Maryland becomes 13th state to mandate telehealth services coverage

Law may be part of a growing trend toward reimbursement for telehealth services

By Legal & Regulatory Affairs staff

May 10, 2012—On October 1, 2012, Maryland will become the 13th state to require private sector insurance companies to pay for telehealth services. Maryland joins California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Virginia in mandating that private payers cover telehealth services that are considered medically necessary and would otherwise be covered when provided face-to-face.

While reimbursement varies by insurer and state, this latest legislation seems to be part of a growing trend toward reimbursement for telehealth services.

The entire release is here.

Court of Appeal Says Psychologist Can Be Disciplined For Misconduct as Family Law Special Master

By MetNews Staff Writer
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
Originally Published May 11, 2012

The state Board of Psychology properly disciplined a licensee for unethical conduct while serving as a special master in a contentious family law case, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.

The justices affirmed Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette’s denial of Dr. Randy Rand’s petition for writ of mandate. Rand was challenging the board’s order placing him on probation for five years, based on findings of unprofessional conduct, gross negligence, violation of statutes governing the practice of psychology, and dishonesty.

The entire article is here.

Thanks to Ken Pope for this information.

The Third Appellate District decision is here.

Los Angeles-Area Psychologist Surrenders License

Psychiatric Crime Database
A Public Service of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Originally Published May 10, 2012

On March 6, 2012, psychologist Ross U. Porter surrendered his license to the California Board of Psychology in lieu of facing a hearing on twelve counts of negligence.

According to the Board’s document which laid out the accusations against him, Porter engaged in multiple relationships with the daughter of a family to whom he provided individual and family therapy. The family, described in the state’s documents as “The ‘A’ Family,” consisted of a mother, father and six children.

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Porter encouraged Angela to interact socially with his family and to do volunteer work in conjunction with a fundraiser for Porter’s non-profit organization he ran called Stillpoint. Porter also hired and paid her to baby sit and house sit for him. When a health care practitioner engages a patient in his or her business or social activities, it is considered potentially harmful to the patient and is a violation of the American Psychological Association’s ethical principles, as well as a violation of sections of the California Business and Professions Code.

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In late 2008, during a therapy session with Angela and her parents, Porter recommended that Angela be allowed to move into his home for an indefinite period of time. It was agreed and she moved in.

The whole story is here.

Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?

By Jennifer Kahn
The New York Times
Originally published May 11, 2012

One day last summer, Anne and her husband, Miguel, took their 9-year-old son, Michael, to a Florida elementary school for the first day of what the family chose to call “summer camp.” For years, Anne and Miguel have struggled to understand their eldest son, an elegant boy with high-planed cheeks, wide eyes and curly light brown hair, whose periodic rages alternate with moments of chilly detachment. Michael’s eight-week program was, in reality, a highly structured psychological study — less summer camp than camp of last resort.

Michael’s problems started, according to his mother, around age 3, shortly after his brother Allan was born. At the time, she said, Michael was mostly just acting “like a brat,” but his behavior soon escalated to throwing tantrums during which he would scream and shriek inconsolably. These weren’t ordinary toddler’s fits. “It wasn’t, ‘I’m tired’ or ‘I’m frustrated’ — the normal things kids do,” Anne remembered. “His behavior was really out there. And it would happen for hours and hours each day, no matter what we did.” For several years, Michael screamed every time his parents told him to put on his shoes or perform other ordinary tasks, like retrieving one of his toys from the living room. “Going somewhere, staying somewhere — anything would set him off,” Miguel said. These furies lasted well beyond toddlerhood. At 8, Michael would still fly into a rage when Anne or Miguel tried to get him ready for school, punching the wall and kicking holes in the door. Left unwatched, he would cut up his trousers with scissors or methodically pull his hair out. He would also vent his anger by slamming the toilet seat down again and again until it broke.

The entire story is here.

Addiction Diagnoses May Rise Under Guideline Changes

By Ian Urbina
The New York Times
Originally published May 11, 2012

In what could prove to be one of their most far-reaching decisions, psychiatrists and other specialists who are rewriting the manual that serves as the nation’s arbiter of mental illness have agreed to revise the definition of addiction, which could result in millions more people being diagnosed as addicts and pose huge consequences for health insurers and taxpayers.

The revision to the manual, known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., would expand the list of recognized symptoms for drug and alcohol addiction, while also reducing the number of symptoms required for a diagnosis, according to proposed changes posted on the Web site of the American Psychiatric Association, which produces the book.

In addition, the manual for the first time would include gambling as an addiction, and it might introduce a catchall category — “behavioral addiction — not otherwise specified” — that some public health experts warn would be too readily used by doctors, despite a dearth of research, to diagnose addictions to shopping, sex, using the Internet or playing video games.

The entire story is here.

Diagnosing the D.S.M.

By Allen Frances
The New York Times - Opinion
Originally published May 11, 2012

At its annual meeting this week, the American Psychiatric Association did two wonderful things: it rejected one reckless proposal that would have exposed nonpsychotic children to unnecessary and dangerous antipsychotic medication and another that would have turned the existential worries and sadness of everyday life into an alleged mental disorder.

But the association is still proceeding with other suggestions that could potentially expand the boundaries of psychiatry to define as mentally ill tens of millions of people now considered normal. The proposals are part of a major undertaking: revisions to what is often called the “bible of psychiatry” — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M. The fifth edition of the manual is scheduled for publication next May.

I was heavily involved in the third and fourth editions of the manual but have reluctantly concluded that the association should lose its nearly century-old monopoly on defining mental illness. Times have changed, the role of psychiatric diagnosis has changed, and the association has changed. It is no longer capable of being sole fiduciary of a task that has become so consequential to public health and public policy.

The entire story is here.

Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling

By Jennifer Howard
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Published May 14, 2012

The publisher plaintiffs in the closely watched lawsuit over Georgia State University's use of copyrighted material in electronic reserves say they are "disappointed" with much of the ruling handed down by a federal judge on Friday. But they made the best of it in statements issued Monday, playing up points on which the judge had agreed with them. And one plaintiff, Oxford University Press, said that the decision "marks a significant first step toward addressing the need for clarity around issues of copyright in the context of higher education."

Meanwhile, in its own series of public comments, the university praised the judge's careful handling of a complex issue. It called the ruling, by Judge Orinda D. Evans of the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, "significant not only for Georgia State University, but for all educational fair use in general," in the words of President Mark P. Becker.

Kerry L. Heyward, the university's chief lawyer, added that the case "highlights the importance of fair use in providing academic faculty a cost-effective, legal way to spread important knowledge to their students." And Nancy H. Seamans, the university's dean of libraries, took a wider view of Georgia State's approach to fair use, saying that the university's policy on e-reserves "was based on practices from the broader academic library community."

The entire story is here.

Judge rules largely for GSU in copyright case

By Bill Rankin and Laura Diamond
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Originally published May 14, 2012

A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled in favor of Georgia State University on almost all infringement claims filed by three publishing houses in a closely watched case that tested the nature of copyright law in the digital age.

Senior U.S. District Judge Orinda Evans rejected 69 copyright claims against GSU filed by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and SAGE Publications. The publishers had accused GSU of "massive" copyright violations by allowing professors to download and reproduce excerpts from published works for course materials.

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GSU, applying a 2009 policy, tried to comply with the Copyright Act, Evans said. "The truth is that fair use principles are notoriously difficult to apply," she wrote.

The entire article is here.

Thanks to Gary Schoener for this information.

Ignorance no defense for celebrity health records snoop

By Amanda Bronstad
National Law Journal
Originally published May 11, 2012

The Ninth Circuit has refused to toss out charges that a former researcher illegally obtained medical records of patients such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Hanks.

The court rejected arguments that the HIPAA-related charges should have been dismissed because Huping Zhou didn't know what he was doing was illegal.

The entire article is here.

A subscription is needed for this site.

Thanks to Ken Pope for this informaiton.