I thank Dr. Nasrallah for his editorial about pre-authorization, which was well organized and had a perfect headline. In succinct paragraphs, it says what we practitioners have wanted to say for years. If only the American Psychiatric Association and American Medical Association would take up the cause, perhaps some limitations might be put on this corporate intrusion into our practice. Pre-authorization may save insurance companies money, but its cost in time, frustration, and clinical outcomes adds a considerable burden to the financial problems of health care in the United States.
John Buckley, MD
Private psychiatric practice
Glen Arm, Maryland
Disclosure: The author reports no financial relationships with any companies whose products are mentioned in this article, or with manufacturers of competing products.
I thank Dr. Nasrallah so much for his editorial. These types of clinically useless administrative tasks are invisible barriers to mental health care access, because the time utilized to complete these tasks can easily be used to see one more patient who needs to be treated. However, I also wonder how we as psychiatrists can move forward so that our psychiatric organizations and legislative bodies can take further action to the real barriers to health care and effective interventions.
Ranvinder Kaur Rai, MD
Private psychiatric practice
Fremont, California
Disclosure: The author reports no financial relationships with any companies whose products are mentioned in this article, or with manufacturers of competing products.
Continue to: I read with interest...