PITTSBURGH, Nov.

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Over the past three years, Oklahoma has risen from a "D" to a "B" grade in the 2009 National Alliance on Mental Illness' Grading the States Report -- a state-by-state assessment of the nation's public mental health care system.(1) Oklahoma showed the greatest improvement in the nation and is heads above the national average grade of "D."(1)Oklahoma's report card featured several of the state's innovations in mental health services, including SoonerPSYCH (Sooner Prescription Solutions for Your Cognitive Health) - a Medicaid prescription management program.(1) An analysis of 2007 data from SoonerPSYCH shows the program has helped increase the quality of care for Oklahoma residents with severe mental illness while helping lower health care costs.(2)SoonerPSYCH was developed by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) and Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) in collaboration with clinical research firm

ValueOptions, Inc., the nation's largest independent behavioral health care company, has been awarded the Substance Abuse Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (SA-PIHP) contract by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.

By Eric Frazier, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Jan. 11--RALEIGH -- N.C. lawmakers, faced with a study describing the state's mental health system as riddled with problems, balked Wednesday at the $2.7 billion a consultant says is needed to fix them.

By Beth Gollob, The Daily Oklahoman, The Daily Oklahoman Dec. 22--The holidays aren't a happy time for everyone, but the suicide rate does not go up this time of year, according to a national study released this week.