Breakthrough in Belgium: psychologists now recognized as MDs

Recognizing that Belgium leads in antidepressant prescription, and that treatments besides pharmacological weren't utilized enough (though physical excercise and psycho-education have equal clinical results, to name a couple) and were under-recognized, Belgium voted to recognize clinical psychologists as primare care givers. This means they can now diagnose someone, which includes decision power about social security eligibility, and carry out treatment, WITH both being paid back almost in full by what I think you would call medicaid.

They will also have to be organized like house doctors - be linked to the systems, use digital patient records, be subject to review and be on call. And have no problem with wheelchair access - which means several of them are gonna need new doors.

But the key is the fact patients are reimbursed and the "psychological doctors" have "standing" in all matters. They won't be able to prescribe drugs, but it's foreseeable that psychiatrists will focus on that, and prescription by "physical" doctors will probably be scrutinized. I think Big Pharma got an uppercut here. The plan is scheduled to start in 2016, and includes the option to become re-imbursed for therapists who have other backgrounds than psychology as well.

Also in the news today: flemish PM says first case of a privatized psychiatric penitentiary facility was not to be repeated - he said "the profit motive has no place in situations of true need of care".

Last week, two thousand cyclists massed to protest plans to make key local roads bike-free, and 10000 joined to demand an encapsulation of the Antwerp beltway, a project termed Ringland (english-speaking link). Next week, there is a protest called "encircle the european business summit", named like the protests in Spain. I don think they will look like the same, so like this:

but the coalition that brought thousands to brussels to blockade (DU link) the TTIP, D19-20, is just one of the organizers.

The times they are a-changing. Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.