Psychiatrist-PRN

PRIMARY ACCOUNTABILITY:

Under the direction of the Psychiatry Department Chair, the psychiatrist will provide psychiatric care within the MAHEC Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness and other assigned locations as needed.

This position is responsible for providing ongoing psychiatric care and patient evaluations in making determinations of appropriate diagnosis, medical necessity of services, and need for higher level of service to a full caseload of patients with mental illness in an efficient and effective manner, for the purpose of improving patient quality of life. This includes working with a wide array of disorders with patients from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The psychiatrist will participate in the development of medical policies and procedures. They will provide cross coverage for other psychiatrists within MAHEC.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Outpatient

• Evaluate patients by interviewing patient, family, and other persons; reviewing medical history and related documents; ordering laboratory tests and evaluating results.
• Develop treatment plans by determining nature and extent of cognitive, emotional, developmental, social, and behavioral disorders; establish treatment goals and methodologies.
• Treat patients by utilizing evidence based psychotherapeutic methods and medications; discuss progress toward goals with patients; provide instructions; monitor effect of medications; supervise staff provision of services.
• Maintain interdisciplinary treatment by reviewing treatment plans and progress; consult and collaborate with primary care physicians, mental health therapists, nurses, and other health care providers.
• Psychiatric Management/Treatment Direction. Direct patient care; develop treatment plans considering contributions of other professional disciplines; integrate service goals, objectives and outcomes; consult with outside physicians, ancillary professionals, agencies, family/guardians and other interested individuals.

Collaborative Care

• Assessments/Referrals/Consultation. Consult with other MAHEC physicians or nurse practitioners to ensure physical care needs are addressed and makes appropriate referrals and aftercare recommendations, as needed; provide suicide/homicide assessments.
• Provide regularly scheduled (usually weekly) caseload consultation to behavioral health care managers. Case review consultations focus primarily on patients who are new to the caseload or who are not improving as expected under their current treatment plan.
• Work with behavioral health care managers to oversee the status and population health of their assigned patient caseload. The psychiatric consultant will use a registry to track all assigned patients and prioritize patients for case review and treatment adjustment.
• Recommend any treatment adjustments through the case review process or in ad hoc consultations, including medication recommendations and other interventions, within 24 hours of consulting with a behavioral health care manager or other team members.
• Advise on treatment for patients who may need more intensive or more specialized mental health care, supporting treatment in the medical setting until patients can be engaged in specialized care as appropriate.
• Be available to provide occasional ad hoc telephone consultation to medical providers for very complex patients or challenging patient situations. Respond to telephone calls from medical providers and behavioral health care managers within one business day. Respond to urgent telephone calls within one hour, if available. Coordinate with other psychiatric consultants for vacation coverage.
• Maintains historical records by documenting treatment recommendations to the patient’s primary physician.

Administrative

• Assure quality and safe service for patients and staff by complying with policies, procedures, standards, rules, AAAHC requirements, and legal regulations; participate in utilization reviews.
• Enhance department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; explore opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Program Development. Confer and work with staff on matters regarding proper and efficient operation of the clinical facility and program; take an active role in the development of policies and standards for patient care.
• Professional Development. May conduct or participate in research activities; updates professional knowledge on a continuing basis; may be asked to prepare and present professional reports, from time to time.
• Support MAHEC’s ethical and mutually respectful work environment by:
• performing all job-related responsibilities in a manner consis