Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, at the Oval Office of September 30. Psychiatrists say that recent treatment gains in drug addiction are in danger under his direction.
Win McNamee / Getty images
hide
tilting legend
Win McNamee / Getty images
Psychiatrists have joined other public health groups to call for the abolition of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a secretary of health.
Two psychiatry organizations – Southern California Psychiatry Society and the basic committee recently trained to protect public mental health – have published statements saying that the actions of the head of the Ministry of Health and Social Services have increased stigmatization, instilled fear and harm access to mental health and addiction.
“While doctors are committed to evidence -based care, we are alarmed by the management of the Shhs under secretary Robert F. Kennedy, JR,” the committee said to protect public mental health in a statement.
HHS responds
“Secretary Kennedy remains firmly determined to keep President Trump’s promise to make America again healthy by dismantling the status quo failed, restoring public confidence in health institutions and guaranteeing transparency, responsibility and decision-making power for which the American people voted,” wrote Emily Hilliard, spokesperson for the Federal Department of Health.
The Southern California Psychiatry Society represents more than 1,000 clinicians; The committee to protect public mental health has just over 50 members.
In recent years, the federal government has played a leading role in financing efforts to combat serious mental illnesses and the consumption of substances through the administrations of drug addiction and mental health (Samhsa), notes Dr. Steven Sharfstein, former president of the American Psychiatric Association and Deputy Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University.
These efforts had started to bear fruit, he adds. “There have been great progress in reducing the number of deaths by overdose in the country due to these initiatives,” he said.
But the dismissal of Samhsa staff earlier this year, and the efforts of the Secretary of Health to close the Agency, have harmed these efforts, said Sharfstein, who is also a founding member of the Committee to protect public mental health.
“RFK Jr. is trying to eliminate the federal agency which is responsible for supporting states and localities with the prevention of overdoses,” explains Dr. Eric Rave-Yuan, psychiatrist based in San Diego and member of the Committee to protect public mental health. “This is exactly the opposite of the management that we have to go.”
Psychiatric drugs interviewed
The two organizations are also concerned with the attacks of the Secretary of Health against Psychiatric Medicines, including in the Make Our Children Healthy Again strategy, which is also known as Maha
The Maha report “specifically denounces data on psychotropic drugs, really ignoring the entire scientific literature,” said Dr. Emily Wood, co -president of Southern California Psychiatric Association. “And this requires various ways to limit access to psychiatric drugs, which is extremely disturbing because they are drugs that are essential for many people suffering from depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD and many disorders.”
“This false representation increases stigma, propagates fear and can prevent people from looking for help when they need it,” said the Southern California Psychiatric Association. “The report uses these inaccurate declarations as a basis for taking measures to restrict access to critical services which facilitate suffering, restoration of operation and prevention of suicide.”
Dr. Sharfstein also says he is concerned about the impact of Medicaid cuts on people with a serious mental illness (SMIS), which includes conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, almost 6% of American adults live with an SMI. Given the debilitating nature of SMIs, patients tend to be poor, explains Sharfstein.
“They cannot afford drugs,” he says, “and Medicaid is what they count on. But it is not only drugs. It is ambulatory treatment. It is access to acute hospital care.”
As Medicaid cuts deploy, access to care for mental illness and dependence will become more and more “compromise”, explains Sharfstein. “And we will see a kind of rolling crisis occur.”
His group calls on legislators to replace Kennedy with a person trained in public health and care based on evidence. “To protect patients, protect scientific integrity and restore public confidence, we join our colleagues to call the president to withdraw secretary Kennedy and appoint a qualified leader and focused on evidence without delay,” the statement.
