Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 4.
Social Work Board Updating Rules on Electronic Practice, Sexual Intimacy, Cont Ed
The Board of Social Work Examiners is holding a public hearing to accept feedback on its proposed Rules changes, after receiving significant comments. A public hearing on proposed substantive changes will be held by the board on March 17, 2017, at 1 p.m. at the office of the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners.
The board published a Notice of Intent to amend its rules in the May 20, 2016, edition of the Louisiana Register. According to the February Register, the May notice solicited views, arguments, information, written comments and testimony. As a result the board proposes to amend numerous sections of the proposed Rules.
The substantive changes include areas of practice, including the following: “Sexual Intimacy or Contact with a Client, Supervisee or Student. A social worker shall not engage in or request sexual intimacy or contact as defined in §113.B.5, with a client, a client's spouse or former spouse, any member of the client's immediate family or with any person with whom the client has a sexual relationship. The prohibition of this rule extends to supervisees and students during such times and under such circumstances where the social worker is in a supervisory or teaching relationship. This rule also expressly prohibits social workers from engaging in any behavior which a reasonable person would find sexually stimulating, seductive or sexually demeaning when such behavior is either directed toward or exhibited in the presence of any person with whom sexual contact is otherwise prohibited by this rule.”
New Rule includes new definitions for: “Electronic Social Work Practice―use of computers (including the internet, social media, on line chat, text, and email) and other electronic means (such as smartphones, landline telephones and video technology) to:1. provide information to the public; 2. deliver social work services to clients; 3. communicate with clients; 4. manage confidential information and case records; 5. store and access information about clients; and 6. arrange payment for professional services.”
The Board is also proposing changes to Continuing Education.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 4.
The state Medical Board published changes to the Rules governing the use of telemedicine and patients who are located in Louisiana. These Rules are LAC 46:XLV .408 and Chapter 75, “Physician Licensure and Practice; Telemedicine.”
The amendments, published in the February Louisiana Register included the following:
“§408. Telemedicine Permit Qualifications, Procedure, Issuance, Expiration and Renewal A. Requirement for Permit/Qualifications. A physician who does not possess a Louisiana medical license shall not engage in the practice of medicine in this state via telemedicine, as defined in Chapter 75 of these rules, unless he or she holds a telemedicine permit issued by the board. A telemedicine permit is a limited license that provides lawful authority to a physician who does not hold a current, unrestricted Louisiana medical license to practice telemedicine with respect to patients located in this state.” And the Rules lists that the permit shall be made in a form approved by the board, and the location is that of the applicant.
The Rules lists the definition: “Telemedicine―the practice of health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, and transfer of medical data by a physician using interactive telecommunication technology that enables a physician and a patient at two locations separated by distance to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. Neither an electronic mail message between a physician and a patient, or a true consultation constitutes telemedicine for the purposes of this Part. A physician practicing by telemedicine may utilize interactive audio without the requirement of video if, after access and review of the patient’s medical records, the physician determines that he or she is able to meet the same standard of care as if the healthcare services were provided in person.”
And also, “Standard of Care. The practice of medicine by telemedicine, including the issuance of any prescription via electronic means shall be held to the same prevailing and usually accepted standards of medical practice as those in traditional (face-to-face) settings. An online, electronic or written mail message does not satisfy the standards of appropriate care.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 6.
Medicaid Enrollment Increases to 400K+
In a February 16 press release the state government officials say that Medicaid Expansion enrollment in Louisiana has reached 400,635 new members enrolled. Based on a recent Gallup report, the uninsured rate in Louisiana has decreased by nearly half to 12.5 percent in 2016, down from 21.7 percent in 2013, note the officials.
“Louisiana is ranked in the top 10 list of states with the largest reductions in uninsured rates,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “The primary goal for Medicaid expansion was to ensure that more Louisiana residents had access to health care coverage and access to health care services. This report is conclusive proof that expansion is working.”
Medicaid expansion has reduced Louisiana’s number of uninsured residents, and has offered 400,635 newly covered adults the opportunity to seek care from a primary care physician instead of in an emergency room, according to the announcement.
Statistics compiled by the Louisiana Department of Health show that more than 58,700 adults have now received at least one preventive or primary care service after getting coverage under expansion.
To track enrollment and preventive data, the Department of Health has developed a dashboard tool on its Healthy Louisiana website, http://ldh.la.gov/healthyladashboard /. The dashboard shows total enrollment, enrollment by parish, by age and gender, and lives impacted by expansion and access to health care.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 6.
At the December meeting of the state psychology board, Dr. Jesse Lambert reported that there was a coding error or error in reporting for “almost every report that was audited,” in the new continuing professional development program. Dr. Lambert reviewed about one half of the CE reports selected for auditing. He said the errors did not necessary affect fulfilling CE requirements for the licensee.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 6.
Gov. Edwards announced that Marvel selected Louisiana for production of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger television series, and started filming in New Orleans in February. Marvel is a part of the Walt Disney Company.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 10.
Former and current clinical assistants from the Neuropsychology Center of Louisiana (NCLA) presented work at the International Neuropsychology Society that met in New Orleans, February 1 through 4. The theme of the 45th annual meeting was “Binding the Past & Present to Enhance the Future.”
Traci Oliver, PsyD, presented “Systematic desensitization in a young adult with pelizaeus- merzbacher disease,” with colleagues A. Amari and K. Slifer. Dr. Oliver completed an internship at John's Hopkins/Kennedy Krieger last year and is now a post-doc in Pediatric Neuropsychology at St. Jude's in Memphis. She previously was an assistant at the NCLA.
Julia Hussey, B.S., doctoral student in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas under Daniel Allen, Ph.D., presented, “Meaningful recovery via long-term integrated care: a case study on west nile encephalitis.” Coauthor is Dr. Darylne Nemeth.
Kortney Wooten, B.S., a current Clinical and Research Assistant at The Neuropsychology Center of Louisiana, presented “Addressing the Sustained Attentional Problems of ADHD Ultra-rapid Metabolizers.” Coauthor is Dr. Darylne Nemeth.
LaJae Coleman, B.S., a current Clinical and Research Assistant at The Neuropsychology Center of Louisiana, presented and coauthored with Dr. Darylne Nemeth, Kortney Wooten, and presented, “Prenatal Opioid Abuse (POA) Causes Children’s Learning/Attentional Problems.”
Dr. Nemeth explained to the Times that mentoring young scientists is an important aspect of the work at the Center.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 16.
Professor Janna Gluzman, from Moscow State University in Russia, will present her first person experiences with the famous Alexander Luria, on April 28, 2017, in New Orleans.
The presentation is “Review of the Life and Times of Professor Alexander Luria,” to be delivered from 10 am to 12:30 pm on April 28. The presentation is to be in Conference Center of the University Medical Center New Orleans, 2000 Canal Street, New Orleans.’’
Alexander Romanovich Luria was a Soviet neuropsychologist and developmental psychologist and is known as a leader in the Cultural- Historical Psychology, a leader of the Vygotsky Circle, or the “Vygotsky-Luria Circle,” and for his Higher Cortical Functions in Man (1962) and The Working Brain in the 1970s.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 16.
The 29th Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) will be held in Boston, May 25 to 28.
Some highlights include Lila R. Gleitman, PhD, who will deliver the Fred Kavli Keynote Address, “Only When the Shoe Fits: Primitive Procedures for Vocabulary Learning.” The Presidential Symposium will be “Sense and Sensibility: How Our Bodies Do––and Don’t–– Shape Our Minds.” And the 2017 Cross-Cutting theme program will include, “The Many Flavors of Relationships.”
This theme addresses how people are living alone, working longer, and living to old age more than ever before. These changing demographics raise the importance of understanding the myriad of relationships in which people live, including family connections during early childhood, peers in late childhood and early adulthood, and professional networks in the workplace.
“Doing the Most for the Many: Psychological Scientists Who Inform Public Policies,” will gather together those experienced in public areas, including clinical, community, developmental, and social psychology experts, to discuss their experiences interacting with the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state and federal governments.
Massachusetts Representative Ruth Balser, who was the first psychologist elected to the Massachusetts Legislature, and Laurence Steinberg, whose research on and amicus brief about adolescent brain development informed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the juvenile death penalty. Also included is Patrick DeLeon, American Psychological Association
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 2.
Warning to others? by Times publisher, J. Nelson
On my office wall I have a “Demotivators Calender,” published by Despair, Inc., and for January there is a photo of a shipwreck and caption: “MISTAKES: It Could Be that the Purpose of Your Life Is Only to Serve as a Warning to Others.”
An upheaval going on in Texas gives us any number of warnings: try not to be serving on your state board when you lose a case for violating the United States Constitution; don’t write your practice act so that you wind up in a deposition trying to explain if those in AA and Weight-Watchers are practicing psychology; have some really good words on hand to differentiate psychology from psychotherapy (as futile as that is these days). The most salient warning for me is the one my father phrased, “If you see a crack it doesn’t mean you have to put your tail in it.”
Mary Louise Serafine, a PhD and attorney, was campaigning for the Texas Senate and used the term “psychologist” to describe herself on her website. This was, of course, a violation of the practice act, a misdemeanor. But, while her PhD was in education, not psychology, she did, apparently, do extensive post-doctoral work in psychology, she was on the psychology faculty at Yale and Vassar, she published in a psychology journal, and had been a member of APA for a time.
All of this still does not qualify her to call herself a “psychologist” in Texas, but calling herself a psychologist does not qualify her for the guillotine either.
In Dr. Serafine’s legal brief, we get a feeling for what she experienced: “During the campaign, the Texas Psychological Association (‘TPA’) emailed Serafine that in their opinion the sentence violated Chapter 501. She changed ‘psychologist’ to ‘educator.’
Thereafter the TPA and the Board signed formal complaints against Serafine over the use of the word and filed them with the Board. The Board issued a cease and desist order against Serafine, followed by a letter from the Attorney General threatening prosecution for Serafine’s use of the word in ‘public records.’
The TPA’s lobbyist and the Board then contacted local newspapers, informing them of the cease and desist order and demanding corrections stating that Serafine was not a psychologist. The TPA’s lobbyist phoned the same information to the office of Serafine’s opponent.”
Going for the jugular of a person who has political aspirations, has a PhD, and a law degree from Yale, suggests a group-level Trickster archetype at work. Why such a forceful reaction? Why did they not see their law’s vulnerabilities? (The judge actually mocked some sections.)
I think that perhaps in this situation it might have been some combination of the political (power) model and the natural arrogance that seems to affect some of us. Perhaps that pride that goes before the fall. (I often ask Archimedes if I am as arrogant and self-deceptive as others in the community that I complain to him about and he says simply, “All PhDs are arrogant.” This is why I call him Archimedes.)
I think we make trouble for ourselves when we embrace the political model. It has a way of clouding judgment. We seem oddly susceptible, considering we deal with the unconscious and the collective unconscious. But of course we are just as human as everyone else, and as Edith Hamilton writes, truth reveals herself only to the disinterested.
Becoming conscious of which model we are using as a community might help us. The political model is a win-lose, zero-sum game, and unfriendly to science and science’s quest for truth and innovation. In the terms of Eric Berne, these are third-level intensity games, often ending up in the courtroom. Playing them means we have to cloak ourselves in enough justification to make our actions seem reasonable even when we’re behaving with the wisdom and diplomacy of a group of flatworms.
A win-win model would be better. Win-win is not zero-sum, but a view that the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts, that new things are created as a natural result of innovation and collaboration. This would be a system where achievement is not just winning, but creation of something that benefits all. This type of approach could be friendly to science, because it is also more intellectually honest.
While I think Texas will go through a positive process in rewriting their law, it is unfortunate for them to be forced to do this in the political arena, which is not known for its high reasoning, but rather for making sausage.
If those winds of change blow this way, I hope we can set a good course for ourselves.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 16.
The Louisiana Psychological Association with hold it 69th Annual Convention and business meeting June 2 and 3, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Kenner, Louisiana.
The theme of this year’s convention is “The “The Evolving Role of Today’s Psychologist: Leveraging the science of psychology to help people, organizations and society.” Participants will have opportunities to engage with others in their specialty and subspecialty interest areas and to update their knowledge base and earn continuing professional development credits.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Two court decisions may have delivered a serious blow to the current psychology practice Act in Texas.
The Texas Sunset Commission, in a January report, recommended reforms including narrowing the definition of the practice of psychology and consolidating the state’s boards dealing with behavioral health.
Texas, like Louisiana, is working on legal fallout from the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, North Carolina v. F.T.C. In the decision, the Supreme Court found that the North Carolina dental board violated antitrust laws when they sent 47 official cease-and-desist orders to non-dentists who were offering teeth- whitening services.
A related issue emerged regarding “state-action immunity.” If a board is not supervised by the state, and if it contains “active market participants” (individuals who compete in the marketplace), then the state board does not qualify for immunity.
The issue of state oversight is being reviewed by Louisiana through a task force created by Senator Fred Mills in the 2016 legislative session. (See related story this issue.)
Texas psychology is also dealing with another blow from Serafine v. Branaman, a January 2016 judgment of the United States District Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Dr. Mary Louise Serafine, who was running for state Senate, described herself on her campaign website as an “attorney and psychologist.” The Texas psychology board ordered her to cease using the title “psychologist” and to “desist from offering or providing psychological services.” Serafine complied and then sued, on the basis of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Appeals judges found that the Texas psychology law, restricting the terms “psychological,” “psychologist,” or “psychology,” is unconstitutional as applied to political speech, and Serafine’s use of the word “psychologist” on her political campaign website.
The Appeals Court judges also found that sections of the Texas psychology law are “overbroad.” The judges wrote, “Even though the state may have the power to regulate the professional speech of psychologists incidental to a valid licensing scheme, if that scheme affects the speech of people beyond the purview of the state’s interests or power, it is overbroad.”
Serafine’s doctorate is in education and she was not licensed. However, court documents indicate that her post-doctorate was in psychology, that she was on the psychology faculty at Yale and Vassar, that she published her dissertation in a psychology journal, and that she had been a member of the American Psychological Association. She is a Yale educated attorney.
Serafine’s speech on her campaign website was not professional or commercial speech;…” the judges wrote. “…it was political speech of the highest form—a candidate seeking election to public office.” And they said, as applied to Serafine’s political speech, the section is “subject to ‘exacting scrutiny’ and must be ‘narrowly tailored to serve an overriding state interest.’”
“Though protecting mental health may be a compelling interest, the state has not narrowly tailored its laws to further that interest where it regulates outside the context of the actual practice of psychology. Serafine was not practicing psychology by speaking on her political website or filing forms for political office.”
The Texas Sunset Commission sites both the North Carolina v. F.T.C. and Serafine v. Branaman in its January 2017 report and recommends a set of actions.
One action includes transferring the state’s 10 health occupational licensing programs to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and reorganizing the regulatory boards as advisory boards. The Commission sites a modification of this would be to consolidate the five behavioral health boards, including psychology, to create the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council.
The Texas Sunset Commission also lists other decisions, including the following: 1) the elimination of the statutory authority for the psychology board to administer an oral exam; 2) removal of the statutory requirement for psychologists to earn half of their supervised work experience after receiving their PhD; 3) authorizing the board to issue remedial plans to resolve minor complaints; 4) prohibiting a board member from participating in both the investigation and resolution of a complaint; 5) allow licensed specialists in school psychology/school psychologists to practice in private schools; 6) rename licensure as a “Licensed Specialist in School Psychology” to licensure as a “School Psychologist; 7) add the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) language to statute; 8) allow psychological associates to practice independently once they meet increased requirements.
It is not clear how much of the turmoil in Texas might spread to other states, but the United States courts of appeals are considered by many to be among the more influential courts in the U.S. and Louisiana is also in the Fifth Circuit.
The Texas psychology practice act prohibits the use of three terms, “psychological,” “psychologist,” and “psychology.” This would then restrict the commonly used term, “psychological scientist.” In contrast, Louisiana’s law is less broad: “’Psychologist’ means any person licensed as a psychologist under this Chapter.”
The Appeals Court judges found that sections of 501.003 (Practice of Psychology) of the Texas practice act were “overbroad and contravene the First Amendment.”
The judges concluded that since erroneous statements are inevitable in free debate, and “In the political context, the remedy for misleading speech is ‘more speech, not enforced silence,’” and that the section under the psychology law was unconstitutional as applied to Serafine.
After analysis the judges wrote that they are not convinced by the statute’s efforts to narrow scope, and “We decline to give it an additional extra-textual limiting construction in a frantic attempt to rescue it.”
They summarized in, “The ability to provide guidance about the common problems of life— marriage, children, alcohol, health—is a foundation of human interaction and society, whether this advice be found in an almanac, at the feet of grand- parents, or in a circle of friends. There is no doubt that such speech is protected by the First Amendment.” And, “By limiting the ability of individuals to dispense personal advice about mental or emotional problems based on knowledge gleaned in a graduate class in practically any context, subsection (c) chills and prohibits protected speech. But that is precisely what the overbreadth doctrine is meant to prevent. See Free Speech Coal., 535 U.S. at 255. Section 501.003(c), and by implication, Section 501.003(b)(2), are overbroad and contravene the First Amendment.”
The Texas Psychological Association and the Texas Board appear to have both signed formal complaints against Serafine.
In a brief submitted by Serafine, she and her attorneys wrote that after she changed the word from “psychologist” to “educator,” the Texas Psychological Association (TPA) and the Texas Board signed formal complaints against her. The Board issued a cease and desist order against Serafine which was followed by a letter from the Attorney General threatening prosecution for Serafine’s use of the word in “public records.”
According to the brief, TPA’s lobbyist and the Board then contacted local newspapers, informing them of the cease and desist order and demanding corrections stating that Serafine was not a psychologist. Also according to the brief, TPA’s lobbyist phoned the same information to the office of Serafine’s opponent.
In November 2016, Texas psychology board was ordered to pay attorney fees and costs of just over $48,000 to Serafine.
A violation of the psychology practice act in Texas, as in Louisiana, is a misdemeanor.
The Great Hall at the U.S. District Court of Appeals in New Orleans. (Courtesy photo)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 4.
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions (2) in Biological Bases of Psychopathology and/or Developmental Psychopathology
The psychology department at the University of New Orleans (UNO) is seeking applicants for two full-time tenure-track faculty positions at the level of assistant professor. Recently recognized as the highest ranked PhD program at the University of New Orleans, the psychology department has a group of energetic and highly productive faculty. The Department has two strong and unique PhD programs: one in Applied Biological Psychology and one in Applied Developmental Psychology. There is a strong context of collaboration and integration across research labs, faculty, and the programs. More information on the department is available at http://www.uno.edu/cos/psychology/index.aspx.
We are particularly interested in candidates who have strong potential for externally funded research and whose area of research complements existing research programs in the department. Candidates with a developmental research emphasis or a biopsychology research emphasis studying the etiology, prevalence, onset, or trajectory of behaviors and stressors associated with childhood psychopathology are particularly encouraged to apply. Faculty have access to a turn-key biosafety certified and climate controlled chemistry laboratory that includes, a -80 freezer, biosafety cabinet, microbalances, microscope, pipettes, Millipore ultrapure water system, Biotek plate reader and washer and other equipment necessary for conducting a variety of biological assays. In addition, EEG, MRI, immunological, and molecular genetic data collection equipment are available in collaboration with other laboratories in the department, university, and with community partners.
Minimum qualifications include a PhD in psychology or closely related field. Priority will be given to applications received by March 1st, although the search will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit (a) letter of application, (b) curriculum vita, (c) research and teaching statement, (d) representative reprints, and (e) three letters of recommendation (enclosed or sent separately by the letter writers). Materials should be sent electronically as a PDF document to senelson@uno.edu or through mail to: Chair, Faculty Search Committee; Department of Psychology; 2001 Geology and Psychology Bldg.; New Orleans, LA, 70148. Informal inquiries about the position can be sent to Professor Robert Laird PhD, director of the Applied Developmental PhD program and the search committee chair, at rlaird@uno.edu.
The University of New Orleans is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Women, ethnic minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 6.
The state medical board is again looking for a new Executive Director, posting a position opening notice on December 16, 2016 for the “Executive Director– the chief executive officer of the Board.”
Qualifications are a medical degree, a background in successful administrative leadership, knowledge of state administrative procedures, ability to handle budget matters, legislative issues, licensing of applicants, interact with public and press, along with other qualifications, according to the notice.
Eric D. Torres took over the position of Executive Director for the state medical board in February 2016. Mr. Torres is an attorney by training, according to the previous announcement on the website. He had served as the Business Operations Director for the Health Promotion Unit at DHH Office of Public Health. At that time, Mr.Torres took over for Dr. Ceila Mouton who remained the Director of Investigations. Dr. Mouton had previously served in both roles.
Dr. Torres was serving as the Co-Chair of the Louisiana Commission on Prevention of Opioid Abuse.
Currently, Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, is serving as Interim Executive Director, according to documents on the board’s website.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 6.
The state medical board held a special meeting on November 3, 2016, attended by four board members, and three staff, and legal council.
The members posted one item, “General Administrative Matters: Professional Legal Services Contract; Denise M. Pilie.” After discussion the board members passed a resolution that Ms. Pilie would provide legal services related to personnel matters and report her findings within 60 days.
Denise Pilie is Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor for the Mediation Section of the Loyola College of Law Clinic & Center for Social Justice. According to information from Loyola, Ms. Pilie is a practicing mediator and arbitrator. She is admitted to the Louisiana State Courts, all Federal District Courts in Louisiana, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Professor Pilié began mediating in 1993 and has mediated and arbitrated approximately 600 claims throughout Louisiana and in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee. She is on the Commercial, Employment, Consumer and Large Complex Case Panels of the American Arbitration Association.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 2. Source pages: 6.
At the December 5, 2016 meeting of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the board members said that as long as physicians had training in the analysis of testing used to diagnosis dyslexia, he or she “may be qualified to sign off on such testing.”
The board members were asked by Laura Layden Cassidy, MD, if physicians are allowed to sign off on test results, “or must it be a psychologist.” The minutes noted:
“9. Rulings and Advisory Opinions; Physician; Scope of Practice Signing Off on Testing Results. The Board reviewed an inquiry received from Laura Layden Cassidy, M.D., asking whether physicians are allowed to sign off on test results utilized to diagnose dyslexia, ‘or must it be a psychologist’ and if so, what credentials would be needed. Following review and discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to prepare a draft for approval at the next meeting of the Board to advise Dr. Cassidy there are no limitation on the scope of practice for Louisiana licensed physicians, as long as it is within their education, training and experience. To do so would be considered unprofessional conduct by the Board, and as long as the physician has had training in the analysis of testing used to diagnose dyslexia he or she may be qualified to sign off on such testing. With respect to credentialing there may be other qualifications and/or clinical restrictions imposed by hospitals or similar institutions.”
Laura Layden Cassidy, M.D., is wife of Senator Bill Cassidy, who is also a physician and U.S. Senator, according to internet sources.
Senator Cassidy and Dr. Laura Cassidy “co- founded the Louisiana Key Academy, a public charter school focusing on children with dyslexia in East Baton Rouge and the surrounding parishes. She serves as President of the board. Laura has received multiple awards and has served on various boards in Louisiana,” according to Senator’s website.
According to Wikipedia, in 1998, Cassidy helped found the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic to provide uninsured residents of the greater Baton Rouge area with access to free health care. The Clinic provides low-income families with free dental, medical, mental health and vision care through a "virtual" approach that links patients with doctors who provide care free of charge.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.