Welcome!
Welcome to the online home of
The National Psychologist, an
independent bi-monthly newspaper for
behavioral healthcare practitioners. Please take a
moment to sign our Guestbook.
Sold Out - 2000 Appointment Calendar
Thank you for your interest. We will start taking orders for the 2001 Appointment Calendar in mid-July.
|
Highlights from the Current Issue:
- Distance learning likely to change future of continuing education Thirty nine states currently require psychologists to provide evidence of having completed continuing education courses in order to be relicensed for the next licensing cycle. But the nature of continuing education may well change substantially in the years ahead with the advent of distance learning.
- 'National Coalition,' once viewed as radical fringe, now mainstream, Karen Shore believes. By John Thomas, Associate Editor.Once considered to be on the radical fringe of the anti-managed care movement, the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers is now considered to be mainstream, its president believes. "The rest of the country has caught up with us," Karen Shore, Ph.D., of Westbury, N.Y., said. The group is sticking to its agenda of forcing the end of managed care and believes "Rescue Healthcare Day," scheduled for April 1, 2000, will only add more pressure on health maintenance organizations.
- Advice for new millenium: Fund tax favored retirement plan 'to the max' By Paul Sutherland, CFP, MBA. Taxes are often the biggest personal budget item for psychologists, yet through wise planning, the use of tax-qualified retirement plans and other tax-saving strategies, it is easy to enhance your bid for financial and retirement happiness. The top financial priority for every psychologist desiring security for eventual retirement should be to fund to the maximum a tax-favored retirement plan. It should be the core strategy of your financial plan.
|
Barriers Preventing Suits Against HMOs Are Tumbling
By John Thomas, Associate Editor
Slowly, and it would appear surely, the barriers preventing patients from suing health maintenance organizations (HMOs) for denial of necessary medical care are tumbling down. Some of those walls are being eradicated by legislation, others by judicial review on both the state and federal levels. The evidence was clear well before the U.S. House passed its Patient Rights legislation on Oct. 7
The 25-year-old Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), has made it nearly impossible for patients to sue their HMOs and other insurance carriers. ERISA was enacted partly because Congress wanted employers to establish health and pension plans without being exposed to expensive litigation.
Expect Harsh, Intensive Scrutiny If Your Medicare Claims Are Audited
By Paula E. Hartman-Stein, Ph.D.
Operation Restore Trust, the anti-fraud and abuse program operated by the Office of the Inspector General, has placed psychologists are under harsh scrutiny, contending it is warranted by a history of Medicare claims that contained billing errors.
Did you know...?
That psychologists can earn 1 continuing education credit per issue for simply reading
The National Psychologist? A great reason to subscribe today!
|
First In U.S. Distance Learning Program On Psychopharmacology Offered In Florida
By John Thomas, Associate Editor
Psychologists will soon be able to become more knowledgeable about psychopharmacology while sitting in their living rooms watching videos and via the Internet through a distance learning program offered by the University of Florida College of Health Professions.
The new program is believed to be the first university research-based course of instruction in psychopharmacology in the United States.
|
