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Featured This Month
ACA less friendly to psychologists than expected
With the Affordable Care Act’s implementation in 2014, many mental health providers rejoiced. Improved parity protections and mental health/substance abuse (MHSA) coverage would benefit 62 million Americans, federal officials said.
John Grohol, Psy.D., founder and CEO of PsychCentral, expressed hope. “With more people obtaining either private insurance or joining an expanded Medicaid program, the bet is that more people will have inexpensive access to mental health treatment… including psychotherapy and medications.”
Yet as the nation is challenged by surges in opioid addiction, anxiety, major depressive disorder and suicide, especially among the young, patients are struggling to access treatment, reports Kaiser Health News. The APA says 11.8 million American adults had unmet needs for mental healthcare in 2016, 38 percent because of expense.
The ACA will …
Older Featured Stories
- Most military efforts miss target on suicide prevention
- ACA hasn’t reduced health care costs
- Health care reform update: States ponder possible changes to ACA
- APA council approves reorganization
From Our Last Issue...
Self-care is essential to risk management
When we consider risk management in psychological practice, we readily think of: informed consent, documentation, consultation, personal characteristics of patient and provider, best-practice clinical strategies and levels of risk. But rarely do we think of self-care. And yet, self-care might be the most foundational, most all-encompassing risk management tool of all. Imagine for a moment […]
Exposure therapy is fast and effective
When I first heard about exposure therapy I was early in my graduate career sitting on a bench with a professional mentor who told me that her son had a needle phobia and was in treatment to reduce his fear so that he could be vaccinated. She described the therapist showing pictures and watching videos […]
Psychologists face denials, delays in testing payments
At the beginning of 2019 psychologists who test children or adults were required to learn a complex coding and billing system after the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overhauled the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for central nervous system assessments. Prior to the change going into effect, […]
Former opponent now favors RxP
In the March/April 2016 edition of The National Psychologist I wrote expressing ambivalence about the merits of prescribing privileges for psychologists (RxP). Events over the past several years have changed my opinion. I now fully support RxP. Here are some reasons why: *The percentage of psychiatrists who accept private non-capitated insurance is significantly lower than […]
From the Current Issue...
Employee vs independent contractor – why it matters
Some practice owners bring on new clinicians as independent contractors rather than as employees, which saves the practice owner money, time and paperwork.
When clinicians working in the practice are designated as employees, the practice owner is responsible for paying half of their Social Security and Medicare taxes. The practice owner also needs to withhold and deposit the employees’ share of federal, state and local taxes and …
Telepsychology takes special training
Launching a telepsychology practice involves numerous tasks, some similar to starting any private practice and others more pertinent to the practice of telespychology.
Following are some of the things I did to launch my practice, with a focus on the aspects that more specifically pertain to telepsychology.
First I wrote an ebook and listed it on Amazon. Since Amazon has its own search engine and algorithms for showcasing …
Using CQ (couple intelligence) in couples counseling
In The Analytic Attitude, Roy Shaefer, Ph.D., reminded us that the therapist’s flaunting of intelligence with patients can be distancing, if not anti-therapeutic. Interpersonal relational models of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and counseling, have elevated the role of authenticity over intellect.
Might the principle of “relating” rather than “impressing” also apply to the intimate partner milieu? At first blush, it appears cognitive skills (IQ) are an advantage during discussions of differences and ensuing …
TPE audits target high volume providers
A wave of Medicare audits has triggered anxiety among many psychologists and often costs them time and money as they spend hours tediously compiling records instead of seeing patients, not to mention payment delays for months even if their documentation is up to par.
Psychologists whose caseloads are predominantly Medicare patients are the most likely targets of the 2019 audits.
The TPE audits, which stands for Target, Probe and Educate, are intended …
ACA survives cut in penalties but courts will have final say
It may be hard for psychologists to believe, but there was a time when the topic of healthcare wasn’t politically charged.
So claims Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent at Kaiser Health News. She recalls past conversations as “not just bipartisan, but nonpartisan,” often flavored with policy consensus.
The 1992 presidential election of Bill Clinton changed that, Rovner told an audience at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. …
Integrated healthcare in the ICU
I have previously stressed the importance of fully integrating a mental health professional in the critical and intensive care units (ICUs) of general hospitals. In this article, I will outline a suggested model to make systemic changes to improve overall patient care in these settings.
What follows is a detailed description of day-to-day functioning of psycho-medical integration with specific suggestions regarding how a mental health professional …
Self-care is essential to risk management
When we consider risk management in psychological practice, we readily think of: informed consent, documentation, consultation, personal characteristics of patient and provider, best-practice clinical strategies and levels of risk. But rarely do we think of self-care.
And yet, self-care might be the most foundational, most all-encompassing risk management tool of all.
Imagine for a moment an accomplished violinist whose music is deeply moving. Each note aches with expression, flowing forth …
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Latest Headlines
- Employee vs independent contractor – why it matters
- Telepsychology takes special training
- Using CQ (couple intelligence) in couples counseling
- TPE audits target high volume providers
- Research promising for suicide prevention
- ACA survives cut in penalties but courts will have final say
- Integrated healthcare in the ICU
- Self-care is essential to risk management
- Exposure therapy is fast and effective
- Psychologists face denials, delays in testing payments
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