Report: California's Health Care Spending Among Lowest In U.S.

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California spends less than most states for Healthcare? Telemedicine is going to need to be employed to create efficiencies as more people get health care under the health care reform mandate.

Mark Smith -- president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation -- said, "While we expand coverage, we have to work on making the system more affordable and more accessible to people." CHCF publishes California Healthline (Los Angeles Times, 12/7).

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Effect of mobile phone-based psychotherapy in suicide prevention: a randomized controlled trial in Sri Lanka

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether a Brief Mobile Treatment (BMT) intervention could improve outcomes relative to usual care among suicide attempters. The intervention included training in problem solving therapy, meditation, a brief intervention to increase social support as well as advice on alcohol and other drugs, and mobile phone follow-up. The effect of the intervention was measured in terms of a reduction in suicidal ideation, depression and self-harm at Baseline, six and 12 months. A wait-list control group received usual care. A total of 68 participants was recruited from a Sri Lankan hospital following a suicide attempt. Participants who received the intervention were found to achieve significant improvements in reducing suicidal ideation and depression than those receiving usual care. The BMT group also experienced a significant improvement of social support when compared to the control group. However, the BMT group did not demonstrate a significant effect in reducing actual self-harm and most substance use, and differential effects on alcohol use were restricted to men. Although the present study was limited in revealing which component of the intervention was more effective in preventing suicide, it showed its efficacy in reducing suicide as a whole.

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Report: California's Health Care Spending Among Lowest In U.S.

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