Podcasts

America, it seems, is shy about 45,000 psychiatrists. That’s the premise of a controversial article entitled “45,000 More Psychiatrists Anyone?” by Dr Dan Carlat, that was published in the August 2010 issue of Psychiatric Times….and it’s that article that Dr Sidney Weissman has chosen as his Top Paper of the Year.

The federal government is urging hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare stakeholders to collaborate for better patient care and smaller medical costs through accountable care organizations (ACOs). But with Washington, D.C., still undecided about what ACOs will look like, physicians nationwide are left wondering about their roles in this new initiative.

With the availability of drugs for ADHD and Alzheimer disease, more and more healthy people who have no mental health condition have been asking their psychiatrist to prescribe neuroenhancing medications in the hopes of improving their memory, cognitive focus, or attention span. What's an appropriate response when one of your patients asks for a prescription for a drug for this off-label purpose?

One of the country's leading experts on career development offers guidance on job resources; on practicing alone, in a group or clinic or hospital, or in a government facility; on presenting your academic credentials most effectively; on locum tenens practice; on consulting for insurance companies or Medicare; and on alternatives to full time practice.

You have prescribed an atypical antipsychotic for a patient who is undergoing psychotherapy. You need to check for signs of the metabolic syndrome with a physical exam. . . but is it ethical to touch the patient for this clinical purpose? Listen to ethicist Dr Cynthia Geppert examine the issues in her series “Living the Questions: Cases in Psychiatric Ethics.

Marc E. Agronin, MD, medical director for mental health and clinical research in the Miami Jewish Health Systems, and associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, discusses therapeutic strategies for older patients.

Laurence J. Kinsella, MD, FAAN, professor of neurology at St. Louis University and chief in the division of neurology and neurophysiology at Forest Park Hospital, St. Louis, discusses serotonin syndrome and P450 drug interactions.

Bill H. McCarberg, MD, founding director of the chronic pain management program at Kaiser Permanente, Escondido, California, discusses the need for collaboration between psychiatrists and primary care providers to identify and treat patients with fibromyalgia.