Behavioral Health Management articles from March 2004

Behavioral Health Management archives from March 2004

Changing times require a new workforce strategy.(Editorial)
March 1, 2004... As we enter spring, a season of renewed life, I am reminded that change is constantly present as an external force, and that it's also necessary internally for the health of our organizations and ourselves. In Confucius' words, "We live here as...

Depression's costly toll.(Guest Editorial)
March 1, 2004... One in six American adults, or more than 34 million people, will suffer from depression at some point in their lifetime, a large proportion of whom will not be treated. This is true for a number of reasons, including lack of self-awareness on...

Does 'evidence-based' need more evidence?(Washington Insights)
March 1, 2004... Government is as susceptible as any other institution to fads and novelties, often seizing on a single concept as The Solution to the problems confronting its performance. Sometimes the fad produces major change and significant benefits;...

The dot-com boom--was it really all wrong?(In Retrospect)
March 1, 2004... Much has been said about the so-called dot-com era---marked by such expressions as the Net changes everything," "greed is good," "stock gains guaranteed," "push the Dow to 15,000" (or higher), "buy Cisco, Sun, Healtheon, drkoop, Amazon,...

Building (and keeping) a winning staff.
March 1, 2004... Articles in Behavioral Health Management usually focus on managing patient care, but there's another side to this people-based business that competes for supervisory attention: managing staff. Some organizations struggle to find enough staff to...

Attracting and retaining new recruits.
March 1, 2004... Hiring is an art. It takes a good eye, a blend of scientific approach and gut instinct, plus meticulous background checking to make sure you're hiring who you think you're hiring. Managers and HR directors at companies across the United...

Eight strategies for human resources development.
March 1, 2004... In the behavioral health field, two major environmental forces drive change: a changing political, cultural, and technologic framework in which organizations operate, and significant changes in the available health and human services resources...

Rebuilding employee trust during change.
March 1, 2004... Every day people go to work and experience situations that diminish, break down, or destroy trust in their relationships. According to Gallup, a growing segment of our nation's employees feel betrayed or "actively disengaged" from their jobs....

Creating workforce accountability.
March 1, 2004... This article crystallized as I was returning from a recent engagement with leadership teams ha two departments of a large healthcare organization. Both departments needed to make a significant impact on engaging and retaining employees to be...

Overtrained and overwhelmed: saving staff from orientation overkill.
March 1, 2004... As the quality manager for the North Sound Mental Health Administration (NSMHA), a multi-county prepaid health plan serving the Medicaid population in northwest Washington State, I coordinate the Regional Training Committee. This group is made...

A generation gap could fracture your team: don't let it happen.(Interview)
March 1, 2004... It's an age-old image: the crusty old-timer, wise in the ways of the world, contemptuously dismissive of the struggling greenhorn too wet behind the ears to work smart. But today's swift-moving world of technologic and technical change can put...

Maximizing treatment of substance abuse in the elderly: few programs are designed specifically for seniors, and the baby boomers are on the way.(Feature Article)
March 1, 2004... As the aging population grows, he number of older Americans in need of treatment for addiction is expected to increase dramatically because of the aging of the baby-boom cohort. In the year 2000, 35 million Americans were age 65 or older. By...

Computer-enhanced treatment compliance: new devices promise to help keep patients on track.(Feature Article)
March 1, 2004... Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are chronic mental illnesses characterized by periods of symptom relapse and remission. Medication is effective in treating them, and in recent years a variety of novel antipsychotic medications and...

Antipsychotic use in the older patient with schizophrenia.(Pharmacologic Trends In Behavioral Health: Part Two Of A Six--Part Series)
March 1, 2004... Pharmacologic treatment of seniors with schizophrenia represents a special challenge for mental health providers. Older patients often are more sensitive to antipsychotics' side effects, and although the new atypical antipsychotics offer...

Focusing on care to reduce costs: a look at PacifiCare Behavioral Health's assertive case management approach.(Feature Article)
March 1, 2004... The greatest challenge facing the healthcare industry today is escalating costs. According to Milliman USA's 12th annual HMO Intercompany Rate Survey, 2004 premium rate increases are expected to tally 15%, marking the fifth consecutive year of...

Addiction treatment online: the promises and problems of alcohol and drug interventions in cyberspace.(Feature Article)
March 1, 2004... Addiction remains an enormous problem in the United States despite significant advances in the sophistication of our treatment system. The SAMHSA 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 18.6 million Americans needed treatment...

A new hospital for modern-day psychiatric care: patient privacy was an important design consideration for Sheppard Pratt's new hospital.(Feature Article)
March 1, 2004... Sheppard Pratt Health System, Maryland's largest behavioral health services provider, is constructing a new psychiatric hospital with 192 all-private rooms--perhaps the first of its kind in the nation--to replace its existing acute inpatient...

Christus St. Joseph Villa Marian Center: Salt Lake City.(Facility Design Showcase)
March 1, 2004... Modern healthcare facility design attempts to create environments that are as pleasant and welcoming as possible for patients. Design for a geropsychiatric healthcare facility, however, bears an added burden of meeting a demand for maximum...

IBM-Platform IT System.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... IBM has awarded Healthcare Management Systems, Inc. (HMS) its highest partnership level identification, IBM Premier Business Partner. IBM recognized HMS for its continued support, development, competency, and customer satisfaction in the use of...

Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry, third edition, provides clinicians with an understanding of the skills and knowledge base required to understand mental disorders in late life. It offers the expertise of 54...

Clinical Social Worker Job Web Site.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... PsychTemps, Inc., and the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABE) have created the ABE Job Center (at www.abecsw.org) to promote employment opportunities for advanced clinical social workers. ABE, a national credentialing body...

Adjustable Monitor Arm.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... Ergotron introduces the NeoFlex[TM] Arm, an adjustable arm for flat panel monitors. It provides 8" of vertical movement so a user can position the monitor exactly where desired. Because it clamps to the back of the desk, it also frees up desk...

Leadership Training.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... Loyalty Factor, a training and management consulting firm, offers its Breeding Leaders program to teach managers and supervisors to lead their employees in a way that will positively affect corporate commitment, productivity, professional...

Book on Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace.(Product Spotlight)
March 1, 2004... Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace, by Dennis S. Reina, PhD, and Michelle L. Reina, PhD, presents a research-based model to help leaders, employees, and their organizations acknowledge be trayal, solidly recover from it, and rebuild trust. The...

To drink or not to drink--the conference attendee's conundrum.(As I See It)
March 1, 2004... Behavioral healthcare rarely has an opportunity to celebrate. Oppressive regulations, unrealistic funding restrictions, and overwhelming patient needs weigh the field down a lot of the time. So when the industry comes together at a conference...

Breakfast with the auditors.(Views On Technology)
March 1, 2004... A breakfast with auditors is not the way many providers want to start their day. The audit is often stressful for staff and management alike. But, as with most tasks, the level of effort (and stress) associated with an audit can be predicted by...

Re-imagining excellence.(Views From The Trenches)(Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age)(Excerpt)
March 1, 2004... Tom Peters usually beats people to the future; In Search of Excellence: Lessons From Americas Best-Run him become one of the all time most influential business thinkers. He has a new book, Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age,...