What psychologists and psychiatrists are saying about PsyBar's on-line educational program:

"Fascinating, especially in the area of contract language."

"Very useful. I wanted to be able to write a more focused report and this helped a lot."

"Surprisingly well done."

Average course ratings (on a 5-point scale):

• 4.7 for meeting the educational objectives
• 4.6 for interesting material presented in a clear and orderly fashion

PsyBar course outline:

PsyBar developed the following advanced training materials to offer experienced psychologists and psychiatrists a common core of forensic knowledge. This three-hour Internet course includes a comprehensive 44 question multiple-choice test assessing participant's knowledge. Participants are given certificates of completion if they obtain a score of 75% or greater on the examination.


About PsyBar and the authors of training materials:

Dr. David Fisher, a licensed psychologist, is a diplomate in clinical psychology. For the past 20 years he has published the results of original research, assessed hundreds of individuals with psychological and neuropsychological problems, and lectured nationally on Independent Medical Evaluations and other medical/legal issues. Since 1995, he has been president of PsyBar, a company providing Independent Psychological/Psychiatric evaluations through 1200 doctors in 50 states. He has supervised thousands of disability evaluations nationally.

Dr. Sheridan Fenwick has a Ph.D. degree from Cornell University, a Mini-MBA in Health Care Management from St. Thomas University, and attended Yale Law School. She is PsyBar's Executive officer and Managing Partner. She has been the Director of Outpatient Mental Health at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, and clinical psychologist with the Outpatient Mental Health Department at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, the Director of Social Policy Planning for the City of Chicago, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Columbia University and the College of New Rochelle.

Linda Beckman RN CCM, CLNC, has years of experience in medicine and business from head nurse to top manager of complex disability insurance claims. She has in-depth knowledge of current standards of practice within the medical industry. She has consistently received recognition for her outstanding performance as an educator, presenter, and consultant. She has worked for Integrated Disability Resources as a Clinical Program Manager and Clinical Best Practice Leader. She heads her own company, Beckman & Associates, as a medical-legal consultant. She has worked for Hartford Life Insurance Company as a Manager, Program Consultant, and Medical Review Specialist.

Training Goal:

Teach IME (independent medical examination) doctors:

• The disability insurer's expectations
• To identify common errors when performing disability IMEs
• How to meet the expectations of the insurer in an ethical
manner.

Objectives:

Successful completion of this program enables you to:

• Identify the reasons a disability insurer requests IMEs
• Describe the role of the disability IME examiner
• Identify common errors in IME evaluation and reporting
• Describe other techniques that will help provide a useful report to the Insurer


Course Outline:

Forensic Competence


Section 1: A Foundation - Some Information
About Disability Policies

Determining disability:
Functionality and Functional Capability
Psychiatric/psychological Opinion Versus Vocational Decision
Informed Consent
Conflicts of Interest


Section 2: Writing the disability IME report

Activities of Daily Living
Substantiating Your Conclusions
Conceptualizing behavior
Documenting the sources of your information
Assigning unsupported Global Assessment of Functioning
ratings
Somatoform disorders
Discussing Limitations of Data
Common errors related to the use of psychological tests:
Terminology
Billing


Section 3: Avoiding Common IME Errors

Error #1: Confusing the needs of the disability carrier with those of other kinds of health coverage, including medical, workers' compensation, and Social Security.
Error #2: Confusing diagnosis with limitations in functioning.
Error #3: Confusing symptoms with limitations in functioning.
Error #4: Assuming the role of a treating doctor.
Error #5: Interpreting measures of personality and mood as measures of functional capability.
Error #6: Making conclusions about functional problems caused by physical illness