IMPOWER Doctors Receive Waiver from Florida Board of Medicine to Prescribe Controlled Substances via Telepsychiatry

Three Florida licensed medical doctors on staff at IMPOWER, a leading non-profit mental health & child well-being organization in Central Florida, have been granted a waiver from the Florida Board of Medicine regarding Rule 64B8.90.141(4) Florida Administrative Code which prohibits the prescribing of controlled substances through the use of telemedicine. M. Branch, M.D., J. Reed, M.D. and N. Kirmani, M.D. are the only mental health practitioners in the state to receive the waiver therefore making IMPOWER the only current Florida provider of telepsychiatry that can prescribe controlled substances for psychiatric care.

Statistics indicate that 1 in every 4 adults, and 1 in 5 youth ages 13 to 18 experiences a mental health illness every year. The most successful medications for these diagnoses and others are primarily stimulants which are non-narcotic controlled substances that were impacted by Rule 64B8.90.141(4) F.A.C.

In Florida and the country are facing a shortage of psychiatrists, particularly child and adolescent psychiatrists…. which is creating an accessibility crisis, says Anna Baznik, IMPOWER President & CEO. To fully address the mental health needs of the community, this shortage must be addressed and treatment and medication management accessible, especially for clients who reside in rural areas, Baznik added.

The use of telepsychiatry is widely accepted and endorsed in other states further stated Baznik. The program offers mental health and psychiatric care through a real-time, live, face-to-face, HIPPA compliant, secured video platform via the internet and successfully addresses these barriers to care. To date, the alternative virtual care option has resulted in increased patient access to services, more consistent patient services, reduction in time/costs/transportation for patients, reduction in stigma of seeing a psychiatrist and reduced absences from school/personal time.

Currently, an approximate 4,000 clients are receiving mental health services and 1,900 clients are receiving psychiatric services from IMPOWER in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard, Volusia and Polk Counties.

In September, Dr. Branch, Dr. Reed, Dr. Kirmani and IMPOWER petitioned the Florida Board of Medicine for a waiver from Rule 64B8.90.141(4) Florida Administrative Code. On October 10, 2014, Anna Baznik and Dr. Branch (IMPOWER’s Medical Director) appeared with their counsel, Anthony Iannacio, Esquire of Bush Graziano Rice & Platter, P.A., before the Florida Board of Medicine to present their Petition.

The Board granted the parties a one-year wavier from Rule 64B8.90.141(4) Florida Administrative Code and requested Ms. Baznik and Dr. Branch return in December of 2015 to report on the success of IMPOWER’s tele-medication management program, as well as to seek a permanent waiver from the Rule.

MedMal Direct Insurance Ranked on 2014 Florida Fast 100 List

Jacksonville-based MedMal Direct Insurance Company (MedMal Direct) was recognized as one of Florida’s fastest growing companies and was named to the 2014 Florida Fast 100 List as the 19th fastest growing company in the State of Florida.

MedMal Direct debuted on the 2014 Florida Fast 100 List after realizing more than 344 percent revenue growth between 2011 and 2013. The list recognizes the 100 fastest growing companies in Florida each year and is compiled using data obtained by research directors of the four Florida Business Journal markets including Jacksonville, Orlando, South Florida and Tampa Bay.

South Lake Hospital Board Chairman Susan McLean honored by Florida Hospital Association

South Lake Hospital’s longtime Board of Director Chairman Susan McLean received the 2014 Trustee of the Year Award from the Florida Hospital Association (FHA) at the Annual FHA Celebration of Achievement in Quality and Service Awards in Orlando.

The Trustee of the Year Award honors a board member of a hospital or health system who has contributed significantly to the health of the community by providing leadership and guidance to the hospital or system board. McLean was recognized for helping to shape healthcare in south Lake County for more than 30 years.

McLean joined the South Lake Hospital District Board of Trustees in March of 1988.

Recognizing her tireless efforts to support the South Lake Hospital mission, the hospital district board of trustees appointed McLean to the operating board in 2003. She immediately became the lead support in establishing and co-chaired the philanthropic campaign to build the hospital’s Centre for Women’s Health, allowing obstetrical services to return to the south Lake County community after a 20-year absence. The Centre for Women’s Health opened in 2004 and continues to provide women’s services including labor and delivery, diagnostic imaging, childbirth and breastfeed education and a new mother’s support group.

In 2007, McLean was appointed chair of the South Lake Hospital Board of Directors and retains that role today.