DSM-5 Release Delayed One Year

The American Psychiatric Association yesterday announced that it has delayed the release of the forthcoming DSM-5 to May 2013, one year later than its previously scheduled release of 2012. In a press release the APA stated:

"'Extending the timeline will allow more time for public review, field trials and revisions,' said APA President Alan Schatzberg, M.D. 'The APA is committed to developing a manual that is based on the best science available and useful to clinicians and researchers.'"

The APA also said that the delay would allow the DSM-5 to dovetail better with ICD-10-CM codes, developed by the World Health Organization, which will be adopted by Medicare/Medicaid in late 2013.

While I don't want to read too much into this delay, it's clear that the DSM-5 process has become a real political hot potato within psychiatry itself with researchers such as DSM-3 creator Robert Spitzer criticizing the secrecy of the process and commentators such as Christopher Lane have similarly attacked the process. I've let rip over the possibility that bitterness may be included in DSM-5 and over the fact that more than half of the writers of DSM-5 have taken money from pharma companies. It'll be interesting to see if this delay allows DSM-5 authors to reconcile their product with reality.

Via Soulful Sepulcher.