APA News

If you have questions or need more information about the state health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act, turn to APA. The Association has posted information on its Web site at http://psychiatry.org/statehealthexchanges on the new state health exchanges, essential health benefits, mental health parity, and other related topics.

With the release of the latest impact factors in June, Psychiatric Services has regained its position as the top-ranking mental health journal in the Health Policy and Services category. Of the 62 journals ranked by impact factor in this category, Psychiatric Services ranks 9. No other mental health journal ranks higher. Impact factors for peer-reviewed journals are calculated annually by Thomson Reuters as part of Journal Citation Reports.

APA is opposed to pharmacy benefit managers’ filling prescriptions for 90 days’ worth of certain medications due to concerns from clinicians about dispensing high volumes of medication to potentially suicidal patients. APA’s position and recommendation on pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies’ policies that incentivize provision of high quantities of medications can be read at www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Advocacy%20and%20Newsroom/Position%20Statements/ps2012_PBMpolicies.pdf .

To assist members of the health care community who may be treating a patient affected by the shootings in Aurora, Colo., or another tragic event, American Psychiatric Publishing is offering a free compilation of chapters from the recently published book Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation, and Treatment by Frederick J. Stoddard Jr., M.D., Anand Pandya, M.D., and Craig L. Katz, M.D. The chapters can be accessed at www.appi.org/Pages/TreatingPatientsintheWakeofaTraumaticEvent.aspx .

Almost all of the codes in the psychiatry section of CPT (the 908xx series of codes) will be changing in January 2013. While APA is not permitted to provide specific information about the new CPT codes that will be used for psychiatry services until they are published by the AMA this fall, there are a number of actions a practice can take to prepare for the code changes. That information is posted at www.psychiatry.org/practice/managing-a-practice/coding--reimbursement/changes-to-psychiatry-cpt-codes . Also, look for more information in coming issues of Psychiatric News.

APA is now accepting abstracts for the 2013 annual meeting in San Francisco. You can submit a symposium, workshop, or scientific and clinical report. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, September 13. More information is posted at http://ww4.aievolution.com/apa1301/ .

The Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2012 (HR 6042) has been reintroduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), a practicing psychologist and cochair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, to address an omission in the first bill. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) contained Medicare and Medicaid incentives for individual psychiatrists and most hospitals to adopt electronic medical records (EMRs), but some facilities were left out— among them, public and private psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers, and addiction treatment facilities. Murphy’s bill would extend ARRA EMR incentives to these facilities. APA’s support letter can be accessed at www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Advocacy%20and%20Newsroom/APA%20on%20the%20Issues/7-9-2012-APA-HITECH-extensionsupport-letter-house.pdf .