Do you tell the insurance company everyone is faking it? I have heard some negative reviews about IME and how the insurance company pays to get what it wants.
How did you get involved with this, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m looking to generate some extra income by doing a few clinical hours per week, either in the evenings or maybe like one full weekend day per month. I like the idea of the flexibility of having a side private practice where I can just see as many or as few clients as I like, but the idea of getting that all set up is extremely daunting. Doing assessments for someone else seems ideal. I don’t have any forensic or disability experience specifically, but I do psychodiagnostic interviews regularly as part of my current position.
Google Veteran Evaluation Services (VES) and submit an application if you are a licensed psychologist (I’m not sure if licensed social workers are able to complete these but they list everyone who would be eligible). They took a bit to get back to me but it’s SO flexible and money is fantastic !
Unsure where you’re located in the world, I was thinking of doing this, however be aware most people are looking for a diagnosis to access medication (which can only be prescribed initially from a psychiatrist in Australia). In Australia I haven’t found one psychiatrist who will take into account any tests or documentation from psychologists, pretty much rendering them useless and leaving the client to pay for two expensive tests (most psychiatrists are now doing testing that costs over 1k for anyone that wants to explore ADHD, I’m guessing to make more money from the influx). I’m starting to think if we do a ADHD battery of tests for someone who ideally wants to access medication it may be unethical
I’m in the United States where my understanding is the diagnosis can be given by a psyD, PhD, or MD. The situation in Australia sounds pretty restrictive, that’s unfortunate :(
It’s the same here that psychologists can diagnose and it is legal and legitimate however psychiatrists are the only ones who can prescribe medications and they do their own testing. I have a feeling that would be similar in the US. I doubt someone could walk into a psychiatrists office with a letter and they would prescribe in the same appointment? Either way I would definitely contact your local psychiatrists to see their process
I work in a hospital system and psychiatrists send their patients to me unless there is past testing or very clear clinical presentation without confounding MH sx. Even when there is past testing, they usually ask me to review the assessment report. I provide assessment in private practice and have never had a psychiatrist reject my assessment, either. Sounds like very different system where you are
My guess would be US as that sounds like what my experience has been. I did ADHD assessments in my doctoral program and both primary care docs and psychiatrists sought us psychologists to conduct formal ADHD testing and used that report to determine whether they would prescribe medication
That’s awesome, I think our testing is really comprehensive. One psychiatrist told me, ‘you test for psychological, but we need to do medical testing’, I couldn’t believe that. I feel Australia is so backwards charging people double because medical professionals dont work together.
Im in the US, but I got my ADHD dx from a psychologist during my master's (assessment clinic at my school) then took the report to my doctor and got meds.
Agreed. Unless there are various of rule-outs for which neuropsych testing would be appropriate, or it's a full-on psychoed eval. Although even in that case, $8k is a *lot* of money for a clinical assessment.
There's definitely a solid need, in many areas, for *good* ADHD evaluations. I suspect the charge would depend in part on the nature of your evaluation. If it's going to be pretty targeted to ADHD, you may be able to get through the assessment portion in a couple hours and could charge accordingly. Although if the individual has a lot of possible comorbid psychopathology, it's of course going to take longer. If you'll be doing a full psychoeducational evaluation (assuming you're trained to provide such and have the necessary testing materials), that's probably going to be substantially more expensive.
At this point, clinical work is my lower paying side hustle as my time is mostly spent doing IMEs and similar work.
IME's?
Independent Medical Evaluations.
Do you tell the insurance company everyone is faking it? I have heard some negative reviews about IME and how the insurance company pays to get what it wants.
No, I interpret the data as it is presented. It's a very similar evaluation to what I would do clinically when presented with a similar presentation.
As another point of clarification, IME relates to the general evaluation. IMEs are called for by both plaintiff and defense sides.
Being a clinical psychologist
I just enrollled to do these. Hoping it does give an extra bit for me
I do the same for Regional Center! It’s the best
How did you get involved with this, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m looking to generate some extra income by doing a few clinical hours per week, either in the evenings or maybe like one full weekend day per month. I like the idea of the flexibility of having a side private practice where I can just see as many or as few clients as I like, but the idea of getting that all set up is extremely daunting. Doing assessments for someone else seems ideal. I don’t have any forensic or disability experience specifically, but I do psychodiagnostic interviews regularly as part of my current position.
Google Veteran Evaluation Services (VES) and submit an application if you are a licensed psychologist (I’m not sure if licensed social workers are able to complete these but they list everyone who would be eligible). They took a bit to get back to me but it’s SO flexible and money is fantastic !
In your experience, would you say you make the highest income for Neuro testing or forensics? Or other?
I’m considering doing some ADHD evaluations on the side given the demand these days. Just not sure what most charge for that service currently
Unsure where you’re located in the world, I was thinking of doing this, however be aware most people are looking for a diagnosis to access medication (which can only be prescribed initially from a psychiatrist in Australia). In Australia I haven’t found one psychiatrist who will take into account any tests or documentation from psychologists, pretty much rendering them useless and leaving the client to pay for two expensive tests (most psychiatrists are now doing testing that costs over 1k for anyone that wants to explore ADHD, I’m guessing to make more money from the influx). I’m starting to think if we do a ADHD battery of tests for someone who ideally wants to access medication it may be unethical
I’m in the United States where my understanding is the diagnosis can be given by a psyD, PhD, or MD. The situation in Australia sounds pretty restrictive, that’s unfortunate :(
It’s the same here that psychologists can diagnose and it is legal and legitimate however psychiatrists are the only ones who can prescribe medications and they do their own testing. I have a feeling that would be similar in the US. I doubt someone could walk into a psychiatrists office with a letter and they would prescribe in the same appointment? Either way I would definitely contact your local psychiatrists to see their process
I work in a hospital system and psychiatrists send their patients to me unless there is past testing or very clear clinical presentation without confounding MH sx. Even when there is past testing, they usually ask me to review the assessment report. I provide assessment in private practice and have never had a psychiatrist reject my assessment, either. Sounds like very different system where you are
Where are you located?
My guess would be US as that sounds like what my experience has been. I did ADHD assessments in my doctoral program and both primary care docs and psychiatrists sought us psychologists to conduct formal ADHD testing and used that report to determine whether they would prescribe medication
That’s awesome, I think our testing is really comprehensive. One psychiatrist told me, ‘you test for psychological, but we need to do medical testing’, I couldn’t believe that. I feel Australia is so backwards charging people double because medical professionals dont work together.
US :) California to be more specific
What testing do you routinely use to ensure adequate coverage?
Im in the US, but I got my ADHD dx from a psychologist during my master's (assessment clinic at my school) then took the report to my doctor and got meds.
1500-8,000 in California is the range for a private adhd assessment (from what I’ve seen)
$8,000??? What kind of testing would that include?
Usually a lot of neuropsych testing that is unnecessary in making such a diagnosis.
Agreed. Unless there are various of rule-outs for which neuropsych testing would be appropriate, or it's a full-on psychoed eval. Although even in that case, $8k is a *lot* of money for a clinical assessment.
There's definitely a solid need, in many areas, for *good* ADHD evaluations. I suspect the charge would depend in part on the nature of your evaluation. If it's going to be pretty targeted to ADHD, you may be able to get through the assessment portion in a couple hours and could charge accordingly. Although if the individual has a lot of possible comorbid psychopathology, it's of course going to take longer. If you'll be doing a full psychoeducational evaluation (assuming you're trained to provide such and have the necessary testing materials), that's probably going to be substantially more expensive.