Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Your Practice

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

TCPR: Dr. Lanocha, please tell us briefly what TMS is and how it works. Dr. Lanocha: TMS is transcranial magnetic stimulation, and it is basically a clinical application of Faraday’s Law, which states that a moving magnetic field can cause an electrical current to flow. TMS may work by modulating activity in the brain default mode network, which i

Should We Share Therapy Notes with Our Patients?

Topics: News of Note | Practice Tools and Tips

Step Right Up—Meaningful Use Incentives are Adding Up

Topics: News of Note | Practice Tools and Tips

The “Whole-Patient” Approach to Psychiatric Diagnosis

Topics: DSM | Practice Tools and Tips

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of DSM-5. Designed as an atheoretical research tool to establish a reliable and consistent way to make psychiatric diagnoses without any comment as to their underlying cause, the DSM has become the go-to clinical diagnostic resource for mental health professionals. Unfortunately, many are u

The Trouble with DSM-5

Topics: DSM | Practice Tools and Tips

Caring for Clinical Caregivers

Topics: Addiction | Practice Tools and Tips

In today’s fast-paced, technology-focused, and cost-conscious healthcare environment, many clinical caregivers find themselves anxious, frustrated, and under pressure. For people working in substance abuse treatment, those feelings can be magnified as they work with patients with chronic illnesses who often struggle to change their lives, frequentl

Legal Dimensions of Bad Outcomes

Topics: Addiction | Practice Tools and Tips

Mark Whitmore can be contacted at mwhitmore@bassford.com

An Ethical Perspective on the Affordable Care Act

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

The mission of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly referred to as “the ACA” or “Obamacare,” is to secure health care for all US citizens, regardless of age, gender, race, medical history, or socioeconomic status. Provisions of the ACA, originally approved in 2010, are set to take effect by 2020, and generally fall

Understanding the Physician Payment Sunshine Act

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

Maintenance of Certification and Maintenance of Licensure

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

If you’ve recently become a board certified psychiatrist, you’re probably aware of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. MOC was created in 2000 by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for their 24 specialty boards, including the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). It was designed to address a perceived need by t

Running a Private Practice

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

Patients, Families, and the Legal System

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

Depression Rating Scales: Old Favorites and New Players

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

When treating our depressed patients, objective clinical measures can help guide interventions and reassure us that the treatment course we are on is appropriate. Depression rating scales rose to popularity in the 1950s, primarily as tools to measure the effect of antidepressant medications. Today there are many scales to choose from. Psychiatrists fami

ADHD, Rating Scales, and Your Practice Today

Topics: ADHD | Practice Tools and Tips

You greet a new patient who complains of difficulty concentrating at work and is unable to “keep up” since making partner at a law firm or becoming an attending physician at a hospital. Is this an authentic case of a high-functioning person with undiagnosed adult ADHD, a subtle request for performance enhancement, or something altogether different?

PTSD in Veterans

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips | PTSD

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

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.

An Update on Maintenance of Certification

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips

By now you’ve probably heard about the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s (ABPN) new Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program for psychiatrists. If you haven’t taken some action dictated by the new process, we have some bad news—you're probably already behind. The good news is that there’s still plenty of time to catch up. In this

Restricting Drug Samples May Reduce Costs

Topics: Practice Tools and Tips