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Welcome to The Census, your weekly roundup of what matters in behavioral health care.

Today, we’re breaking down:

• Rising concern over gabapentin misuse

• Your latest news headlines in under two minutes

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

P.S. Thank you for all the responses to our special edition last week! We’ve heard ya, and will be adding more Operator’s Guides to the calendar :)

Reading time: ~3.5 minutes.

On our radar

What we’re watching this week 

💊 Clinicians sound the alarm on growing gabapentin misuse

The nonopioid painkiller is now being used — off-label — ‘for just about anything.’ It does not come without risks. 

Itching, alcohol dependence, insomnia, and sciatica are just some of the conditions gabapentin is used for, particularly by older Americans.

And while chronic use of a nonopioid painkiller is, of course, better than the alternative, gabapentin isn’t exactly paracetamol.

A closer look at rising Google search interest starts to paint a concerning picture:

Years ago, the drug’s manufacturer infamously pushed off-label prescriptions through aggressive marketing methods, which (surprise) turned out to be illegal and fraudulent. 

Still, the damage was done, and gabapentin use tripled between 2002 and 2015.

Now growing evidence of misuse and overdoses involving gabapentin, often in conjunction with opioids, is drawing attention to all this off-label prescribing.

And the drug is not uncommon in SUD treatment. 

Many clinicians still prescribe gabapentin to assist patients with withdrawal symptoms, pain, and insomnia. The jury is out on whether it does more harm than good in this setting, with strong cases for both sides.

Food for thought: Support for older adults struggling with gabapentin misuse may become a significant treatment niche, given it’s one of America’s most prescribed drugs for seniors.

Let’s get your news headlines. 

Catch up quick

This week’s top stories

Latest news

📊 MAT access is up 68% and general SUD treatment is up 22% in community health centers, a new report shows.

🤖 Rules for the use of AI in health care are being increasingly set by state governments in the absence of federal guardrails.

😳 Less than 18% of Medicaid psychiatrists accept new patients, a new ‘secret shopper’ study has found. 

⚠️ SUD treatment provider Crossroads has been fined $860k+ for Medicaid fraud. 

🚨 Billions of dollars in enhanced ACA subsidies could expire at the end of 2025, leading to a ‘jump in the uninsured rate and huge premium increases.’

🚫 Lykos Therapeutics announced it would cut 75% of staff after the FDA rejected its MDMA-assisted therapy drug (unsurprisingly, there is a plan to appeal the FDA’s decision).

😞 Around 40% of American teens with major depression did not receive treatment last year.

🧑‍⚕️ The Behavior Analyst Certification Board has elected Breanne Hartley as its new board of directors president. 

💻 Digital therapeutics stakeholders say Medicare’s new billing codes could help turn around reimbursement challenges weighing on the entire sector.

👥 Access to behavioral health care could improve significantly if more providers offered group therapy, says BHB.

👏 A state appeals court ruled that Florida’s Attorney General could not prevent opioid epidemic lawsuits filed by hospital districts and school boards.

👀 A California bill that would have imposed regulations on kratom products was quietly shelved on Thursday. 

🎒 Talkspace’s two-year, $1.8M contract with Baltimore County Public Schools is showing early signs of success.

🧠 Global trends in economics, climate, and technology weigh on young adults — and we may need to overhaul how we approach their mental health care.

🚬 Cigarette smoking in the US has dropped to 11%, an 80-year low and a fraction of 1954’s 45% peak, as younger adults turn to e-cigarettes.

😯 An implantable sensor that rapidly releases naloxone when an opioid overdose is detected could be trialed in humans soon.

💰 Mississippi’s state policies on addiction treatment and prevention will be shaped by how the state chooses to use $350M+ in opioid settlement cash.

🤨 Medicare’s limits on prescribing opioids don’t protect patients from deadly overdoses, a WSJ report shows. 

📉 A data analytics firm that helps health insurers reduce reimbursements for medical bills is facing growing scrutiny from investors and courts.

🫄 One in ten women are delaying motherhood because of disordered eating and a fear of what pregnancy will mean for their bodies.

💡 Behavioral health presents real estate investors with a faster break-even point, but less predictable business, says BHB.

👀 Hmmm, that’s interesting: Outpatient mental health providers made up the bulk of behavioral health firms on this year’s Inc. 5000, a list of America’s fastest-growing companies.

Expansions, launches, & partnerships

🎉 Healing Realty Trust announced new agreements with three clinics offering psychedelic therapies in Florida, Massachusetts, and Arizona.

✨ Texas-based ABA Connect rebranded to BrightPath Behavior after a slew of mergers (and continues to look for more M&A opportunities).

🍔 EDCare partnered with Colorado Access to expand youth residential and intensive outpatient eating disorder treatment in Colorado. 

📲 Headspace partnered with reproductive health app Clue to help decrease cycle-related stress and improve users’ well-being.

🤝 Inner Haven Wellness, a Wisconsin eating disorder treatment provider, announced new in-network contracts with The Alliance and Dean Health/Prevea 360.

🧑‍⚕️ Vita Health, a provider of clinically validated suicide care, has doubled its team of telehealth clinicians to expand access to critical mental health services.

🚭 Relief Mental Health announced the inclusion of transcranial magnetic stimulation for smoking cessation at their Oak Brook, Illinois location. 

Funding rounds & investor moves

Just one this week, but a goodie: 

🤑 $13M for Mindset Care, an NYC-based platform that helps people with mental illnesses and their caregivers apply for social security disability benefits.

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Studies & opinion pieces

🥤 BPA exposure in food packs increases autism risks in boys via brain aromatase disruption (study).

🪖 Mindfulness interventions delivered via telehealth can improve pain and well-being for veterans with chronic pain (study).

🤕 People with xylazine wounds are more likely to engage in subcutaneous injection and face several barriers to seeking medical wound treatment (study).

That’s it for this week! See you next Wednesday with the latest headlines.

- Shân

P.S. You can email me here if you want to share any feedback, or let me know about a business I should be featuring.

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