PRMS Blog

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and unfortunately it’s starting on a somber note. I am not a regular reader of the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), but a report widely picked up by the popular press did catch my eye this week, and it’s essential reading for anyone working in behavioral healthcare (MMWR, May 3, 2013). The study a ...

Trying to predict the future is probably not the most productive use of anyone’s time, but it’s fun sometimes to think about what the world will be like in 10, or 20, or 30 years. When you speculate about the future, it’s a good idea to keep in mind Bill Gates’ comment about human predictions: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underest ...

There was an interesting item reported over the past few days regarding the disciplinary action taken by the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners against the license of a Texas veterinarian, Dr. Ronald Hines. Here is a link to one of many reports on this story. Before I go any further, let me lay out the standard cautions about believing only a little bit of what y ...

Several months ago, I read the widely reported case of the French psychiatrist who received a suspended one-year prison sentence after one of her patients had committed murder.  In the popular press, few details beyond that were included. Since we focus on psychiatry in the US, I didn’t make a point to follow up on the case. I do remember thinking, however, that despite the Tar ...

It always pays to be skeptical of anything you read with a publication date of April 1. Most newspapers, and even a few scholarly journals, try to slip an April Fool’s article past their readers. Thus, I was leery of a Medscape Medical News article, datelined April 1, 2013, entitled “Psychiatrist Burnout Less Than Most Other Physicians’.” My skepticism, however, was misplaced – ...

You probably already knew that, but now there’s new confirmation. I’m referring to the Medscape 2013 Ethics Report, Ethics in Medicine – What Makes Psychiatrists Unique? (free site registration required), published March 13, 2013. Of the 24,000 physicians who participated in the survey, 1600 were psychiatrists. The report notes that the psychiatrists’ answers to eight questions ...

Why am I writing about Scott McKenzie’s 1967 popular music hit? I’m not. I’m writing about the APA Annual Meeting, and I’m hoping you’ll be attending so that you can come see us. We are finalizing details at this point, and we’ll be publicizing our activities in San Francisco over the next few weeks. At the moment, the following are definite: ·         We are presenting a ½ day ...

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on an article in today’s issue of The Lancet entitled “Identification of risk loci with shared effects on five psychiatric disorders: a genome-wide analysis”  (free, but registration required).  The article suggests that there is an apparent genetic relationship involving calcium-channel activity genes among the five major ...

While you’re trying to figure out the meaning of the title of this post, I want to talk about passwords on your electronic devices and digital accounts. First, please tell me you have protected all of your devices – your desktop computer, your laptop, your smartphone, your tablet, even your old-fashioned “dumb” cell phone – with passwords. An unprotected device in the hands of ...

We came across data on the rate that psychiatrists are using EHRs (electronic health records). The data was published by Medscape.com for a study of the percentage of various specialists who are making “meaningful use” of EHRs. You can find the survey here (registration required). The pertinent slides are #24, 25, and 26. The key point is that 7% of psychiatrists responding to ...