Wednesday, November 03, 2004

More minority providers means fewer service gaps
Article in the November APA Monitor - "Diversity among health-care providers is linked with greater access to care, satisfaction and choice for minority patients, yet racial and ethnic minorities account for few of the nation's doctors, nurses, dentists and psychologists, according to a report released in February by the Institute of Medicine (IOM)."  
  

Psychologists knock down practice barriers
Article in the November APA Monitor reviewing state advocacy for access to psychological services - "States made significant progress this year in maintaining and improving practice opportunities for psychologists, both in terms of new professional roles like prescriptive privileges and by increasing and protecting insurance coverage for psychological services..."  
  

Psychology joins class action lawsuit against managed care
Article in the November APA Monitor - "Organized psychology recently became involved in class action litigation against 63 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The plaintiffs in this case--all nonphysician health-care professionals and associations that represent them--allege that managed-care companies conspired to reduce and delay payments to health-care providers..."  
  

Protecting participants
Article in the Novemner  Monitor - "University officials charged with protecting human research participants face a tall order: design a system that meets federal regulations, safeguards participants and shields the institution from legal liability without stymieing investigators who are conducting valuable studies. But a growing organization, the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), believes it can help. Founded in 2001 by a group of primarily biomedical nonprofits, but including the Consortium of Social Science Associations--of which APA is a member--AAHRPP certifies human protection programs including institutional review boards (IRBs). These federally mandated ethics committees oversee any research requiring human participants..."