Interested Practitioners

Q: What are FasPsych's educational, licensing and registration requirements for practitioners?

A: Physicians must be licensed as an MD or DO and have completed a residency in psychiatry. Psychiatrists specializing in working with children/adolescents must have also completed a child/pediatric fellowship. Psychiatrists must hold, or be eligible to hold, at least one unrestricted DEA registration certificate. While ABPN/AOBNP board certification in psychiatry/child and adolescent psychiatry is not always required by the Placement Organization with which we contract, it is preferred.

Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must be licensed as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, or in select states, as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist. APRNs licensed as a family nurse practitioner will be considered as long as they are either (1) post-masters certified in psychiatry/mental health or (2) were certified RN in psychiatric-mental health nursing prior to becoming an APRN. APRNs must also be licensed to prescribe medication in the state(s) where they practice and must hold, or be eligible to hold, at least one unrestricted DEA registration certificate. APRNs specializing in working with children/adolescents must be post-masters certified in either pediatric or family psychiatry/mental health. While ANCC/PMHS board certification in psychiatry/mental health is not always required by the organization with which we contract, it is preferred.

Q: Are the services provided through video-teleconferencing equipment or web-based applications really as good as those provided during traditional face to face visits?

A: Research historically supports the premise that the most important predictor of patient satisfaction is whether or not they feel that a positive rapport was developed with their provider. However, there is a growing body of empirical data which show that patients who received psychiatric services via video teleconferencing technology reported equal (and in some cases better) outcomes to patients receiving psychiatric services received via traditional face-to-face visits.

Q: In what settings do FasPsych practitioners practice?

A: Telepsychiatry is utilized in many different settings including outpatient clinics, inpatient units, correctional facilities, residential programs, long term care facilities, Primary Care Physician group practices and mobile crisis teams. While we are always looking for options to expand our services, currently we serve primarily outpatient mental health centers and inpatient psychiatric units.

Q: What type of patients will I see?

A: FasPsych contracts with over 70 organizations. Approximately 90% of persons receiving services at these agencies/facilities have Medicaid benefits and approximately 10% of them have Medicare or private insurance. These organizations serve people seeking treatment for a wide variety of behavioral health concerns including serious mental illness, general mental health issues and substance use disorders.

Q: Does FasPsych provide practitioners with professional liability insurance?

A: FasPsych does carry a company policy under which all practitioners are covered. However, if you are a Psychiatric Advance Practice Registered Nurse, our carrier requires you to carry your own policy in addition to being covered under the FasPsych policy.

Q: What kind of equipment is required?

A: FasPsych will provide the video teleconferencing software to use when providing services to Placement Organizations however you are responsible for securing the other items. We recommend the following:

INTERNET CONNECTION: A broadband internet connection is required, and while most consumer internet connections have sufficient bandwidth to accommodate video conferencing, in some cases it may be necessary to upgrade the internet connection (especially if there are other devices being run on the network).

EQUIPMENT: Contractors must meet the minimum equipment requirements in order to work remotely.  Requirements include, but are not limited to the following:

• Personal Computer with Core 2 Duo or equivalent or newer OR Mac OS X or newer (please contact FasPsych before using a Mac).
  
  
• It is preferable to use a separate computer when providing telepsychiatry. While it is not a requirement, it is vital that only Contractor has access to the system being used to provide telepsychiatry.
  
  
• FasPsych discourages the use of Apple products as they require a case by case evaluation to determine compatibility with video products and the systems used by FasPsych and Placement Organizations.

OPERATING SYSTEMS (OS): Windows 7 or newer preferred; Windows XP supported on best effort basis as after April 13, 2014, Windows no longer supports XP. To ensure versions are current, systems utilizing Microsoft Windows may require updates; OS X may require various changes be made including keychain and other shell based command changes and additional changes may be required before proceeding.

Q: If I decide to work with FasPsych, will I be an employee or an independent contractor?

A: All of the psychiatrists and APRNs working with us are independent contractors therefore FasPsych withholds no taxes and practitioners are responsible for paying state and federal taxes quarterly.

Q: Will FasPsych pay my fees related to licensing, DEA registration, postage, insurance and/or equipment?

A: Every practitioner who contracts with FasPsych is an independent contractor (a 1099 worker). While independent contractors do incur work-related expenses that are not reimbursed by the company they are working with, as a 1099 worker, most of these work-related expenses are tax deductible. General information on business expenses can be found here at the IRS website. However, we recommend consulting a tax professional for more detailed information if you are unfamiliar with regulations concerning filing your return as a self-employed individual.

Q: Besides a valid license, what will I need in order to get started in a new state?

A: The DEA states practitioners must have a separate DEA registration for each state in which they will prescribe. Once FasPsych has placed you with a Placement Organization, you will be given the clinic address to list as the practice address on your new/additional registration. You can access the registration materials here. Additionally, most states require practitioners to register for either a Controlled Substance Registration (CSR) number or as a participant in a state administered Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). FasPsych staff will assist you with these processes when applicable.

Q: What if I don't like the way the Placement Organization schedules once I start?

A: Prior to placing you, FasPsych will provide you with information about the expected pace at the Placement Organization.  You may elect to decline placement if you feel the scheduling requirements will not work for you. Any variations to scheduling must be approved by the executive management staff at each Placement Organization therefore practitioners are not to directly ask clinic staff to alter the pace.

Q: I currently have a full-time position; do you have contracts requesting evening or weekend hours?

A: Currently, most of the Placement Organizations with which FasPsych contracts are open Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, and scheduling is based on the time zone in which the organization is located.  We do however contract with multiple inpatient facilities and may have opportunities for you to cover on-call contracts should you be interested.

Q: While the majority of the United States observes Daylight Savings Time (DST), several states and territories do not. If I live where DST is observed but work where it is not, how will this affect my schedule when the time changes twice a year?

A: Although there are exceptions, practitioners are expected to adjust their availability to fit the need of the Placement Organization. For example, if you start between April and November, live on the east coast and work an 8 hour day at an Arizona clinic that opens at 8:00 AM, your start time would be 11:00 AM Eastern Time and you would end at 8:00 PM Eastern. Once the time changes in November, your start time would be 10:00 AM Eastern Time and you would end at 7:00 PM Eastern Time.

Q: I travel overseas quite often, could I provide services via telepsychiatry while traveling?

A: Per federal regulation, a practitioner must be located within the United States or a United States territory if providing services to a Medicare or Medicaid patient. Currently, approximately 95 percent of the organizations with which FasPsych contracts serve this population.

Q: How much notice is needed when taking time off?

A: FasPsych provides quarterly schedules to the organizations with which we contract therefore we ask that you give 90 days' advance notice when scheduling time off for vacations. We understand that events such as doctor's appointments may come up and that illness occurs without warning therefore we ask that you provide FasPsych with as much advance notice as possible and to alert us immediately when you are ill and cannot see patients as scheduled.

Q: What is the protocol for clinical documentation?

A: Most every FasPsych contract requires the practitioner to enter notes and other clinical documentation directly into an electronic medical record, which is maintained by the Placement Organization. If services are not documented concurrently during the session, 95 percent of the organizations require it be entered within 24 hours of the service. Practitioners will not be reimbursed for time spent outside of scheduled hours documenting services.

Q: Is the technology involved in telepsychiatry HIPAA-compliant?

A: There are rules that make up the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The Security Rule governs the way healthcare or covered entities electronically process, store, transmit, or receive medical records, claims or remittances and therefore does not apply to paper-to-paper faxes, person-to-person telephone calls, video teleconferencing, and messages left on voice-mail because they did not exist in electronic form before the transmission. The Privacy Rule however mandates the protection and privacy of all health information and is therefore applicable. This rule specifically defines the authorized uses and disclosures of "individually-identifiable" health information and sets the requirements for how protected health information (PHI), in any form or medium, should be controlled. To safeguard against unauthorized disclosure of PHI, the video teleconferencing equipment, platforms and web-based applications that FasPsych recommends be used when providing clinical services employ 256 bit Advanced Encryption. Since video teleconferencing may involve the exchange of health information which is protected under HIPAA law it is important that you, as a health care provider, take precautions to prevent unauthorized third parties from being able to hear what is being said during a clinical session. Two ways to safeguard against a videoconferencing HIPAA breach are to:

1. Make sure your office door is closed during sessions so that your session is not overheard by unauthorized parties; and
   
   
2. Ensure you are the only person who initiates or receives video calls involving clinical services.

Q: How do I apply for a position with FasPsych?

A: FasPsych follows a three (3) step process:

1. Contact us either by telephone at 480-970-9097, or by filling out the form below with the requested information;
   
   
2. Once we are able to establish that you are eligible to apply for a position we will schedule you to speak with our Chief Executive Officer and/or Director of Development by phone;
   
   
3. If all parties wish to move forward after concluding this call, we will provide you with our application materials.