Special Report Countdown: Practice Management

One of the great benefits of our field is having options. With a variety of ways to practice-including virtual encounters, office appointments, locums, and consultancy-opportunities for the earnest psychiatrist are endless. There is no perfect pathway to achieving a sustainable practice model, which is why we need to support camaraderie in our field and learn from each other. First up: Meeting Our Personal and Professional Goals, by Special Report Chair, Helen Farrell, MD.

Turning a Negative Into a Positive: Ways to Avoid and Overcome Negative Reviews, by John Luo, MD: Physicians are “searchable” and “rated” on a continual basis online. While word of mouth or insurance websites may be the predominant driver of new patients to a practice, the increasing use of digital search assistants may eventually supplant traditional referral sources. Filing a lawsuit to fight negative reviews may not always be the best approach. Fighting negative reviews with positive ones may cross boundaries, so developing resilience and taking the high road are the best strategies to deal with reviews.

The Role of Social Media in Private Practice, by Kaustubh G. Joshi, MD and Marie E. Gehle, PsyD: The most popular social media sites for physicians are those where we can participate in online communities, listen to experts in their fields, read news articles, network, and communicate with colleagues regarding patient issues. These sites allow us to acquire and read relevant information related to our patients and practice. Social media allows us to engage with other psychiatrists and mental health professionals by commenting on posts and participating in group discussions or online chats.

Locum Psychiatric Practice: Unexpected, Unheralded Benefits, by Lawrence H. Climo, MD: The many roles of a locum tenens psychiatrists are encompassed in five scenarios presented by the author. Here is one: “You know I’m leaving,” I remind her. “Why are you telling me this?” “Because you’re leaving.” It is as if she wanted me to take that secret with me. As if she’d never told others because she’d have to look at it, talk about, and deal with it whereas she wanted only to be done with it. Mindful that for everything there is a season I am comfortable respecting this. I don’t include her secret in my final note.