News
Review of CARF Recertification Requirements
Our client recently added medication support services to their mental health service offerings and partnered with Sites Professionals to place a psychiatrist in their program. The addition of psychiatry services necessitated a review of their internal policies in preparation for CARF recertification. CARF accreditation is a service for health and human services providers that reviews and certifies their standards of care against peer-reviewed benchmarks. Sites Professionals assisted our client in developing their medication use policies and standards to meet their CARF recertification process, as well as reviewing their existing medication support practices. The result was that our client was ahead of schedule in preparing for CARF recertification, and was confident in a positive... read more
Psychiatrists Available
The current hiring crunch is real, and we understand it has had a disproportionate impact on community mental health service providers, making it difficult to deliver timely services to those in greatest need. We also know that securing psychiatrists has been a long-standing challenge.
At Sites Professionals, our mission from the beginning has been to recruit and place psychiatrists in community mental health to increase access to psychiatric care for underserved populations. We have child and adolescent psychiatrists available and ready to work in your agency. They are licensed in California and have community mental health experience. Sites Professionals provides credentialing, tech support, and much more at no cost to you. Connect with us today.
Supporting Timely Access to Psychiatric Care
Sites Professionals has been building relationships with psychiatrists for years. We specialize in placing them in positions in community mental health, where they have improved access to psychiatric care, particularly for those in underserved communities. Sites Professionals can support your agency with credentialed and matched psychiatrists to help reduce client wait times and keep you in compliance.
Call us today, we have Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrists ready to join your team.
E-Prescribing Required in California
Effective as of January 1, 2022, health care practitioners submitting prescriptions to pharmacies must do so electronically. Passed into law in 2018, assembly bill #2789 also has provisions for pharmacies handling prescriptions, with penalties for noncompliance including referral to state licensing boards for sanction. The E-Prescribing rules apply for controlled and non-controlled substances. There are a number of exemptions. We would encourage you to read the bill and seek assistance if you have specific questions:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=20...
The good news is that many Electronic Health Records systems have built-in or... read more
Planning for the future of mental health
There has never been a better time to revisit your plan for providing mental health services into the future. Three major forces - advances in technology, a shortage of available labor, and the ongoing pandemic - will be responsible for permanent changes to our industry. Flexibility, adaptability and a future-focused vision are essential to your organizations's ability to provide the best mental health services for years to come.
Sites Professionals does more than just provide adaptable psychiatric staffing solutions. We can also help your organization with nearly twenty years of experience in community mental health, with expertise in the areas of medication support process development and technology. Talk to us to find out more about how we have helped other local... read more
What is PAVE, Sign Up Now
Beginning July 1, 2021*, providers who service the Medi-Cal population will be required to use the PAVE system when submitting new applications or when making certain changes to an existing application (eg. adding a location). For various reasons, even when not creating or changing a Medi-Cal Provider application, all of the provider types listed below should enroll in the PAVE portal before this date.
Background and Acronyms
PAVE stands for Provider Application and Validation for Enrollment system. PAVE is administered by the Provider Enrollment Division (PED) of the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Providers billing Medi-Cal for services must have an approved application with PED. PAVE replaces the paper... read more
SCPS 2020 Career Day
Well, it certainly looked and sounded a lot different this year. The Southern California Psychiatric Society (Virtual) Career Day was on Saturday. The event was a reminder of how much the future depends on our willingness to continue to show up and serve our communities, especially during the most challenging of circumstances. For those in need, the need has only become more acute. For those who can be engaged in service, the involvement can provide some relief and fulfillment. It was great to be a part of a panel with so many people putting themselves out there to make a difference in the lives of others.
Here's to all the mental health workers out there! Wishing you a safe and productive holiday season.
We have a separate page with pictures from past SCPS events and... read more
New Opportunities
Thanks to the rapid adoption of telepsychiatry, as required in response to the pandemic, this year has seen an increase in opportunities for psychiatrists, patients, and mental health service agencies. The use of telepsychiatry has freed psychiatric services from the constraints of geography. The distance between patients and the best-matched psychiatrist is no longer a barrier to providing excellent services. With a valid medical license to practice in California, a psychiatrist has many new opportunities to practice in the places with greatest need. Having these choices means that finding a better match becomes more likely. A better match benefits patients and mental health service agencies alike. Telepsychiatry provides agencies the flexibility to match psychiatrists by their skills... read more
Adaptable Psychiatric Services
Mental Health Agencies: We have psychiatrists available for part-time moonlighting in community mental health. Adaptable and team oriented, our psychiatrists are vetted, credentialed and insured.
Lessons of 10 Years Spent Working From Home
My phone rings at 12:35 PM, every day Monday through Friday. It has since about 2010, when I began building my first business. I was based in Los Angeles, I had three partners in North Carolina, and we supervised development teams in Ukraine, Utah and Venezuela. I worked from home in a 1960’s-era two bedroom apartment I shared with my wife.
At first I was allowed the guest room as an office but then something incredible happened. In the midst of all the stress and uncertainty of having quit my job to found a startup - not paying myself, fretting constantly about my ability to provide for the two of us - we had twins.
I lost my office and about 4 months worth of sleep. Already in an agitated state, I started to forget lunch. Using the phone alarm as a reminder to eat... read more
Telehealth & Support
Dear Friends, Colleagues, Mental Health Professionals,
In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, most of us have experienced significant changes to how we go about our jobs. We have the great fortune of working with amazing people and we want to share some of that fortune with you. We would like to host a video conference about implementing mental health via telemedicine along with 1 or 2 experienced psychiatrists on our team. Just an open discussion of the process, what works, and how to prepare. We would like to gauge interest before we set a date. Please share and let us know if you are interested. This would be free, but invite-only.
Separately, some on our team have offered to talk with practitioners in need of support during these difficult times. Message us, and we... read more
We Are Open
March 24, 2020
Dear Members of the Mental Health Services Community,
We remain open and operational during the "Safer at Home" response to the COVID19 outbreak. We are, like many of you, conducting meetings via video and phone. The demand for psychiatric services has not diminished among those in need, and we are doing everything we can to help you meet it. Whether it's finding part time or full time psychiatric coverage, implementing telemedicine, or navigating the challenges of billing and administrative hurdles - we have experience that may be of use to you and your patients.
Thank you for all that you do.
Jeff & Nancy
2020 Wishes
Happy New Year from Sites Professionals! May you find happiness and fulfillment as you help others in the new year.
Career Fair December 2019
We had a wonderful time last Saturday at the Southern California Psychiatric Society Career Fair. Nancy and I enjoyed meeting everyone! -Jeff
Onboarding Worksheet Available (Video)
New from Sites Professionals, get our Onboarding Worksheet for Psychiatrists entering positions in community mental health.
New Video and New Positions Available
We posted a new video about our processes on the Agencies Page, check it out and let us know what you think.
We've also updated our Positions Available with the latest job openings for psychiatrists. Don't see what you're looking for? Please call us for the latest available positions!
Cheers!
Matching Psychiatrists with Community Mental Health Agencies
We posted a new video starring Jeff. At Sites Professionals, our driving passion is to help you give your clients the quality of care they deserve. We do this by matching psychiatrists with agencies doing excellent work in the field of mental health. For psychiatrists wanting to have an impact in community mental health, Sites Professionals can find you a placement anywhere from 4 to 40 hours per week and we take care of credentialing, malpractice insurance, tech support and more. For agencies, we can help you build or grow your psychiatry services with in-person,... read more
In the Helping Field: Reset Your Mindset Against Scarcity
Scarcity has been in the news lately. It is something with which most in the field of mental health are entirely familiar.
Our community faces a variety of serious challenges to the health and well-being of its citizens. Last week we learned that the homeless population in Los Angeles County grew by 12%, despite the spending of voter-approved hundreds of millions of dollars in 2018. In the same week LAUSD’s measure EE failed at the ballot. The measure would have provided desperately needed funding to local schools, but may have exacerbated the county’s housing-affordability and homelessness crisis by taxing living space. In other words, two crisis pitted against one another in competition for resources.
Like access to healthcare, access to secure housing and a quality... read more
Mechanics of Being Client-First in Community Mental Health
Being client-first in community mental health means prioritizing the needs and quality of treatment of clients above all else. This much is self-explanatory, but incorporating a client-first mindset in a community mental health setting can be complicated. In practice it goes well beyond the points of contact - scheduling, direct care, follow-up, etc - to program design, staffing, administration, IT and operations.
The intake process alone involves not just screening and identifying appropriate clients but a knowledge of your reimbursement contracts, the caseloads and training of practitioners, the composition and readiness of your support team.
The further you move from direct care, the easier it is to lose sight of what it means to be client-first. Consider some common... read more
New Positions Available - May 2019
Psychiatrists: Sites Professionals has several new positions available, ranging from 3 days per week to twice a month. Not only do we match you with a position that meets your interests and availability, we will help you navigate documentation and technology with trainings and tech support. We also provide occurrence-based malpractice insurance and take care of credentialing. More information on our "Jobs" tab.
Telepsychiatry Setup - Agency Case Study
There are many benefits to adding telepsychiatry to your community mental health service offerings. We have had the opportunity to help a few agencies build these capabilities recently. It is something we are happy to do, and thought it is worth sharing the basic steps to getting started.
- Getting buy-in from your team is the first essential step. The best way to do this is to discuss the benefits of using telepsychiatry for clients and coverage. When the psychiatrist you want on your team is not available to travel to your location, telepsychiatry makes it possible. It gives agencies more options, especially those in regions where few psychiatrists live. It also provides more options for part-time and flexible coverage. Make it part of your interview process to involve... read more
Picking up a day or two with Sites Professionals
For psychiatrists, working in community mental health is a convenient and meaningful experience. Sites Professionals makes it easy. The need for qualified psychiatric coverage in community mental health is great. Their clients are deserving and in need, yet are dramatically underserved due to social and economic factors.
For practitioners, the benefits of providing psychiatric care to this population include a longer duration of care than is found in private and hospital settings; and a support team to help with clinical and administrative tasks. Additionally, Sites Professionals can locate placements for as little as 4 hours a week up to full time, making it possible to fit into any schedule. We provide occurrence-based malpractice insurance, many placements can be conducted... read more
SCPS Career Day and New Positions Available
Thanks to everyone we met at the Southern California Psychiatric Society Career Day on 12/8. We look forward to working with you. On a related note, we have several new positions available here, in a variety of treatment settings and populations. Looking forward to a terrific new year, we wish the best to you and your loved ones.
-Nancy and Jeff
How do you provide good care in the system of mental health?
We (Nancy and I) have experienced the workings of mental health services in California from a number of angles. We have seen it from the perspective of administrators, as a practitioner (Nancy), and as vendor/consultants via Sites Professionals. Our work with Sites Professionals has only broadened our understanding of the complexities of providing good care to clients.
By interfacing with agencies, practitioners, Department of Mental Health administrators, and many others in the local mental health ecosystem we have gained a new perspective on all of the layers of services from top-level funding sources (and their objectives) down to the outcomes of individual clients. In this full-stack of care, there are many different approaches. Especially at the provider level there are... read more
Helping You Serve the Underserved
Adding a day or two to your psychiatric practice is easy with Sites Professionals. We will sit down with you to get to know your goals, interests and areas of focus, in order to identify placements that match what you're looking for. We may even have suggestions you hadn't considered.
From there our role is to make your placement a success, by any means. From credentialing and help during the on-boarding process, to continued technical and administrative support for the duration your placement.
We work with organizations attending to those in greatest need. By working with us you'll find it easier to help the underserved as a part of your practice.
Understanding Your Responsibilities in the California CURES 2.0 Program
The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, also known as CURES 2.0, comes from California’s Health and Safety Code Section 11165.1.
Effective Oct 2, 2018, all doctors, prescribing schedule II, III and IV to patients for the first time must consult the CURES system no earlier than 24 hours before prescribing (or the previous business day). They are also required to check the CURES system at least once every 4 months thereafter if the controlled substance remains part of the treatment plan of the patient.
Doctors, if you don’t already have a login, you can register at... read more
Effortless Psychiatric Placements
We have years of experience in the field of community mental health in California. Whether you are looking to add 1 day or 5 days to your practice, Sites Professionals makes working with at-risk and underserved populations a seamless and rewarding experience. We do this by vetting the agencies and practitioners we work with and carefully matching you based on your skills, experience, and requirements. When you work with us, you have our full support.
Telepsychiatry in a Nutshell
The benefits of using telepsychiatry are many. Sites Professionals will help you with everything you need to get set up in no time.
- Faster recruitment and retention of psychiatrists
- Emergency consultation
- Increased access to psychiatric care
- Improved treatment outcomes
- Environmentally friendly
- Cost effective
Flexibility Gets Top Talent
With clients waiting for medication services, are agencies being flexible enough to attract and retain top psychiatrists?
Telepsychiatry is one of the most sought-after perks for practitioners. With it, agencies can deliver medication services regardless of location and with greater adaptability to their scheduling needs. The myth is that clients don’t like it, the truth is that it opens the door to many more practitioners better-matched to your client population and increases access to psychiatric care. Similarly, many agencies would prefer to work with bilingual psychiatrists. I get it, but while waiting for the perfect match, look into implementing translation services. It is often more cost effective and it opens the door to really terrific and skilled practitioners.... read more
Sites Professionals is Different
How we are Different
There are many varieties of staffing, recruitment and locum tenens businesses out there. Most of these businesses take advantage of inefficiencies in the market by casting a wide net and failing to sufficiently vet and match mental health agencies and practitioners. They also provide little to no additional support during the placement.
Sites Professionals puts a tremendous effort into matching qualified candidates to excellent agencies. We work in partnership with practitioners and the medication support team for the duration of placements.
Partnering with Us
Think of Sites Professionals as augmenting your psychiatric practice. By working with us on a placement, you also get all the added value we provide. Finding and matching... read more