As managed care companies gain increasing control over the mental health care market, many psychiatrists not under contract with a managed care plan have been excluded from significant numbers of potential patients. As a result, psychiatrists must pay more attention than ever before to practice management and other business-related issues. The Psychiatrist’s Guide to Practice Management provides psychiatrists with important advice on how to make their practice capable of entering agreements with managed care organizations. This important guide identifies key areas (including financial, regulatory, promotional, administrative, and geographic issues) that must be considered in order to adapt the practice to make it more appealing to managed care companies. An additional chapter covers physician networks and alliances that compete directly against managed care organizations. It also provides crucial advice for psychiatrists who wish to develop a private practice based on traditional fee-for-service and private pay plans.

By using this handy guide, psychiatrists can build a thriving practice inside or outside the managed mental health care system.

Contents
Building a practice. The geography of practice. Medical office operation. Licensure, insurance, and regulatory issues. Financial issues in the practice. Clinical issues for practices. Management information systems. Patient satisfaction and outcomes. Alliances and partnerships: a wealth of opportunities for psychiatrists. APA resources and services for psychiatric practices. Practice management bibliography. Practice management glossary.

Reviews
“This monograph is crisply written and provides a concise introduction to the topics. It should serve as an excellent outline for residents desiring an overview of the issues they’ll be grappling with in practice. It will also be helpful for the veteran practitioner who needs a quick refresher course in business-related issues essential to successful practice management in today’s health care environment.”—Doody’s Health Sciences Book Review Journal