It is a travesty that insurance companies single out psychiatric patients for this kind of scrutiny. Your physician doesn’t have to call an insurance company to admit you if you are a woman in labor or a kid with appendicitis.
See my blog post here:
Psychology Today Blog–Psychiatrists Waste Millions of Hours Obtaining Prior Authorizations from Insurers
Posted in Miscellaneous
Tagged insurance, medical insurance, pnhp, prior authorization, single payer, single payer health care
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My book Almost Addicted won an award for excellence in medical writing!
Several days ago I received notice that Almost Addicted won the Will Solemine Award for Excellence in Medical Writing by the American Medical Writers Association. This is an award for medical writing that is geared toward a general audience. I am delighted to receive this award and take my hat off to Eric Metcalf whose writing and experience made the book what it is.
Healthcare in the US–In Need of a Booster Shot, if not Replacement Surgery
Some claim the US has the best health care in the world but even a cursory review of data suggests otherwise. Unfortunately, Obamacare is neither going to help or hurt the reality of the healthcare status of the US, despite the hilarious and dire predictions of the Fox News Business correspondent on this video:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/605513
The solution, like all of the countries with better health outcomes than us, is a nationalized health care system that is non-profit and guarantees integration of services. Kind of like the VA healthcare system or Medicare . . .
Posted in Miscellaneous
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When May I Shoot A Student?
Op-ed in today’s New York Times says it all:
www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/opinion/when-may-i-shoot-a-student.html?_r=0
Posted in Miscellaneous
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What To Do If a Family Member is Abusing Drugs
See my latest Psychology Today post here for my thoughts on this topic.
Posted in Miscellaneous
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Psychiatric Care is Hard to Find, Even With “Good” Insurance
Lots of psychiatrists do not take any insurance, as documented by a recent paper in JAMA Psychiatry and written about in Newsweek.
Posted in Miscellaneous
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Do You Know Anyone Who Refuses Medicare?
Instead of the dramatically confusing largely private insurance options offered by Obamacare, why not streamline things and offer Medicare-for all? I don’t know a single individual who refuses to utilize his or her Medicare benefits, no matter his or her political persuasion, how much he or she might despise the federal government along with all things “Socialist.”
Perfect example: One of my relatives in his early 60s told me that he wanted the government “to keep its hands off his healthcare.” When I asked him if he’d begun to receive Medicare benefits, he replied, “No, but I’m counting the days.”
Is Marijuana Addictive?
Provocative question! See my discussion of this issue here at Psychology Today.
Posted in Addiction
Tagged addiction, marijuana, marijuana abuse, marijuana addiction, substance abuse
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Doctors with Substance Use Disorders
See an article here about physicians who have substance use disorders. I was quoted in US News and World Report, saying that the reasons that physicians use drugs are largely the same reasons why everyone else does so.
Posted in Addiction
Tagged addiction, drug use, impaired physician, physician, physician health
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Should You Drug Test Your Kid?
All things considered, the potential downsides of home drug testing outweigh the potential benefits of doing so. See my latest Psychology Today post here for more.