Nur 550
April 4th, 2011
Bill Proposal
To Senator Carolyn Allen,
A Bill for An Act Entitled: Improved Continuity of Care Law for People with Co-occurring disorders In the Arizonan House of Representative
A severe mental illness (SMI) is an assembly of mainly psychotic conditions that are, by description, extensive and related to compromised societal functioning. As stated by the surgeon general’s report of 2010, one out of five adults, or nearly 40 million Americans, suffer from some type of psychological disorder annually. In addition, about five percent of the U.S population suffers from chronic mental disorder for instance, bipolar, major depressive disorders, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, (Surgeon General Report, 2010). Most individuals with severe mental ailments have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. Valuations propose that up to 8 million grownups in the US have a mixture of at least one co-occurring psychological condition and substance-related illness in a yearly.
In comparison to individuals with a primary mental or substance abuse disorder, individuals with co-occurring disorders tend to be more symptomatic, have multiple health and social problems, and require more costly care, including inpatient hospitalization (Center for Mental Health Services and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2000). Many are at increased risk of homelessness and incarceration. Of the 10 million adults who enter US jails each year, about700, 000 of them have co-occurring disorders (United States Department of Justice Statistics, 1997).
In 2000, the Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organization’s research identified the need for a number of systematic improvements to the continuing care processes for vulnerable groups of patients, including those with co-occurring disorders (Fulop et al., 2000). For example, there has been a lot of deinstitutionalization. Rather than hospitals
References: Clients with Severe Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services, 52 (4), 469-476 United States Department of Justice Statistics (2013)