Computer-Based Training for CBT for Women in Residential Treatments

Topics: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | internet-based treatment | open label trial

Review of: Kelpin SS et al, J Subst Abuse Treat 2022;132:108622 Study Type: Randomized open-label controlled trial Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is helpful for substance use disorders, and studies have shown that computer-based CBT is effective in outpatient settings. But is computer-based CBT also effective in intensive residential treatment

Smartphone Apps as Adjuncts for Substance Use Treatment

Topics: Addiction Treatment | Behavioral therapy | Complementary treatments | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | electronic use | Health Apps | Internet | Media | Telehealth | Telemedicine

The majority (81%) of Americans own a smartphone, and a little over one-half (58%) have downloaded a health-related app (www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile). Could addiction apps be the next tool to improve treatment outcomes? This article will review some apps for substance use disorders (SUD) and discuss strategies for integrating them int

Telepsychiatry: From Crisis to Opportunity

Topics: Billing | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Coronavirus | COVID19 | HIPAA | Practice Tools and Tips | Psychiatric interviewing | Skype | Telemed

TCPR: Do patients like telepsych?Dr. Yellowlees: Yes. The studies show very high levels of patient satisfaction, higher even than what we see with in-person care. Most of those studies were done before 2010, when the technology was not as good and patients often traveled to their primary care doctor’s office to connect by telemed. I suspect the satisf

How to Write an Open Note

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Confidentiality | EHR | Electronic Health Records | electronic use | Engagement | HIPAA | Patient relationship | Privacy | retention

“A physician should at all times deal honestly and openly with patients.” —AMA Code of Medical Ethics Beginning April 4, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) instituted a new policy stating that all clinical notes must be open to patients for their review in a timely fashion. Since that announcement, I have heard physician

Using Mental Health Apps

Topics: Behavior therapy | Brief psychotherapy | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Free Articles | Health Apps | Therapy during medication appointment | Therapy with Med Management

TCPR: Computer-assisted therapies have been around for decades. What makes mental health apps different? Dr. Torous: Computers have been used to support psychotherapy in many forms—email, video conferencing, texting, and online or desktop programs. Mental health apps take this to another level because they work through a device that most people keep

Computer Assisted Psychiatry: An Introduction and Road Test

Topics: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Practice Tools and Tips | Psychotherapy

There are plenty of ways that we use technology in psychiatric practice these days—including e-prescribing, electronic health records, referring patients to websites for psychoeducation, etc. But when was the last time you referred a patient to their computer for psychotherapy? Well, it may be time to consider it. First, let’s define some terms.

Text Messaging Effective for Appointment Reminders

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Research Updates

Subject: Technology Short Description: Text Messaging Effective for Appointment Reminders Background: No one seems to be without a cell phone these days, so it only makes sense that we should start using these devices to carry out tasks that we used to do in a more “old-fashioned” way. One obvious application is to use text messages to re

Can Instant Messaging Enhance Treatment Outcomes?

Topics: Anxiety Disorder | Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Practice Tools and Tips | Research Updates | Smoking Cessation Agents

Subject: TECHNOLOGY Short Description: Can Instant Messaging Enhance Treatment Outcomes? Background: Whether you see your patients quarterly, monthly, or even weekly, you certainly are not with them as much as their cell phones are. Theoretically (at least, for some types of therapy), we could enhance treatment outcomes by texting patients ther

Which Electronic Health Record Should You Buy? A Review of Three Products

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Free Articles | Practice Tools and Tips

There are a lot of electronic health record (EHR—also called electronic medical record, or EMR) companies vying for your hard earned cash. How do you decide among them? For this article, we chose to review three EHRs: ICANotes, Valant, and Practice Fusion. Why these three? ICANotes and Valant are currently the only EHRs that fulfill the following t

Financial Incentives to Adopt an EHR, or How to Claim Your $44,000

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Practice Tools and Tips

Most of you have probably heard about “meaningful use” and federal incentives to get going with an electronic health record. But how applicable is this for psychiatrists? And what in the world is “meaningful use” anyway? Reading this article may or may not make you any wealthier, but it will at least help you to decide whether it is worth the

Pros and Cons of Adopting an Electronic Health Record

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice | Practice Tools and Tips

Dr. Daviss is co-author of Shrink Rap: Three Psychiatrists Explain Their Work, and blogs at Shrink Rap and at HIT Shrink.

Telepsychiatry: Ready for Prime Time?

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice

Telepsychiatry is a sub-field of telemedicine that refers to the use of videoconferencing to treat patients in other locations. This used to be an expensive proposition, requiring special videoconferencing equipment, but now anybody with a modern laptop computer and a webcam can videoconference using Skype (www.skype.com), which is free software that ta

Managing Your Web Presence

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice

Do you know what comes up when you enter your name into an online search engine? Go ahead, try it. Most likely you will find various listings from physician rating sites and online phone and address directories. Maybe you like what you see, maybe you don’t. Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of control over what’s already there. With a little bit

Websites of Use for Patients

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice

Tired of telling patients to go to WebMD.com or…yawn…NIMH.nih.gov for their Internet information needs? Here are some alternatives that will probably keep your patients a little more engaged, and as a result, more educated. PsychCentral (http://psychcentral.com). Billed as the “Internet’s largest and oldest independent mental health social ne

Electronic Communication with Patients

Topics: Computers in Psychiatric Practice

Resources for Understanding Email Communication with Patients “Email and the Psychiatrist Patient Relationship,” Recupero P, J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 2005;33:465–475. “Guidelines for the Clinical Use of Electronic Mail With Patients,” Kane B et al., JAMIA 1998;5:104–111. AMA Guidelines for Physician-Patient Electronic Communications: