The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month approved Merck’s new insomnia drug, Belsomra, the first in a new class of hypnotics termed “orexin antagonists.” If you’ve never heard of orexin, put on your seat belts, because you’ll be getting a crash course from your local drug reps.

Like most psychiatrists, you are likely a bit wary of sharing your therapy notes with your patients. Will they be offended by reading painfully honest descriptions of their issues? Will they be confused by your use of psychiatric terminology?

In 2011, the federal government began offering financial rewards for providers to implement electronic health records (EHRs) in caring for their Medicare and Medicaid patients. For eligible doctors, these “meaningful use” incentives could provide you with extra income of up to $44,000 over five years in Medicare incentives and $63,750 in Medicaid incentives over six years.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

It’s important to understand what bias is not. Bias is not fraud, as it does not involve intentional prejudice. Bias is also not random error, which creates deviation in results strictly by chance, and can be mitigated with a large enough study sample. Put simply, bias has to do with the unintentional skewing of results due to human failings such as poor trial design or unconscious wishes for desirable outcomes.

As a physician, you’re expected to practice evidence-based medicine. But how can anyone keep up with the latest research?

After a psychiatric drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a marketing juggernaut often follows, trying to convince us that the newly approved drug offers substantial benefits for treating a mental disorder. But how does the FDA determine whether to approve a drug? What follows is a breakdown of the process.

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Bruce Cuthbert, PhD, the head of the NIMH’s new Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) program, explains how this new way of funding and conducting research in psychiatry is revolutionizing the field.

Concerns about the safety of psychiatric medications during pregnancy are common among psychiatrists and patients alike. In many cases, one must weigh the risks of a medication to mother or child against the risks inherent in untreated mental illness. Recent research, however, lends support to the growing data about the safety of antidepressant medications in pregnancy.