“That’s what these illnesses do to people. They isolate them, they disconnect them. The silence is our biggest challenge.”
These are the words of Patrick J. Kennedy, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the nation’s leading advocates in mental health and addiction. In his speech at the American Telemedicine Association’s 2017 conference, Kennedy touched not only on how telemedicine can be used for mental health patients, but also on his personal mental health journey.
“There’s a systematic discrimination of people with mental illness in this country,” he said. And Kennedy knows it full well. His father, Senator Ted Kennedy, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, while his mother Joan suffered from depression and alcoholism. But these issues were constantly brushed under the rug in his household. “We didn’t talk about anything that was important as it relates to brain health,” he said.
When he grew older, Kennedy struggled with addiction himself. He was addicted to alcohol and OxyContin, and though he tried to keep it under wraps, it was to no avail. A man with whom Kennedy was in treatment sold his story to the National Enquirer, prompting the tabloid to publish a front page story about Kennedy being a cocaine addict.
Years later, Kennedy tried to hide the fact that he sought treatment for addiction at Mayo Clinic. “I chose Mayo Clinic because no one knows that Mayo also does mental health,” he said. Meanwhile, he was pushing for the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. “I was grappling with these big societal issues while I was also the sponsor of the bill,” he said.
The bill was signed into law in 2008, but we’ve still got a long way to go, Kennedy stressed. “This is a public health crisis,” he said. People are still keeping silent about their mental health issues, and Kennedy believes that has to change. To that end, he founded the Kennedy Forum and cofounded One Mind, two organizations that focus on mental health and brain diseases. He also coauthored A Common Struggle, a book about his personal journey and the future of mental health in America.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
But how does telemedicine tie in? Kennedy believes it can play a strong role in advancing mental health awareness and treatment. “Telemedicine and digital connectivity can begin to provide that bridge, especially for people with mental illness,” he said. “We ought to be doing these things that embrace telemental health.”
Despite challenges facing telemental and telebehavioral health, Kennedy urged the audience to continue the fight. “I believe you can go out there and be the 911 force,” he said. “Together, we can make a difference through your agenda to help millions of people with mental illness.”
Photo: Professor25, Getty Images
