Vermont Legislature Busy with Mental Health Bills

Vermont’s 2017 legislation session is in full swing and this year there seems to be an unusually large number of bills that have direct impact on mental health.  What follows is a short list and update of the legislation as well as a few personal thoughts. Improvements to the state mental health system (S90).  The […]

ACOs and Psychiatric Care: New Threat or New Opportunity?

Like many physicians of all specialties, I’m not exactly sure what to make of the proposal for an all-payer ACO model of healthcare for Vermont.  For someone who has spent the vast majority of time doing clinical work, teaching, and research, the prospect of fully understanding the plan seems like a full-time job.  The Vermont […]

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Breastfeeding May Boost Child IQ By Increasing Subcortical Grey Matter

While many the medical benefits of breastfeeding such as improved immune function have been clearly established, its effect on child behavior and cognition has somewhat more difficult to determine.  This has been due to a variety of reasons.  Because randomization is not possible for breastfeeding studies, researchers have had to rely on naturalistic study designs.  […]

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Six Vermont Physician Organizations Endorse Statement Detailing Risks of Legal Cannabis

On Thursday January 28, representatives from six Vermont medical organizations (VT chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Family Medicine, and American College of Physicians as well as the Vermont Psychiatric Association and the Vermont Medical Society) held a press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier to outline […]

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The Link Between Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders and Crime

Are people with mental illness more likely to commit crimes?  This question has been studied and discussed for decades, fueled by movies of deranged serial killers.  For years, the conventional wisdom was that, despite the hype, individuals who suffer from psychiatric disorders are no more likely than anyone else to commit a crime. More recently, […]

Vermont Pediatrician, Dr. Joseph Hagan, Running for AAP President-Elect

(Note: parts of this posting have previously appeared in online posts for Psychology Today and for Pediatric News) One of our own Vermont pediatricians, Dr. Joseph Hagan, is running to be President-elect of the national organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Many people around the state and elsewhere know Joe well and support his […]

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Is Universal Suicide Screening in Primary Care Worthwhile? Nobody knows

Suicide remains a leading cause of death and is a major public health concern. Studies have demonstrated that many individuals who die by suicide often see their primary care physician soon before the event.  Thus, it is important to know whether suicide screening might potentially prevent some of these tragic deaths.  To that end, the […]

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DCF and UVM Create New Program to Improve Antipsychotic Medication Prescribing

A new combined effort between the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program at the Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families (VCCYF) will support caseworkers who often need to make complex medical decisions regarding the children under their care. While […]

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Behavior Problems and Screen Time: What Causes What?

There have been many studies that have demonstrated links between excessive childhood screen time and negative outcomes including attention problems and aggression. Most of them imply causation but generally can’t prove it because the studies don’t measure child behavior before the screen time occurs.  Yes playing Minecraft for 6 hours per day might cause problems, […]

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ADHD Diagnosis Rising Nationally, but not in Vermont

The diagnosis of ADHD  has been getting a lot of media attention lately over concerns about possible overdiagnosis and overtreatment.  A recent study from the CDC’s National Survey of Children’s Health now provides important national statistics regarding the prevalence of ADHD, as reported by parents, and the trends over time.  Reports from this survey previously […]