the algorithms it uses to determine which status updates appeared in the News Feed of 689,003 randomly-selected users (about 1 of every 2500 Facebook users). The results of this study—conducted…
By Kate Greenwood Cross-Posted at Health Reform Watch In a recent, very moving, post about her son’s diagnosis with autism at age eight, blogger Amy Storch writes: “I guess I should mention the obvious — district services for Autism are much more comprehensive than ADHD.” An autism diagnosis should not, as a matter of law,…
By Katherine L. Record, JD, MPH, MA Shortly after criticizing Massachusetts for incarcerating innocent individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) when drug rehab facilities are full, I received an email from a woman who lost her son to a heroin overdose just four months ago. “Is preventing an overdose by detaining the SUD sufferer not…
By Katherine L. Record Can there be a silver lining to a drug epidemic that is so extreme it is deemed a public health emergency? As prescription opioid (painkiller) addictions drive individuals to heroin, there just might be. Heroin use has surged recently – seizures of supply increased by nearly 70% over the last few…
By Dov Fox The U.S. Supreme Court has not in recent years held the views of the American Psychological Association (APA) in so high regard as it did this week. In 2012, the Court set aside the APA’s arguments for why due process requires the exclusion of eyewitness testimony obtained under suggestive circumstances that rendered it especially likely to…
By Michele Goodwin A recent spate of arrests in New York emphasizes the potentially dangerous connection between technology and sex crimes. In a landmark police bust, authorities tracked down and arrested more than seventy people in the New York City area who were trading child pornography. Among those arrested were a rabbi, police chief, nurse,…
