Career

E&M codes are more complicated to learn, but psychiatrists can now deservedly get paid more for treating their more complicated patients or for engaging in time-consuming activities. Here: a focus on codes 99212 to 99215.

Clinically relevant information by our Section Editors, on topics such as bipolar disorder, digital media in psychiatry, ethics, history, major depressive disorder, military mental health, schizophrenia, and sleep disorders.

I had planned to make this month’s column about the best 10 advances in psychiatry during 2014. While some things changed for the better for our patients and their families-and our profession-I’ve been having a hard time with my list.

It has been estimated that depression alone results in a loss of $31 billion per year for employers. This slideshow reports findings from a survey on work psychiatry.

The case for training residents to conduct evaluations of impairments in patients with chronic mental health issues.

An infographic on the most common unexpected claim denials in medicine, with a focus on psychiatry.

The manner in which a clinician enters the room and approaches and engages with an intercultural patient and family can either set off or relieve “culture shock.”

Standardized, quantifiable outcome measures exist for most major psychiatric disorders, yet they are rarely used in routine clinical practice. This article identifies the rationale for using psychiatric scales.

It seems to this psychiatrist that a significant cohort of his colleagues conduct their practices in what might best be described as an “underground economy”: a system of services and charges disconnected from the conventional constructs by which these activities are presumably measured.

Having just completed my first year as an attending physician, I realize that there is simply nothing that prepares you to be an attending-except being an attending.

Psychiatric Times welcomes Drs Allan Tasman and Michelle Riba as our new Editor and Deputy Editors in Chief.

In this podcast, Drs Shah and Lustig provide a summary of their presentation at the 2014 Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress and explain the process, rationale, and application of the numerous changes to the CPT codes.

People feel free to post comments on social media sites that they would never dare say to someone’s face. The cure, if only a partial one, is to get out of social media and to start living a real life. What is your opinion on this issue?

A proper psychiatric diagnosis requires the ability to elicit information, identify symptoms, and recognize behavioral patterns. Dr Michael First, author of DSM-5 Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, summarizes key points in this brief video.

This case stresses the importance of identifying cultural issues that arise in mental health clinical encounters.

In psychiatry, we do not complete physical exams; much of our diagnosis is born out of our observations, interviews, and conversations. Other medical fields, particularly surgery, require manual, technical, and motor skills. In this manner, psychiatry is unique. More in this commentary.

When psychosocial treatments are delivered with high quality and fidelity, outcomes improve. That is the parity all of us should be fighting for. More in this commentary by NIMH Director Thomas Insel, MD.

To run an effective telepsychiatry practice, a solid partnership between skilled personal on-site with patients and the psychiatrist on the other end of the call is a must.

How to manage EHRs is at the top of the list of physician concerns, according to past AMA President Jeremy Lazarus, MD. The first psychiatrist to lead the AMA in over 70 years, Dr Lazarus addressed the Assembly at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New York in May.

As the use of social media becomes necessary for the online presence of medical professionals, this topic will continue to be essential for the training of both current and future psychiatrists.

Psychiatrists experience the impact of managed care perhaps most acutely during the utilization review process, which has become a standard tool for the review of treatment modalities and levels of service in the managed care environment.

The authors emphasize the importance of risk and protective factors and risk prediction models; analyze the growing evidence base for preventive interventions; and describe the concept of mental health promotion.

The topics in this Special Report provide a broad picture of the issues psychiatrists face as they take a clear-eyed look at the opportunities and challenges in the emerging health care system.

Although most major organizations recognize the importance of collaboration, the challenge for psychiatry is how to best integrate different aspects of psychiatric and primary care. Help here.

Psychiatrists are particularly susceptible to burnout because of the nature of their work and the populations they serve. Combat strategies here.

This article reviews the many forms of fee agreement and notes the important factors to consider as well as questions to ask to properly assess and vet what may be best for one’s practice.

Everything you need to know about the MOC process.

Vice President of the United States Joe Biden spoke at this year's American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New York. Here, a video clip from his speech.

A video featuring the author of the DSM-5 Handbook, Dr Michael First describes differential diagnosis and assessment, central components of clinical practice.

This article focuses on 2 ethical issues that the new CPT coding raises to higher stakes: the increased potential for conflict of interest in billing and the erosion of confidentiality.