Insurance denials are frustrating but preventable. Here we outline strategies to reduce denials through better documentation of medical necessity, interdisciplinary alignment, proactive discharge planning, and awareness of your hospital’s payment model. Learn how your notes can make or break a patient’s continued access to care.
Dr. Peter Grinspoon reflects on his own recovery from opioid addiction and the barriers that keep doctors from seeking help. He shares personal insights and evidence-based strategies for supporting physician recovery and makes the case for a more compassionate, flexible model of care and monitoring.
Dr. Scott Zeller outlines practical, patient-centered strategies for de-escalation in behavioral health settings. Drawing on his work with Project BETA and EmPATH units, he shows how early engagement, verbal techniques, and active listening can dramatically reduce restraint use, staff injuries, and escalation to violence.
Dr. Lorenzo Norris breaks down six key drivers of clinician burnout—such as workload, lack of autonomy, and moral injury—and explains how they erode engagement and well-being. He offers practical strategies to restore meaning in our work, prevent attrition, and build a more resilient, healthier workforce.
Do antipsychotics raise breast cancer risk? A new study suggests that long-term use of prolactin-raising antipsychotics may increase that risk in women with severe mental illness. We review the findings, highlight which medications pose greater concern, and offer guidance on monitoring, screening, and prescribing safer alternatives when appropriate.
Dr. Hendrick is a clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is the director of inpatient psychiatry at Olive View—UCLA Medical Center, where she carries a caseload of patients and provides teaching and supervision for medical students and psychiatry residents. After completing medical school and psychiatric residency at UCLA, she spent several years working as a principal investigator and co-investigator on N.I.M.H. funded research studies. She has authored or co-authored over 75 research papers, editorials, books and other publications. She has a long-standing interest in the needs of severely mentally ill patients from underserved populations and has worked in community mental health settings her entire career.