AT THIS HOUR

13.8: The typical delay in years between onset of Parkinson’s and actual diagnosis according to 12 physicians and 12 families interviewed.

Science: Can GLP-1s reduce likelihood of dementia, addiction, and other mental health disorders, plus conditions like cardiovascular disease, gut disease and some respiratory conditions? A panel discussion with clinical leaders will discuss this January 21st - registration details will appear in the next issue.

Sport: Passing of 19 year old Rice University soccer player re-raises the discussion on the pros and cons of competitive sports. Social media is being blamed for part of the trend, but it goes deeper. Some blame health insurers but they are not the problem - they are not perfect but they are beginning to catch up and pay for early access to help people with suicide care, to meet someone where they are at for a ~3 month period to work through their crisis without the constraints of insurance controls. No copay, no pre authorization, no appeals letters. Just a clinically trained person to head off suicide. So why are we still seeing so many tragic losses? Perspective here.

Policy: Expect some pushback on the endless series of visits you, your relatives and your kids might get for behavioral health therapy next year. Insurer Highmark BlueCross BlueShield from Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and New York will start to require pre approval for 19 distinct services including applied behavioral analysis for autism, intensive outpatient therapy, and transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS which takes places over 30 sessions to address OCD and depression.  

Perspective: Reaction to the recent tragic passing of a college soccer player and a reminder again that the stats tell us we can see these coming faster than a penalty kick - essay here.

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