Two workshops at this year's annual meeting will provide excellent opportunities for members and others to learn about the latest developments in key areas that are soon likely to have a major impact on psychiatric practice. One of the workshops will explore pay-for-performance issues, and the other will delve into the shift from paper to electronic medical records.
The workshop titled “Pay for Performance: Linking Incentives to Provider Performance on Quality Measures” is sponsored by APA's Council on Quality Care and Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing in association with the Department of Quality Improvement and Psychiatric Services (QIPS). It will be held on Monday, May 22, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Pay-for-performance initiatives are taking hold in both private and public health plans. The workshop will review the status of pay for performance, its potential impact on clinicians, and the processes by which national bodies are selecting measures of mental health care. Participants will be able to discuss measures that are under consideration, and APA's role in the performance-measurement movement will be reviewed. Presenters will include Richard Hermann, M.D., Bruce Schwartz, M.D., and John Oldham, M.D.
A workshop on the fast-moving trend to adopt electronic health records (EHR) will be sponsored by APA's Corresponding Committee on Electronic Health Records and QIPS. The workshop is titled “The National Health Information Network and Psychiatry: How Will the Coming National Electronic Health Records Impact Our Patients and Our Practice?” and will be held on Wednesday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Presenters will detail the latest developments in the national effort toward interoperable EHR and a national health information network. A great deal of activity is now consolidated under the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The workshop will review the status of the EHR movement, provide opportunities to discuss issues such as privacy and confidentiality, and describe ways in which psychiatrists can contribute to this rapidly accelerating campaign.
QIPS staff have been following national developments in health information technology, and representatives from the department will be available at the APA Membership Center to discuss these issues. Staff will be distributing a survey to assess current EHR adoption by APA members and to learn what information and services members would like APA to provide in this area. At the end of the annual meeting, a drawing of completed surveys will be held to award the latest edition of the compendium APA Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders. In addition, a new health information technology page will soon be added to the APA Web site at<www.psych.org>.
QIPS staff would like to hear from members about their experiences with health information technology. The department's e-mail address is [email protected].▪
