January/February 2008 - Washington Psychiatric Society

/ FEBRUARY
S E P JANUARY
TEMBER
/ O C T O B2008
ER 2007
Privacy Battle Continues
Highest Court to Consider Board Appeal
By Armin U. Kuder
Kudar, Smollar, and Friedman, P. C.
C
laiming an absolute
right to patient records,
the Maryland Board
of Physicians has persuaded
Maryland’s highest court to hear
its argument that a decision of
the intermediate Court of Special
Appeals, supporting patient rights,
should be overturned. In last
month’s issue of the Newsletter,
we reported on the lower court’s
affirmation of determinations by
both an Administrative Law Judge
and a Circuit Court that former
WPS President Harold Eist had
acted appropriately in delaying
compliance with a Board subpoena
to afford patients the right to protect
their privacy. On a petition from
the Board, the Court of Appeals has
agreed to hear the Board’s argument
that it cannot function if patients are
given notice and if subpoenas may
be challenged for reasonableness.
Counsel for Dr. Eist opposed the
petition, noting that the lower
court’s opinions were consistent
both with prior court decisions
and sound policy. Briefing,
argument and the issuance of a
decision could take an estimated six
to ten months.
Nominations for WPS Board
What’s
Inside . . .
President's Column ................. 2
CME Committee
Special Program .................. 3
WPS Awards Dinner ................ 4
Membership Committee Report
and New Fellows................. 5
News in Brief ........................... 7
Classifieds................................ 7
DC Chapter Report ................. 8
Richard Ratner, M. D. Chair , Nominating Committtee
The Nominating Committee consisted of myself and Drs. Carol Kleinman,
Rodney Drake, David Framm, and Roger Peele. The following members were
nominated for office:
President-Elect:
Treasurer-Elect:
At Large Board Members:
Early Career Representative:
Members-in-Training:
Dr. William Lawson
Dr. James Dee
Dr. Gustavo Goldstein and Dr. Antonia Baum
Dr. Maheen Patel
St. Elizabeths Hospital-Dr. Humaira Siddiqi;
Georgetown University-Dr. Nesibe Soysal;
George Washington University-Dr. Ayesha Mian;
and Howard University-Dr. Shanique Cartwright
Any member eligible to hold office may be nominated by a petition signed by
five percent or more of the voting members provided such a petition has been
filed with the Secretary of WPS no later than February 15th.
Dr. Eist Appointed
Dr. Harold Eist has been appointed
by the Montgomery County Council,
Council President Marilyn Praisner,
and Chairman I. Leggett, to the
Citizens Review Panel for Children.
He will review child abuse and neglect
cases in Montgomery County and
child legislation in Maryland. Dr.
Eist was also appointed to the Ethics
Committee of the American College
of Psychiatrists.
By Michael J. Houston, M.D..
2008
seems to be
starting off a
lot like 2007
and previous
years. Legal
and legislative
items always
find their way to the top of the
WPS Agenda. The case Harold
Eist vs. the Maryland State Board
of Physicians is still with us. Last
fall the Maryland Court of Special
Appeals issued a unanimous
opinion vindicating Dr. Eist’s
efforts to protect his patient’s
right to confidentiality. At the
time it seemed like that might be
a victorious end to the six year
battle Dr. Eist has fought. Then in
December the Maryland Board of
Physicians announced they would
appeal the court’s ruling to the
Maryland Court of Appeals, the
highest court in Maryland. This
case has now gone before two
administrative law judges, two
separate circuit judges and the
Court of Special Appeals; each
court ruling in Dr. Eist’s favor.
The WPS has supported Dr.
Eist’s position throughout the years
by signing on to Amicus Curiae
briefs for each appeal and sharing
the costs of these briefs with
other professional organizations.
At its January meeting the WPS
Board again voted unanimously to
continue to support Dr. Eist in what
has become a landmark case for the
protection of patient’s rights.
The protection of patient’s
safety was supposedly the driving
force behind the “SAFE-RX”
bill introduced in the District of
Columbia by David Catania and
passed on January 8th by the D.C.
City Council. The bill will make
the District the first jurisdiction
to require pharmaceutical
representatives to be licensed and
to adhere to a professional code of
conduct. Initially the legislation
went much further and required
physicians to obtain signed consent
2
whenever prescribing an “off-label”
medication. Thanks to a timely
response by DC Chapter President
Bob Keisling and WPS Secretary
Janice Hutchinson the WPS joined
with the DC Medical Society and
other groups to voice our opposition
to the bill. Councilman Cantania
was persuaded to drop that
requirement from the bill before the
final version was passed.
Finally, I hope that everyone
has been following the battle for
Federal Parity Legislation that has
been working its way through both
houses of Congress. In September
the Senate passed S558, a bill that
mandates that insurers provide the
same level of coverage for mental
illnesses as they do for medical
illnesses. The Paul Wellstone
Mental Health and Addiction Equity
Act of 2007 is the companion bill
in the House of Representatives. It
has passed several committees and
hopefully will be voted on sometime
during the current session. Each
bill goes along way towards ending
the discriminatory reimbursement
practices our patients encounter.
One aspect of the legislation
that the WPS has struggled with
dates back to the year 2000 when
then President Clinton mandated
that federal employee health plans
had to provide equal coverage for
mental illness. At that time his
mandate only applied to patients
who sought care from “Network
Providers” and not to those who
sought help outside of the insurer’s
provider network. WPS members
spoke out at the time and met with
the representative from the Office
of Personnel Management which
implemented Clinton’s mandate.
In the process Darrel Regier,
WPS member and Director of the
American Psychiatric Institute for
Research and Education (APIRE),
the APA’s research division, became
interested in how well insurance
provider networks actually served
patient’s needs. He initiated a
project to study the effects of the
parity mandate and specifically
OFFICERS 2007-2008
President
Michael J. Houston, M.D.
President-Elect
Harold I. Eist, M.D.
Secretary
Janice C. Hutchinson, M.D.
Treasurer
Louis E. Kopolow, M.D.
Immediate Past President
Richard A. Ratner, M.D.
Judith A. Nowak, M.D.
Editor
Louis E. Kopolow, M.D.
Associate Editor
the availability of services for
those federal employees who tried
to find help through provider
networks. The study focused on
the Washington area and many
WPS members participated in
providing data. In the December
issue of Health Affairs is an article
written by Dr. Regier and his
colleagues which demonstrate
just how few of the area’s mental
health professionals participate in
these insurance networks and how
few patients are actually able to
find help within their network of
providers. I encourage everyone
to take a look at the study which
provides a fascinating overview of
the difficulties our patients face in
utilizing their “in-network” benefits.
Hopefully the study will help shape
the final legislation as compromises
work themselves out between the
House and Senate Parity Bills.
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CME Committee Special Program
By Elizabeth Morrison, M. D.
O
n March 30, 2008,
WPS will co-sponsor
the annual NARSAD
scientific symposium. It
will be held at Lisner Auditorium of
the George Washington University.
Because this year’s meeting will
include a section on mental health
services for returning soldiers, the
Uniformed Services Branch of the
APA will be cosponsoring the event
with WPS and the APA central
office. CME credit will be provided
for all physicians who attend.
The morning session will
be devoted to the assessment
and treatment of PTSD and TBI
(Traumatic Brain Injury) in the
military. Former Army Chief of
Staff, General Gordon Sullivan
(ret), will review information on
administrative and policy issues in
the military. This will be followed
by a scientific presentation by Dr.
Robert Ursano, M. D. Chief of
Psychiatry at USUHS, on treatment
of PTSD and TBI. General Loree
Sutton, a psychiatrist and the new
director of the DOD Center for
Psychological Health and Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI), will present
on military research and clinical
programs for PTSD and TBI.
The afternoon session will
be chaired by Darrel Regier, M.
D., APA Director of Research and
Executive Director of APIRE.
Participants will learn about
the latest research regarding the
causes of and treatments for severe
mental disorders that include
Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and
ADHD. Daniel Weinberger, M.D.
from NIMH will review current
research on Schizophrenia. Andrew
Nirenberg, M.D. from Massachusetts
General Hospital will discuss
findings from the landmark NIMH
sponsored STEP-BD treatment
program for Bipolar Disorder.
Xavier Castellanos ,M. D. of New
York University will present a review
of current research on ADHD.
NARSAD is the largest private
foundation funding source for
mental disorder research. It sponsors
scientific symposia and will run
an annual fund-raising gala which
will be held in 2008 on April 21 at
the Swedish Embassy, Washington,
D.C. Our members are invited to
attend this fund raising event. More
information will be provided when
we are closer to the date of this
gala.
3
WPS Awards Dinner
E
The honorees included:
ach year, the
Washington
Psychiatric Society
gathers to honor those who
have made a difference to
the practice of psychiatry in
Community Advocate
of the Year
Pete Earley, for his
investigation into and reporting
of discrimination experienced
by severely mentally ill
persons.
the Washington, DC area.
This year’s event was held
in November, 2007 at the
Cosmos Club.
The Speaker for the evening
was Carolyn Robinowitz,
M.D., President of the
American Psychiatric
Association and WPS
Council member.
Senator Paul and Mrs. Sheila
Wellstone Mental Health
Visionary Award
Senator Pete
Domenici(R,NM) for his
promotion of parity for all
Americans suffering from
mental illness
Dr. Houston presents the Community
Advocate Award to Carol Ulrich, who
accepted the award for Pete Earley
Psychiatrist of the Year
Constance M. Dunlap, M.
D. for her sustained efforts
to improve the quality of
psychiatric care in the District
of Columbia
Resident of the Year
Samantha Shlakman, M.
D. of Georgetown University
Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Houston presents Dr. Connie Dunlap
the Psychiatrist of the Year Award
Special Recognition
St. Elizabeths Hospital
Residents Mind Game Team :
Enrico Suardi, M. D.
Ashraf Fanous, M. D.
Diana Martin, M. D.
Immediate Past President of
WPS, Richard Ratner, M. D.,
received the gavel plaque in
appreciation of his service and
leadership.
4
Dr. Richard Ratner with Dr. Enrico
Suardi who displays the Mind Games
Team Award
Membership Committee Report and New Fellows
Maryam Razavi, M. D., Chair
Sheela Kadekar, M.D.,Co-Chair
T
he Washington
Psychiatric Society
Membership
Committee attends
to recruitment and retention
of members. Current members
of the Committee include Drs
Roger Peele, Sheela Kadekar, and
Maryam Razavi.
During 2007, we identified and
assisted members in attaining
APA Fellowship, Life Fellowship,
and Distinguished Fellowship
status.
We are also very active in
reaching out to Members-InTraining, encouraging early
participation in WPS activites.
Goals for the upcoming year
include continued contact
with area training programs in
an effort to attain 100% MIT
membership status.
The Committee will continue
to assist qualified members in
obtaining APA Fellowship status.
For those interested in
obtaining further information
regarding WPS membership
initiatives, please contact the
WPS office at 202-595-9498.
The members from WPS
who were approved for APA
Fellowship at the APA Board of
Trustees Meeting in December
2007 are:
LIFE FELLOW:
Mohan T Advani
Stewart L Aledort
Awatif A Bahrani
Elaine W Cotlove
FELLOW:
Abdel Monem M El-Beshir
Ann E Alaoglu
Mehdi Ghazinoor-Naini
Walter P Bland
Roberta M Gilbert
Todd S Cox
Manuel O Hernandez
Kelly L Cozza
Carl H Keller
Nora Galil
Leslie G Kirschner
David M Goldstein
Ted A Ramsey
Gustavo A Goldstein
Margaret A Roberts
Richard L Roth
Joseph Houston
Thomas Jacob
Abayomi T Jaji
Olayinka M Johnson
Gary L Litovitz
Edgardo J Menvielle
Howard B Moss
Joseph R Silvio
Fredric Solomon
Charles C Titus
Alkinoos Vourlekis
Melvin W Williams
John D Payne
DISTINGUISHED
FELLOW:
Lillian M Payne
Jeffrey S Akman
Stephen W Peterson
Eric A Steckler
Bruce P Pfeffer
Cynthia Turner-Graham
Laurel P Northup
Andrei Pikalov
Lizann Schleff
Paul J Steinberg
Jean M Thomas
Daniel Tsao
David J Wood
5
Book Reading
Dr. George J. Makari, M. D.,
will speak about his new book,
Revolution in Mind, at Politics and
Prose Book Store, 5015 Connecticut
Ave,N. W., at 6 PM on Saturday,
February 9. Dr. Makari is Associate
Professor of Psychiatry and Director
of the Institute for the History
of Psychiatry of Weill Medical
College of Cornell University. It
is the first intellectual history of
psychoanalysis. Neither a biography
of Freud, nor a debunking of him,
it explores how Freudian ideas
emerged in the last half of the
nineteenth century as thinkers in
many fields became interested in
whether and/or how one could
develop a science of the subjective.
It is insightful but also fun and
interesting. All are welcome to
attend this event which will be
filmed for CSpan.
Connecticut Avenue, NW at
Davenport Street. Prime location.
Newly renovated. Street entrance.
Reserved parking. Near Metro. Ideal
for psychotherapist. 202-363-4333
Woodley Park, in building across
from the Zoo. Sublet, 1⁄2 time afternoons and evenings. Near Metro. Call
Jessica Brown, M. D. 301-518-1338
Office space in Centreville, VA is
available to be shared with other
mental health practitioners. Each office is over 250 sq. ft. with windows in
a recently renovated suite and building. Rent includes: a spacious shared
waiting room, a secretarial area, a
copier, fax, and internet service, and
a water cooler. Plenty of parking.
Share with three clinicians-two psychiatrists and a psychologist. Rent is
$1000. per month, all-inclusive, with
Medicare Payment
Cut Averted
Congress voted on December 19,
2007 to postpone the scheduled
10.1% reduction in the Medicare
conversion factor that was due to
be enacted on January 1, 2008.
Instead, it enacted a 0.5% increase
for the period from January 1, 2008June 30, 2008.
This is welcome news, but the
10.1% cut will occur at midyear
unless Congress takes further action. CMS will extend the December 31, 2007 deadline by 45 days
(to February 15) for physicians
who wish to change their participating or non-participating status
under Medicare. For information on participation options, visit
Movie and a Discussion
MILITARY INTERROGATION: A
Game of Wits or Torture?
The Washington School of Psychiatry invites the public to a Movie
and Panel Discussion at the Avalon Theatre on Sunday, March 16,
2008, 10:30am - 1:00.
Call the School to reserve
tickets ($12) at 202-237-2700.
For more about the movie and
panel see www.wspdc.org and
www.theavalon.org.
Correction to Obituary
of Dr. William Goldstein
in the Sept/Oct 2007
Newsletter
www.ama.assn.org. or review information posted by APA’s Office
of Healthcare Systems and Financing through the link: https:
//www.psych.org/downloads/2008
FeeScheduleParforWebsite.pdf
WPS regrets the omission of the
facts that Dr. William Goldstein
served as Assistant Clinical Professor and then Clinical Professor
of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine from
1989 until the time of his death on
November 16, 2006.
the option of subleasing or sharing
with other clinicians. Call Michael
Stefanik, D.O. at 703-830-1500 or
email rms23@georgetown.edu for
APA 161st
Annual Meeting
further details.
One person office in Cleveland
Park on Connecticut Avenue.
Short-term sublease through February, 2008 and then terms to be
worked out with landlord. Ample
closet space and a shared bathroom.
Good condition. Some furniture
included. $988 per month as sublease. Call 410-647-5002 or email
info@nextwavegroup.com
By semi-retired Board Certified
Psychiatrist/Neurologist. Available for part-time work, consultations, and evaluations in Alexandria
area. VA license. Please respond to
Med605@att.net.
Registration is now open
for the APA Annual meeting
which will be held in
Washington, DC May 3-8, 2008.
To register or to see information,
go to www.psych.org.
Clinical Conference
A conference entitled “Clinical Applications of Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy in Children and Adolescents” will be held from 7:30AM
to 4:30PM on Saturday, March 15,
2008, at the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences,
Bethesda, MD. The speakers will
include Mary K Alvord, Ph.D,
Charles S. Mansueto, Ph.D, and
Bonnie Zucker, Psy.D. The sponsor
is CAPSGW. For information or to
register, contact Diane Berman at
capsqw@comcast.net.
7
DC Chapter Report
Robert Kiesling, MD
The DC Chapter of WPS has met with several psychiatrists who work for the DC Department of Mental
Health. We are concerned about the slow progress made
in correcting the deficiencies at Saint Elizabeths Hospital as identified in the Department of Justice report of
May 2006. This is particularly true regarding psychiatric
staffing which is not meeting the requirements imposed
on the Department of Mental Health to provide 1 psychiatrist for every 12 beds on acute units and 1 psychiatrist for every 24 beds on long term units.
On a positive note, we are pleased that a mental
health diversion program is being implemented at the
DC Superior Court under the supervision of Judge
Joan Goldfrank. We look forward to monitoring the
development of this program.
We were very concerned about the SafeRx Act of
2007 before the DC Council and proposed by Mr. David
Catania. This legislation was opposed by the APA, the
DC Medical Society and DC NAMI. The bill would have
required physicians to get a written informed consent
every time a medication was prescribed for an off label
purpose. A thousand dollar fines would have been
charged for failure to do so. This provision was removed
from the bill during initial approval by the DC Council
in a 7 to 6 vote on December 11, 2007. The legislation,
which is up for final approval in January, will, if passed,
require pharmaceutical sales representatives to be
licensed, to sign a code of ethics and to be regulated by a
pharmacy board.
Anyone wishing to talk about these, or any other
issues we should be addressing, are asked to please
contact me at 202-529-2972 or at
rkeisling@pathwaysdc.org.
THE WASHINGTON PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY
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