Category: Daily News

The Bureau of Health Workforce Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Data Warehouse (HDW) serves as the enterprise repository for HRSA’s data and makes that data available to the public. The data warehouse integrates this data with external sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, enabling users to gather relevant and meaningful information about health care programs and the populations they serve.

And the current data shows a growing shortage of psychiatrists. As of August 2015, an estimated 3,968 whole or partial counties in the United States, where roughly 44% of the population resides, are designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (MH-HPSAs) – defined broadly as an area with fewer than one psychiatrist per 30,000 population.

And the problem is likely to get worse. A recent survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that 59 percent of psychiatrists are 55 or older, the fourth oldest of 41 medical specialties, signaling that many may soon be retiring or reducing their workload. Charles Ingoglia, a vice president of the National Council for Behavioral Health, helps coordinate a network of 2,300 not-for-profit clinics nationwide that provide mental health services. “I’m not aware of any part of the country where it is easy for our members to find psychiatrists,” he said.

Statistics help tell the story. According to the American Medical Association, the total number of physicians in the U.S. increased by 45 percent from 1995 to 2013, while the number of adult and child psychiatrists rose by only 12 percent, from 43,640 to 49,079. During that span, the U.S. population increased by about 37 percent; meanwhile, millions more Americans have become eligible for mental health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Renee Binder, president of the American Psychiatric Association, says the perception of inadequate pay is a factor in discouraging some medical students from choosing psychiatry as a specialty. The latest federal data shows a mean annual wage of $182,700 for psychiatrists, slightly below the mean for general practitioners and 28 percent below that for surgeons.

Some psychiatrists are switching to a cash-only practice out of frustration with what they view as inadequate reimbursement from government and private insurance plans.

Geographically, the distribution of psychiatrists across the U.S. is uneven. California has 370 total designations in 53 geographical areas. 158 practitioners are needed to remove the designations.

Former Miss Toyota Grand Prix beauty contestant busted for workers’ compensation fraud in 2014 has been convicted and sentenced. Shawna Lynn Palmer, of Riverside, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of workers’ compensation fraud and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, perform 50 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and more than $5,000 restitution.

Palmer worked as a clerk at Stater Brothers and on March 10, 2014 reported to her employer that she fractured a toe on her left foot at work. During multiple doctor visits Palmer claimed that she could not place any weight on her foot, could not move it in any direction, or wear a shoe for any length of time. Palmers’ doctor provided an ortho shoe, crutches, and gave her orders to refrain from working and to elevate her foot whenever possible. Palmer stated that she was not able to work due to her foot injury and continued to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

While collecting workers’ comp benefits, Palmer participated in at least two beauty contests wearing high heels and walking without any signs of discomfort. Video was posted on YouTube of Palmer as a contestant in the 2014 Miss Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix beauty contest.  

Eleven individuals were caught and may be charged with contracting without a license after a two-day sting operation conducted in Sacramento by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Among the suspects were two who didn’t let past contracting violations stop them from continuing to violate state contracting laws.

The undercover sting conducted by CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) took place at a single-family home in the Natomas area of Sacramento, with the assistance of the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. Four misdemeanor illegal contracting citations were issued on August 27, and seven on August 28, 2015.

CSLB stages sting operations year-round to crack down on unlicensed contracting, which feeds a multi-billion-dollar underground economy in California, and creates unfair business competition for licensed, law-abiding contractors.

Using a list of suspected unlicensed contractors developed mostly from online ads, local pamphlets, and a newspaper, SWIFT investigators posed as homeowners seeking bids for various home improvement projects that included fencing, painting, a concrete driveway, and tankless water heater installation.

Two men cited at the Sacramento sting were no strangers to CSLB. One had been caught in a 2012 sting operation in El Dorado County, was given a probation term and a fine, and had been previously denied a contractor license. He also is a registered sex offender. The other man, on probation for a 2014 unlicensed contracting conviction, tried to pass off a contractor license that did not belong to him.

“Time after time, the stings we conduct show that property owners need to be very careful about who they’re allowing in and around their home and family,” said CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson. “It’s very easy to use CSLB’s website to see if a bidder is a legitimate contractor who has undergone a background check, and has the necessary experience.”

All suspects were issued a Notice to Appear in superior court for contracting without a license. Ten of the 11 were cited for illegal advertising (BPC 7027.1). Contracting law requires unlicensed operators to state in all advertising that they are not licensed; the penalty is a fine of $700 to $1,000.

A new study published in Spine and summarized in an article published by Beckers’ Spine Review examines the postoperative narcotic consumption among workers’ compensation patients after minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.

The researchers examined a cohort of patients undergoing single-level minimally invasive TLIF procedures for degenerative spine pathology from 2007 to 2013. There were 136 single-level, primary minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion procedures included in the analysis. Forty-six of the patients were workers’ compensation patients – 33.8 percent. The workers compensation patients were younger on average – 47.8 years old compared with 57.9 years old among non-workers’ compensation patients. They also had a lower comorbidity burden, at 1.85 compared with 3.42 among the non-workers compensation patients. Here are five things to know about the procedures:

1. The workers’ compensation patients had longer procedure times. Their procedures were clocked at 135.2 minutes, compared with 118.9 minutes.
2. The hospital length of stay, estimated blood loss and day of discharge were similar between both groups of patients.
3. The average oral morphine equivalent consumption was similar between the two groups after adjusting for age, ethnicity, procedure times and Charleston Comorbidity Index.
4. Even though there are concerns that workers’ compensation patients use more opioids, this study demonstrated the total narcotics consumption between workers’ compensation and non-workers compensation are similar during the immediate postoperative period.
5. The amount of narcotics used could still vary from after the immediate postoperative period.

An Orange County employee was convicted and sentenced for committing insurance fraud by making false statements and concealing information related to his Workers’ Compensation claim. William Parker, 43, Corona, pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a fraudulent statement, five felony counts of insurance fraud. Parker was sentenced to six months in jail and paid over $41,000 in restitution.

On June 4, 2005, Parker was hired by the Orange County Probation Department (OCPD) as a Deputy Juvenile Corrections Officer. On Oct. 5, 2007, Parker was involved in a non-work related motor vehicle accident which caused injuries to his back and resulted in loss of time from work. Parker filed an insurance claim as a result of that automobile accident and received a settlement. Parker failed to disclose his back injury to the OCPD.

On Sept. 28, 2010, Parker suffered a back injury while working for the OCPD. Parker filed a Workers’ Compensation claim and was taken off work by his treating doctors after the county accepted the claim. The county was not aware of the previous back injury that Parker suffered in 2007.

On Jan. 31, 2012, Parker saw a medical examiner and told the doctor he still has daily pain. The doctor determined Parker had reached maximum medical improvement but would have to have permanent work restrictions. The defendant settled his Workers’ Compensation case and continued to see his primary doctor in the Worker’s Compensation claim from 2012 to 2014.

On Feb. 14, 2012, Parker was involved in a car accident where he was rear ended by another driver. The California Highway Patrol was called to the scene and reported minor property damage only.

On Feb. 23, 2012, Parker visited his primary doctor in the Workers’ Compensation case where he completed an updated medical questionnaire and intentionally omitted to tell the doctor about the motor vehicle accident he was involved in nine days earlier. Parker did not return to work until late February 2013, when he returned to a different position as an office specialist due to his claimed injuries.

On March 27, 2013, Parker filed a civil lawsuit for his personal injuries sustained in the car accident in 2012. The defendant was interrogated under oath and his deposition was taken. In the civil lawsuit, he made misrepresentations stating that he had completely recovered from the injuries in the Workers’ Compensation case and that he had returned to work as a correctional officer in order to collect a financial settlement from injuries the defendant claimed he sustained in the car accident. He stated that he was released in March 2012 but did not return to work until March 2013 because the county did not have a position for him.