Hi Camellia, I have a question because you mentioned telehealth. I’ve been told that telehealth practice may become far more difficult due to them having lifted the covid exemptions, in that it may be difficult to get a DEA number and get paneled with insurance if you do not maintain a physical office location in each state you are practicing (many have been offering telehealth to multiple states throughout the pandemic). Are you able to speak to this at all or offer your thoughts? Thank you so much!
@Test Thank you for your question. First, the exemptions are expected to be formally lifted in May but when we are looking at the DEA, this restriction (as it relates to telehealth) is for controlled substances. The major point of this is patient safety. While it may seem that it will be harder to acquire a DEA without a physical office location, I believe that telehealth practice will still exist. (It existed before the pandemic). In my opinion, we just have to wait and see if it truly gets harder to acquire/maintain a DEA license and adjust accordingly. Also, psychiatry/mental health is much more than prescribing controlled substances. Telehealth also improves access to care. Therefore, while I believe that telehealth options could look differently over the next few years, it likely will not be going away, merely as a result of this change. Does this answer your question? Please let me know if you have other questions/thoughts. -Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP Thank you very much for your response, Camellia! I guess I’m just trying to anticipate what kind of opportunity will exist for telehealth practice if it remains difficult to get paneled with insurance due to the physical office requirement. It seems as though if one lives in a large state, then it would be reasonable to maintain one physical office and get paneled with insurance in that state, so you could in theory get plenty of telehealth appointments in just that one state-do you think this is a reasonable expectation? Telehealth seems really tricky in other states. Like, even if you wanted to do only non-controlled substances and psychotherapy via telehealth, then you still couldn’t get paneled with insurance without the DEA number, right? And if you were to rent an office in each state that you want to do telehealth in order to meet the DEA requirements, then don’t the “new” restrictions require you to see the patient in person every so often for controlled substances anyways? This would seem to make a true telehealth practice that includes controlled substances nearly impossible, even in one’s own state if patients are outside of a reasonable travel distance.
@@Test-zn9rs You are correct in that telehealth regulations may vary from state to state. New requirements will require in-office visits for those prescribing controlled substances. It has not been as common before now to be licensed in multiple states and practice by telehealth. This became more of a thing over the past 2 years, partly because of the lifted restrictions. I think it would be wise to prepare for any future changes by seeking telehealth opportunities at companies that have a physical office location in your state, (maybe even closer city) as I believe that practicing in other states by telehealth and prescribing controlled substances by telehealth is what will become more difficult over time. Again, we will have to wait and see with whether this makes obtaining and maintaining a DEA license any harder. I know this is not a "cut and dry" answer, but we should know more over the next few months, as many companies are having to start figuring this out now with changes coming in May. I'll try to keep you updated in real time with changes I see in practice! Feel free to email me with additional questions. -Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP Thank you very much again, Camellia! I would greatly appreciate any updates you might be able to send my way. I would happily take you up on emailing with any additional questions, and thank you-would you mind sharing your email with me so that I might do so? Thank you so much again!
@@Test-zn9rs Absolutely. Click on the "Ask Me Anything" link in the About section. Don't worry about completing questions (unless you want to) and I'll shoot you an email back. Let's stay connected. Best, Camellia D.
@Kuan Yin Thank you for your question. I absolutely did bedside nursing in various areas upon graduation with BSN- ICU, telemetry, neuro, home health, education...worked for about 9-10 years in these areas prior to psych. I worked bedside psych for ~ 2 years, partly while completing my MSN program. How about yourself? Are you currently at the bedside? A PMHNP student? Please feel free to ask other questions and hang around. :) -Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP thank you so much for your response! I'm gonna sub because you're so nice and welcoming and also because you have such great content! I am in my second semester of nursing school and just finished a rotation in psych. I loved getting to talk to the patients and getting to know them. In my med-surg clinical it was more task-oriented - taking vital signs, changing bed sheets, passing meds etc. Compared to the other students in my tasks I was very comfortable around people with mental illness, which made me feel good because I'm not as strong with the hands-on part of nursing as some of my classmates. I have great communication skills and I think I would be able to help people with mental illnesses or who are just going through difficult times in their lives. I also think it would feel very rewarding to do so. I'm considering getting a job at an in-patient facility as a tech and if I like it, going straight from ADN to BSN to PMHNP. Our psych content to was way more interesting than fluids and electrolytes lol and I would love to study it more in-depth. I found the material so interesting that I could easily see taking it all the way to a Doctorate and loving every minute of it! The NP path is appealing to me because I think I would enjoy diagnosing symptoms and prescribing meds, then keeping track of the patients see how they do on the meds and adjusting them as needed. I'm also interested in telepsych and later on in life, perhaps teaching in an academic setting.
@@emailkuanSorry for the delayed response! :) This is awesome! I too was always intrigued by psych. Great communication skills will take you a long way in this career. It has been very rewarding for me thus far. Please keep me updated on your journey! Best, Camellia D.
Hi Camellia, now that we are ‘past COVID’, how do you see the implementation of telemedicine developing? Has it been same as before and/or during the pandemic?
@WalterWheeler-xt9oe Thank you for your question, this is a great one! I have experienced that telehealth has remained a mainstream avenue for behavioral health care post-pandemic. In my opinion, the pandemic era simply demonstrated the usefulness and value of reaching more populations, which has translated to improved access to care. However, what I have seen change are the limitations that are being placed regarding specific treatment by telemedicine, i.e. controlled substances. I hope this answers your question. Please reach out with further questions. -Camellia D.
![So You Want to Be a PSYCHIATRIST [Ep. 18]](/img/n.gif)
Hi Camellia, I have a question because you mentioned telehealth. I’ve been told that telehealth practice may become far more difficult due to them having lifted the covid exemptions, in that it may be difficult to get a DEA number and get paneled with insurance if you do not maintain a physical office location in each state you are practicing (many have been offering telehealth to multiple states throughout the pandemic). Are you able to speak to this at all or offer your thoughts? Thank you so much!
@Test Thank you for your question. First, the exemptions are expected to be formally lifted in May but when we are looking at the DEA, this restriction (as it relates to telehealth) is for controlled substances. The major point of this is patient safety.
While it may seem that it will be harder to acquire a DEA without a physical office location, I believe that telehealth practice will still exist. (It existed before the pandemic). In my opinion, we just have to wait and see if it truly gets harder to acquire/maintain a DEA license and adjust accordingly. Also, psychiatry/mental health is much more than prescribing controlled substances. Telehealth also improves access to care. Therefore, while I believe that telehealth options could look differently over the next few years, it likely will not be going away, merely as a result of this change.
Does this answer your question?
Please let me know if you have other questions/thoughts.
-Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP Thank you very much for your response, Camellia! I guess I’m just trying to anticipate what kind of opportunity will exist for telehealth practice if it remains difficult to get paneled with insurance due to the physical office requirement. It seems as though if one lives in a large state, then it would be reasonable to maintain one physical office and get paneled with insurance in that state, so you could in theory get plenty of telehealth appointments in just that one state-do you think this is a reasonable expectation? Telehealth seems really tricky in other states. Like, even if you wanted to do only non-controlled substances and psychotherapy via telehealth, then you still couldn’t get paneled with insurance without the DEA number, right? And if you were to rent an office in each state that you want to do telehealth in order to meet the DEA requirements, then don’t the “new” restrictions require you to see the patient in person every so often for controlled substances anyways? This would seem to make a true telehealth practice that includes controlled substances nearly impossible, even in one’s own state if patients are outside of a reasonable travel distance.
@@Test-zn9rs You are correct in that telehealth regulations may vary from state to state. New requirements will require in-office visits for those prescribing controlled substances.
It has not been as common before now to be licensed in multiple states and practice by telehealth. This became more of a thing over the past 2 years, partly because of the lifted restrictions.
I think it would be wise to prepare for any future changes by seeking telehealth opportunities at companies that have a physical office location in your state, (maybe even closer city) as I believe that practicing in other states by telehealth and prescribing controlled substances by telehealth is what will become more difficult over time. Again, we will have to wait and see with whether this makes obtaining and maintaining a DEA license any harder.
I know this is not a "cut and dry" answer, but we should know more over the next few months, as many companies are having to start figuring this out now with changes coming in May. I'll try to keep you updated in real time with changes I see in practice! Feel free to email me with additional questions.
-Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP Thank you very much again, Camellia! I would greatly appreciate any updates you might be able to send my way. I would happily take you up on emailing with any additional questions, and thank you-would you mind sharing your email with me so that I might do so? Thank you so much again!
@@Test-zn9rs Absolutely. Click on the "Ask Me Anything" link in the About section. Don't worry about completing questions (unless you want to) and I'll shoot you an email back. Let's stay connected.
Best,
Camellia D.
Hello! Did you do bedside as a new grad or go straight into psych?
@Kuan Yin Thank you for your question. I absolutely did bedside nursing in various areas upon graduation with BSN- ICU, telemetry, neuro, home health, education...worked for about 9-10 years in these areas prior to psych. I worked bedside psych for ~ 2 years, partly while completing my MSN program.
How about yourself? Are you currently at the bedside? A PMHNP student?
Please feel free to ask other questions and hang around. :)
-Camellia D.
@@CamelliaDThePsychNP thank you so much for your response! I'm gonna sub because you're so nice and welcoming and also because you have such great content!
I am in my second semester of nursing school and just finished a rotation in psych. I loved getting to talk to the patients and getting to know them. In my med-surg clinical it was more task-oriented - taking vital signs, changing bed sheets, passing meds etc. Compared to the other students in my tasks I was very comfortable around people with mental illness, which made me feel good because I'm not as strong with the hands-on part of nursing as some of my classmates. I have great communication skills and I think I would be able to help people with mental illnesses or who are just going through difficult times in their lives. I also think it would feel very rewarding to do so. I'm considering getting a job at an in-patient facility as a tech and if I like it, going straight from ADN to BSN to PMHNP. Our psych content to was way more interesting than fluids and electrolytes lol and I would love to study it more in-depth. I found the material so interesting that I could easily see taking it all the way to a Doctorate and loving every minute of it! The NP path is appealing to me because I think I would enjoy diagnosing symptoms and prescribing meds, then keeping track of the patients see how they do on the meds and adjusting them as needed. I'm also interested in telepsych and later on in life, perhaps teaching in an academic setting.
@@emailkuanSorry for the delayed response! :) This is awesome! I too was always intrigued by psych. Great communication skills will take you a long way in this career. It has been very rewarding for me thus far. Please keep me updated on your journey!
Best,
Camellia D.
Hi Camellia, now that we are ‘past COVID’, how do you see the implementation of telemedicine developing? Has it been same as before and/or during the pandemic?
@WalterWheeler-xt9oe Thank you for your question, this is a great one! I have experienced that telehealth has remained a mainstream avenue for behavioral health care post-pandemic. In my opinion, the pandemic era simply demonstrated the usefulness and value of reaching more populations, which has translated to improved access to care. However, what I have seen change are the limitations that are being placed regarding specific treatment by telemedicine, i.e. controlled substances. I hope this answers your question. Please reach out with further questions.
-Camellia D.