Behavioral Health Management articles from November 2004

Behavioral Health Management archives from November 2004

The constant pressures of change.(behavioral health management)(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... The German physicist G.C. Lichtenberg once said, "I cannot say whether things will get better if we change.... What I can say is they must change if they are to get better." The idea of change can be of great concern in any...

Make no mistake--'OOPs' might be the answer to workplace problems.(Washington Insights)(Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry)
November 1, 2004... The Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry (AOOP) is a 15-year-old association that encourages and supports the practice of one of the earliest specialty areas of psychiatry. Once known as "industrial psychiatry," the field...

The growing perils of getting paid.(In Retrospect)(trends in reimbursement mechanisms in US healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Today's reimbursement approaches fall into three broad categories: cost-based, fee-for-service, and a variety of risk-sharing arrangements. Cost-based reimbursement (to some, the "good old days") has become increasingly less prevalent in recent...

A gateway to best practices: interest is growing in this organizational improvement tool.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Benchmarking is a management tool that can serve as a gateway to best practices. Gift and Mosel define benchmarking as "the continual and collaborative discipline of measuring and comparing the results of key work processes with those of the...

Conquering the paper mountain: the move to fee-for-service reimbursement inspired one provider to create its own software system.(Pressley Ridge develops TOTAL: Record information system)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Funding in the behavioral health field continues to shift from per diem payments to fee-for-service reimbursement. Today behavioral health providers must be able to record, monitor, and bill and collect payment for services in increments as...

Finding your organization's 'hidden treasure': agencies can supplement their core funding with revenue-recovery processes.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Behavioral health organizations are faced with significant budgetary challenges while trying to maintain a high level of care, maximize resource utilization, and maintain revenue. This situation is exacerbated by reduced funding,...

A David and Goliath story of mental health advocacy: a small group of New Jersey advocates moved the state legislature to increase funding for community mental healthcare.(New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Inc)
November 1, 2004... In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation that would forever change how America cares for people with mental illnesses. That legislation, the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Center Construction Act, led to...

Violence risk management and adherence to treatment with atypical antipsychotics in schizophrenia.(Pharmacologic trends in behavioral health: part six of a six-part series)
November 1, 2004... Management of Violence in Schizophrenia The public perception of people with schizophrenia often is, unfortunately, of uncontrollable--possibly murderous--criminals. While mental health providers know this stereotype is almost always wrong,...

Suing managed care: the Supreme Court says no: the implications for various healthcare stakeholders.
November 1, 2004... The Supreme Court recently ruled that patients may not sue their health plans for damages when the health plan will not pay for treatment recommended by the treating physician. This decision has significant implications for many stakeholders,...

Anger-management programs: issues and suggestions: a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work.
November 1, 2004... Anger-management programs are springing up to meet societal needs for reducing anger and aggression. Individuals with anger problems may volunteer for such programs or may attend them as part of agreements for continued employment, school...

EAPs' role in corporate whistle-blowing: these providers are ideally suited to help public companies comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; one example.(employee assistance plans)
November 1, 2004... Enron, Andersen, WorldCom--these companies are synonymous with accounting scandal and represent billions of dollars lost because of fraudulent practices. In response to these and other corporate scandals in recent years, Congress passed the...

Plotting a 'road map to recovery': organizations team up to promote community integration for people with psychiatric disabilities.
November 1, 2004... A recently established Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) based at the University of Pennsylvania is promoting community integration as "the road map to recovery" for people with psychiatric disabilities. The UPenn Collaborative...

Watercolors, pastels, and paintbrushes are therapeutic tools: art therapy aids patient expression.
November 1, 2004... Art brings people together. It inspires hope and creates a bridge of understanding between individuals regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or age. Art can be used in a therapeutic modality known as art therapy. Art therapy is a human...

Here comes the latest HIPAA deadline: the security standards outline what is to be done--but not how to do it.
November 1, 2004... Many organizations thought they had finished dealing with HIPAA compliance when they met the deadlines for the Privacy Rule and the transaction and code sets in 2003. They had spent a great deal of time writing policies and procedures, training...

Maximizing your investment with workflow management software.(Views On Technology)
November 1, 2004... Your new software system is up and running! Now, how do you reap one or more of the benefits your system was supposed to provide your agency (e.g., increased staff efficiency, reduced overhead, decreased administrative and clinical errors,...

Facility design showcase.(Spring Harbor Hospital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Spring Harbor Hospital, an 85,000-square-foot psychiatric facility, is for people of all ages who experience serious episodes of mental illness or a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse. Located near Portland, the building...

Formularies are hardly healthcare costs' panacea.(As I See It)(Column)
November 1, 2004... A relative of mine struggling with a psychiatric disorder recently was prescribed an antipsychotic that seemed to work just right for him. He had tried a handful of similar drugs, but this one gave him the greatest therapeutic effect with the...

Online government mental health report.(Product Spotlight)(Mental Health, United States, 2002 )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Mental Health, United States, 2002 is now available on the Web at www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/Mental HealthStatistics. This resource from SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services includes 21 chapters organized into six sections: Looking...

Traumatic Brain Injury resource.(Product Spotlight)
November 1, 2004... The Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury from American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., is the successor to the 1994 compilation by the same editors--Jonathan M. Silver, MD; Thomas W. McAllister, MD; and Stuart C. Yudofsky, MD. It discusses research...

Maximum software RFP distribution.(Product Spotlight)
November 1, 2004... Contact the major companies of the behavioral health software industry in one e-mail. Send your information-technology-related RFP electronically to the Software and Technology Vendors' Association (SATVA) for posting on its Web site's...

Psychiatric and addiction treatment directory.(Product Spotlight)
November 1, 2004... The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) has published a 2005 Membership Directory. The directory includes the name, address, phone/fax, and officers (by name) of each behavioral health system. The facilities operated by...

The EMR and behavioral health--discussions have begun.(Views From The Trenches)(Eectronic medical record)
November 1, 2004... Touted by the President in his campaign and backed by both sides of Congress, the creation of a national electronic medical record (EMR) is pressing ahead with the speed of, well, a government turtle. An April executive order identified several...