January 2015

There’s a new online JAMA article entitled Mandatory Use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in which the authors state the following: “22 of the 49 states with PDMPs now legally mandate prescribers to query the system before writing for controlled substances with recognized potential for abuse or dependence.” To me, that statement seemed too broad to be true, as I’m only ...

Are you are thinking about adding e-prescribing to your practice? Or do you practice in New York (where you must begin e-prescribing by March 27th) and don’t know where to start? Here’s what you need to know: 1. Understand the law – federal and state Most federal law relevant to e-prescribing involves electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS). The software vendor m ...

Many medical professional liability companies only offer claims-made policies to behavioral healthcare providers like you. You are probably familiar with some common assumptions associated with claims-made policies: –  A claims-made policy protects you against claims for an incident if the policy is active when the “claim” is “made”. Correct! –  An incident must be within the ...

Can’t decide what resolutions to make for 2015? How about making a resolution to improve patient care and reduce liability? We know from our experience in handling more than 20,000 claims and lawsuits against psychiatrists that your highest risk exposures are related to psychopharmacology and treating patients with suicidal behaviors. We also know that there are specific steps ...