By definition, a “progress note” should be a written record of the degree of our patients’ progress. We can all agree on this much, and this is pretty much where the agreement ends.

Should we use rating scales in our clinical practices? And if so, which ones? Do the benefits of scales compensate for the extra time it takes to administer them?

In this month’s interview, Dr. Brendel does a wonderful job explaining what psychiatrists need to know in order to become HIPAA-compliant. In this article, TCR really gets down and dirty with HIPAA, taking you by the hand to tell you exactly what to do, what forms to use, and where to get them.

Dr. Brendel, thanks for agreeing to educate us about HIPAA, which remains a pretty mysterious and intimidating entity for most psychiatrists! How did you get to be such a HIPAA expert?

Oxford Health Plans (a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare) recently shocked the psychiatric community by doing a retroactive audit of psychiatric services, and demanding repayment of up to tens of thousands of dollars of reimbursements from some physicians based on insufficient documentation.