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CLINICAL UPDATE

Prior Authorizations for Psychiatric Medications: A Primer for Frustrated Clinicians

April 5, 2022

Chris Aiken, MD. and Tony Thrasher, DO, DFAPA

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of TCPR. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Tony Thrasher, DO, DFAPA. President, American Association for Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP). Medical Director of Crisis Services, Milwaukee County Behavioral Health. Clinical Associate Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Practical tips for dealing with the latest throng of bureaucracy in mental health care, including strategies for reducing paperwork, low-cost pharmacies, and apps that authorize meds.

The New Billing Codes

January 4, 2022

Susan L. Siegfreid, MD. and Chris Aiken, MD.

Susan L. Siegfreid, MD. Practicing psychiatrist, Northern Utah Psychiatric Consulting, LLC, North Ogden, UT. Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of TCPR; practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Outpatient billing codes recently changed, and we think for the better. Instead of getting paid to write lengthy notes, the new codes reward clinicians for turning their attention where it belongs: On the patient.

A Guide to Online and Overseas Pharmacies

July 30, 2020

Kristen Gardner, PharmD.

Kristen Gardner, PharmD. Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Behavioral Health at Kaiser Permanente, Colorado. Dr. Gardner has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Things are not always what they seem in the world of online pharmacies. We’ll show you how to separate the safe from the questionable, the true Canadians from the imposters, and how to save on costs at the old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar pharmacy.

EXPERT Q&A

Telepsychiatry: From Crisis to Opportunity

May 7, 2020

Peter Yellowlees, MD

Peter Yellowlees, M. Professor of psychiatry and Chief Wellness Officer at University of California-Davis Health. Past President of the American Telemedicine Association. Dr. Yellowlees has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

“Don’t think of it as telepsychiatry, think of it as a home visit,” says Peter Yellowlees as he teaches us how to create more meaningful interactions through the digital screen. Dr. Yellowlees covers many of the dicey details of this medium: Involuntary hospitalization, interstate regulations, medical notes, billing, and how to set up the equipment on a budget are all inside.

A New Contraindication for Ambien and the Z-Hypnotics

August 30, 2019

Chris Aiken, MD Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP

Chris Aiken, MD Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP Dr. Aiken and Dr. Puzantian have disclosed that they have no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

The FDA rarely issues absolute contraindications, but that’s where their language is tilting in a new warning on Z-Hypnotics. We look at the data behind their decision and offer six tips for safer prescribing of sleep medications.

Is Paxil the Best SSRI for Anxiety?

August 30, 2019

Chris Aiken, MD

Chris Aiken, MD Dr. Aiken has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Paxil built its reputation as the best SSRI for anxiety, but the data suggests the opposite.

Practical Approaches to Vetting Clinical Research

June 11, 2019

Darren B. Courtney, MD, FRCPC

Darren B. Courtney, MD, FRCPC

Staff Psychiatrist for the Youth Addictions and Concurrent Disorders Service at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Courtney has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

In this QA, we discuss how to use the PICOT method to efficiently frame the clinical questions that arise in everyday practice. We also examine the hierarchy in terms of the types of studies that are most useful for the busy clinician to look at and provide a corresponding table covering the categories of evidence for clinical practice.

Parenting Strategies for Patients With Mental Illness

March 29, 2019

Marie Yap, PhD

Marie Yap, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychology at Monash University in Australia.

Dr. Yap has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

“To love and work” was how Freud saw the goal of psychiatric treatment. Mental illness robs people of many meaningful roles, from work to parenting. We spoke with Marie Yap, director of the award-winning Parenting Strategies program, to learn how to help our patients function better as parents and prevent psychiatric disorders in their children.

What Can Our Pregnant Patients Do to Prevent Mental Illness in Their Children?

March 29, 2019

Robert Freedman, MD

Robert Freedman, MD

Professor and Former Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado-Denver. Editor Emeritus, American Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Freedman has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

During pregnancy, untreated depression significantly increases the risk that the infant will fail to develop adequate levels of cerebral inhibition. That’s a measure of the infant’s ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli, and it’s the first sign that development is not on an optimal track.

Becoming a Board-Certified Addiction Clinician

January 1, 2019

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM

Professor and medical director at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions at the University of Texas Medical School. Author of Addiction Treatment (Carlat Publishing, 2017). Dr. Weaver has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Patients with addiction are common in psychiatric or any other practice. You’re going to see patients who have these issues, so it’s good to be prepared and able to focus on treating addiction, as well as to be part of a growing group of specialists.