Dr. Oliver Goldsmith to Serve Second Term as Southern
California Permanente Medical Group Director
AllBusiness.com
(BW HealthWire)
Aug. 4, 1998

Oliver Goldsmith, MD, has been selected to serve a second term as Medical
Director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG).

SCPMG is a multi-specialty group practice and one of the largest self-governed
medical groups in the United States. Its 3,200 physicians provide medical care to
2.7 million Kaiser Permanente Health Plan members in Southern California.
Goldsmith oversees SCPMG physicians working at more than 100 facilities
throughout Southern California. He also serves as chairman of the Executive
Committee of the Permanente Federation, the national organization which
represents 12 regional Permanente medical groups. The groups include 15,000
Permanente physicians across the country.

"I am delighted to have the endorsement of my board of directors and the
Permanente physicians of Southern California," Goldsmith said following his
selection. "I look forward to the medical group's continued efforts to bring better
health to our Kaiser Permanente members and our communities," he continued.
"This is a time of great change in health care delivery and the 3,200 Permanente
physicians in Southern California are an important part of that process."

Prior to being appointed to his first term as medical director in 1994, Goldsmith
served as area medical director for the Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles
Medical Center from 1989 to 1993 and chief of internal medicine from 1979 to
1988. He began his career with Kaiser Permanente in 1969 as an attending
physician at the West Los Angeles Medical Center. Goldsmith received both his
undergraduate degree in English Literature and his medical degree from the
University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his internship at Wadsworth
Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles and his residency training at UCLA Medical
Center.

He is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Goldsmith is a
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los
Angeles. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of
the American College of Physician Executives. He completed the Kaiser
Permanente Executive Program at Stanford University in 1983-84 and the
Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1993. Goldsmith is married and has
two children. He and his wife, Sharon, reside in West Los Angeles.
"Physicians who participate in such a practice do not have the HMO policy to
blame ...[and
should not claim] that the policy was responsible for physicians’
not performing their required duty."
--Douglas Beech, MD
http://behavioral.kaiserpapers.org/beechy.html

Kaiser Defends Mental Health Coverage As 'team-Based'

LOS ANGELES, Apr 14 1999 (Reuters) - Kaiser Permanente, under
investigation in California for requiring psychiatrists to write drug
prescriptions for mental health patients whom they have not seen, on
Thursday defended its practice as "team-based."

The California State Department of Corporations is investigating Kaiser, the
nation's largest nonprofit health maintenance organization, after a complaint from
a psychiatrist who alleges that he was fired for refusing to write prescriptions for
patients he had not examined. "The model used in the Kaiser Permanente San
Diego department of psychiatry is a team-based approach to providing quality
mental health care services to health plan members,"
Dr. Joel Hyatt, assistant
associate medical director of Kaiser's Southern California medical group,

said in a statement.
 [See more on Dr. Joel Hyatt below.]

"We believe that some who have expressed concern about our practice are not
fully aware that our patients are very carefully screened, that this represents a
carefully structured process designed by physicians, and that all decisions ”to
examine the patient or to prescribe medication” are made by physicians," Dr. Hyatt
said.

The California department, which regulates managed care, has said that it plans to
hold an inquiry into the matter.

The complaint, filed by San Diego psychiatrist Dr.
Thomas Jensen,
alleges that, as a matter of practice,
psychiatrists are required by Kaiser to prescribe medications for
depression and anxiety on the recommendation of nonmedically qualified
personnel, such as psychotherapists, social workers and even intern
social workers, without ever examining the patients.

Dr. Hyatt said that Kaiser's new patients are carefully screened by a licensed
clinical social worker, licensed family therapist or clinical psychologist. A
psychiatrist then reviews the assessment, and, in cases where a patient is
presenting with mild depression or anxiety, the psychiatrist might prescribe a
starter dosage of appropriate medication and then personally examine the patient
in about 3 to 4 weeks. "The personnel who conduct the initial assessment are
licensed mental health professionals who work closely with the psychiatrists in their
unit. They do not prescribe independently, and do not make diagnoses or
prescribing recommendations to the psychiatrists," he said. Dr. Jensen has also
filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court in northern California, where
Kaiser has its headquarters, seeking an injunction to force the company to end the
practice.
Dr. Jensen told the Los Angeles Times that on his first day at work
with Kaiser, he was presented with cases by social workers, social work
interns and marriage and family therapists who recommended drug
treatments for patients they had diagnosed.

According to California law and the American
Psychiatric Association code of ethics, the
prescribing of drugs by a physician without "good
faith" prior examination by that physician is classed
as "unprofessional conduct."


Kaiser [Says] Ends Medication Policy May 5, 2000

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente has
ended a policy that requires psychiatrists to prescribe depression and anxiety
medications for patients they haven't examined.

Kaiser psychiatrists must now rely on their own examination of patients before
writing prescriptions, the HMO announced Tuesday.

Kaiser is the nation's largest not-for-profit HMO, serving 8 million members in 11
states and the District of Columbia. Almost 6 million of its patients are in California.

A former Kaiser psychiatrist, who said he was fired for not following the old policy,
filed a lawsuit last month that drew national attention and prompted the state
Department of Corporations to begin investigating the drug practice.

The lawsuit, filed by Dr. Thomas S. Jensen of San Diego, sought to halt Kaiser's
prescription policy, which were often delivered at the behest of social workers or
family therapists.

Critics said prescriptions from absentee psychiatrists endanger mental patients
and violate ethics codes of the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Oliver Goldsmith, medical director for Southern California Permanente
Medical Group,
said Tuesday the HMO decided to review its policy amid the
public outcry.  

"The public attention was a stimulus for us to take another look at this practice,"
Goldsmith said. ``We felt that this was a street we had to come back from."

However, Goldsmith maintained no patients were harmed by the previous
policy, which was restricted to Kaiser's psychiatric clinics in the San Diego
area. About 24,000 patients were treated there last year, he said.  
[See
more on Dr. Goldsmith below.]

Kaiser acknowledged its old policy differed from standards generally
accepted by the psychiatric community, but said the practice was
designed to allow psychiatrists to treat more patients.

Jensen's attorney, Cliff Palefsky of San Francisco, cautioned that his client would not drop the
lawsuit against Kaiser until he sees changes that are "real and complete."

Meantime, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corporations said the agency intends to
continue its investigation.
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Under investigation, Kaiser Defends San Diego Mental
Health Policies As 'team-Based'
Kaiser Drug Policy
Prompts State Inquiry
April 12, 2000
DAVAN MAHARAJ and
SHARON BERNSTEIN  
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Kaiser Permanente, the
state's biggest health
maintenance
organization, routinely
requires its psychiatrists
to prescribe psychiatric
drugs to some mental
health patients whom
they have not personally
examined, a practice that
leading experts say
endangers patients and
violates professional
codes of ethics.

State regulators are
investigating complaints that
Kaiser may be running afoul
of long-established medical
procedures by requiring
psychiatrists to prescribe
medications for depression
and anxiety at the
recommendation of
nonmedical
psychotherapists, such as
social workers and
social-work interns.

Both California law and
the American Psychiatric
Assn. code of ethics
declare that
prescribing
drugs without a "good
faith" prior examination is
unprofessional conduct.

Kaiser's little-known policy
has come under attack in a
lawsuit filed this week by a
former Kaiser psychiatrist
who was fired for refusing
to prescribe medications for
patients whom he did not
personally examine. The
physician, Dr. Thomas S.
Jensen of San Diego, has
asked a state court to halt
Kaiser's practice.

Based on complaints by
Jensen and another Kaiser
psychiatrist in Sacramento,
the state Department of
Corporations has begun
investigating the practice, a
department spokeswoman
said.

Jensen said he told state
regulators that he saw
cases where nonmedical
personnel had
recommended drugs that
could have jeopardized
patients' health.

Kaiser, which has 30 days
to answer the allegations in
Jensen's lawsuit,
acknowledged that its policy
differs from standards
generally accepted by the
psychiatric community. But
Dr. Dennis Cook,
coordinating chief of
psychiatrists for Kaiser's
Southern California
operations
, defended the
procedure, saying that it
allowed Kaiser's
psychiatrists to see more
patients by eliminating a
potentially duplicative initial
interview.

Cook said the contention
that the practice was
unethical was self-serving
on the part of psychiatrists
in private practice, who
don't know and trust the
therapists making the
recommendations, and who
stand to make money from
an extra office visit.

"We think it's very
ethical," Cook said.
He
denied that any injuries
have resulted from Kaiser's
policy.  
[See more on Dr.
Cook in middle column
of this page.] > > >

Some of the nation's top
psychiatrists, contacted by
The Times, said Kaiser's
policy of allowing
nonmedical personnel to
examine patients and
recommend drugs stopped
far short of the competent
standard of care.

Social workers, family
therapists and social-work
interns are not trained to
know the risks, benefits and
side effects of psychotropic
drugs, the experts say.

"It's not trivial to put
someone on psychotropic
medications," said Dr.
Joseph T. Coyle, chairman
of the department of
psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School. "If you
haven't evaluated the
patient when you start the
treatment,
then it's
impossible to follow the
patient and see how [he or
she] is responding to
powerful drugs that could
cause harmful side effects.

"I'm surprised that an
ethical insurer would
require such a practice,"
Coyle said. "They say
California tells what the
future is. I hope that's not
the case for the psychiatric
practice."


William Baak, a
psychiatry professor at
UC San Diego School of
Medicine, called the
HMO's policy
"outrageous."

"If that's modernity, I don't
want any part of it," Baak
said.

And
Dr. William Arroyo, a
psychiatry professor at
USC School of Medicine
and a member of the
APA's ethics committee,
said Kaiser's practice
clearly violates the
professional body's code
of ethics.

"This undermines patient
care," he said.

The state investigation and the
whistle-blower suit focus in part
on Kaiser's contention--made in
advertisements--
that
"physicians
alone manage all
aspects of care."

"At Kaiser Permanente,
medical decisions are
made by physicians in
consultation with their
patients, not by health
plan administrators,"
Kaiser states on its
Web site. The HMO's
doctors "can order any
tests, medications,
medical procedures or
referrals they need
without approval from
someone in the health
plan."...
Kaiser counselors not
only part-time, but
hours are variable and
there are no benefits
Glassdoor.com
San Diego, CA
Psych Soc Clin II/ Couns II - Per
Diem
Specialty:
Psychosocial/Psychiatry

Date: 10-4-2011
* This is a Per Diem
position, schedule may
vary according to
department needs

Basic Qualifications:
* LCSW or LMFT  license required.
* MSW or Master's degree in a related
mental health field required....
* Consults and collaborates with
other mental health / medical
professionals.
* Ability to work independently as a
member of a multi-disciplinary health
care team.

Job Overview
Scheduled Hours (1-40)         0
Shift         Variable
Working Days         Mon - Sat
Working Hours Start         7:00 am
Working Hours End         7:00 pm
Employee Group         NUHW
Job Level         Individual Contributor
Job Eligible for
Benefits         No
Dr. Dennis Cook
San Diego
Kaiser Drug Policy Prompts State Inquiry
April 12, 2000
...Both California law and the American Psychiatric Assn. code of ethics declare
that prescribing drugs without a "good faith" prior examination is unprofessional
conduct... But Dr. Dennis Cook, coordinating chief of psychiatrists for Kaiser's
Southern California operations, defended the procedure...
"We think it's very
ethical," Cook said
.

Rate MDs
11/30/05     
Misdiagnosed me. Gave me medicine for depression when I have bipolar. I have
seen 3 different doctors that say I was misdiagnosed. This doctor is dangerous.
Unfortunately he is still in practice and is the department chief.
Kaiser-Permanente

9/18/09        
I loved this doctor. He did kinda rush me during visits, but he was very helpful and
actually listened to my input when deciding on meds. I am totally bummed he is
retiring soon. Very nice person and appeared to actually care about how I was
doing
Kaiser-Permanente   
Linda Shinabarger
Thornton LCSW
Department Administrator,
Psychiatry Dept San Diego
Clinical Psychiatry and Addiction
Medicine
3420 Kenyon St
San Diego , CA - 92110

Ms. Thornton seems to have
worked closely with Dr.
Dennis Cook (who declared it
ethical for doctors to
prescribe drugs to patients
they haven't seen, but agreed
to change the policy):
Joel Hyatt
Assistant Medical Director/Population Health Care
Management
Southern California Permanente Medical Group

Joel Hyatt, MD has been SCPMG's Assistant Associate Medical Director/Clinical
Services since 1990. In that position he is responsible for the regional coordination
of Population Health Care Management, that include clinical programs, such as
preventive care, eldercare, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and HIV/AIDS. He is
also responsible for Clinical Strategic Goals planning, Ambulatory Utilization
Management, and external Value Demonstration for a region of over 3000
physicians, 12 medical centers, and 3.1 million members. Nationally,
Dr. Hyatt is a
Regional Associate and Senior Implementation Consultant with the Kaiser
Permanente Care Management Institute (CMI).

Dr. Hyatt has served as an NCQA surveyor, KP Medical Directors' Quality
Reviewer, and is a member of the Health Services Advisory Committee to the
Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), and the Executive Committee of the
California Cooperative Healthcare Reporting Initiative (CCHRI) since 1994. He is
also a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Free Clinic. Dr. Hyatt
joined SCPMG in 1979 as a family physician at the Harbor City Medical Center,
where he was Assistant Chief of Family Practice and Chaired the Ambulatory
Quality Management program. After joining regional medical group administration,
from 1990-1998, he provided region-wide coordination for all aspects of quality
assessment and improvement, total quality management,
risk management,
utilization management,
with special attention to performance measurement and
reporting and feedback to individual physicians.

Dr. Joel Hyatt received a B.S., with distinction from Stanford University
(Phi Beta Kappa) in 1972 and his M.D. from UCLA School of Medicine
(Alpha Omega Alpha) in 1976,
where he also completed his Family Medicine
Residency training in 1979. He is board certified in Family Medicine. Besides being
a member of the California Medical Association, he is a Fellow of the American
Academy of Family Physicians. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Family
Medicine at UCLA School of Medicine.
Kaiser doctors don't have the excuse that this
doctor had: he was drunk

Doctor’s License Suspended, Alcoholism Alleged
Encinitas psychiatrist reportedly prescribed wrong dosage to patients; admitted
drinking problem
By Lauren Steussy and Paul Krueger
NBC San Diego
Oct 5, 2011  

An Encinitas doctor’s license was temporarily suspended by a state judge, after
several patients and an investigator presented evidence that he was practicing
while intoxicated.

Patients allege that Dennis M. Pavlinac, a psychiatrist, wrote incorrect
prescriptions, could not remember who his patients were and had difficulty
recalling what he was doing, according to court documents.

His office assistant was often concerned about Pavlinac, and says in the
complaints that the doctor admitted to having an alcohol abuse problem several
times over the past year.

Pavlinac was also arrested in 2005 for driving under the influence.

The Medical Board of California filed a petition against Pavlinac at the end of
September. Since many of the accusers believed Pavlinac was a danger to his
patients, the board asked for an immediate suspension of his license.

Judge Robert Walker granted the suspension on September 20. Pavlinac now
awaits a hearing to determine whether his license will be permanently suspended.

NBCSanDiego contacted Pavlinac for a comment, but the call was not immediately
returned. A voicemail recording stated that he will be out on medical leave for
three weeks.

The office assistant quoted in the petition heard many complaints from patients –
for example, on August 16, Pavlinac arrived late to an appointment, but was
unable to fit the key in the door because his hands were shaking, the petition said.
A patient described Pavlinac as acting drunk. He reportedly ran into his desk and
often asked repeated questions.

The same day, Pavlinac told a patient he was sorry he missed her appointment, to
which the patient responded, “Dr. Pavlinac, I saw you yesterday. We met for 45
minutes, remember?”

Later, an investigator arrived to collect a urine sample. Pavlinac told her that he
was “having a heck of a time getting sober,” the complaint read.

Julie D'Angelo Fellmeth with the USD Center for Public Interest Law said that if the
allegations are true, there could be dire consequences.

"If a doctor prescribes the wrong dose for someone, that could be a matter of life
and death."

Fellmeth added that although the Medical Board is likely understaffed and
underfunded, delaying the suspension as long as they did was potentially
dangerous. There ought to be a more direct process for cases in which doctors
might be practicing under the influence, she said...
Currently in charge
of San Diego Kaiser
Psychiatry Dept
(2011)
Kaiser Telecare Program
for Intensive Community Support
Intensive Case Management
Exclusively for Members within a
Managed Care System

12-Month Customer Report, January to
December, 2007...

In 2007, KPFICS successfully:

Reduced inpatient hospital days
(down 967 days).

Continued to successfully transition
long-term clients to lower levels of
care
and other supports with few
program readmissions. Continued to
work with Kaiser administration to
identify those members ready to
transition.

Met Kaiser goal of 24 discharges
during the year.
 [Maura Larkins
comment:  Isn't alcoholism a lifelong
illness?]

Although higher than in 2006, KPFICS
continues to keep Sharp Mesa Vista
PHP days well under 200 per year...


Telecare would like to thank and
acknowledge
Dr. Dennis Cook, MD, EdD; and
Linda Thornton, LCSW;
Werner
Spitzfaden, LCSW; and all staff of the
Kaiser Psychiatry and Addiction
Medicine Department for their support,
partnership and contributions to the
program’s success.
Cardiology score card
Retaliation by Kaiser
Missing Medical Records
Warnings deleted from abnormal
test results
Conflicts of interest
Failure to diagnose
Employees
Cases and news
missing x-rays
Peer review
Paul Bernstein and Kaiser writers
Remediating failure to diagnose
Mary Ann Barnes
People
Kaiser executives
George Halvorson, Kaiser CEO
Profits grow as Kaiser cuts care
Blog: Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Eugene Rhee, chief of urology
Lynette Seid, CFO San Diego
X-rays (VUCG)
James G. Malone
Psychiatry
Dave Horton
Executives
Urology
Comparison San Diego  hospitals
Kaiser Permanente links
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Medical Records
US Health Insurance companies
ERISA
consent form
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Lawyers and doctors
Yvonne Hanzen
Nathaniel L. Oubré, Jr.
Behavioral Health
2005 Telecare Report
Dr. Marcia Kagnoff, EdD
Werner Spitzfaden, LCSW
Dr. Dennis Cook, MD

"We have to do what the lawyers
tell us to do."  --Dr. Marcia
Kagnoff, Ed. D. regarding
instructions she received from
Stutz Artiano Shinoff Holtz lawyer
Kelly Angell Minnehan.
See also Lying.
Kaiser Permanente San Diego
Please indicate your priorities for increasing your proficiency during the internship year
by replacing your choice of the ranking # for each item with a bold "X" ...
[Click on link at the bottom of this page.]

Kaiser Permanente San Diego
Internship Priorities Rating Form

Name ____________________________________

Please indicate your priorities for increasing your proficiency during the internship year
by replacing your choice of the ranking # for each item with a bold "X"

Assessment:                                          Low                                 High
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Populations:                                              Low                                 High
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With respect to your career goals , do your interests lie in working primarily with:
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Other considerations in my choice for a suitable internship:
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San Diego
Internship Training Program in Clinical Psychology

Welcome to the Pre-Doctoral Internship Training Program in Clinical Psychology at the
Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Care Program. We provide outpatient mental
health and chemical dependency services to health plan members throughout the San
Diego area. Our training goal is to facilitate the intern's transition from student to solidly
trained professional clinical psychologist. You will encounter a quality educational
environment that includes direct patient responsibility and a large and varied patient
base. You will also benefit from the supervision of our experienced psychologists and
multidisciplinary staff. We are a clinical psychology internship training program that is
accredited by the American Psychological Association.         

The program

Interdisciplinary training

Resources

Location and lifestyle

Stipend, benefits, and vacations

Psychology staff

Application
Fellowship and internship programs at Kaiser
Permanente in Southern California

Kaiser Permanente is among the nation's largest and most highly regarded managed
care organizations.

Medical fellowships

As a member of our fellowship program, you will learn to practice cost-effective, yet
caring medicine—an approach indispensable to providing quality health care in all
future medical settings.

We provide an up-to-date interactive resource for medical students interested in
fellowship opportunities at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. If you are
interested in any of the medical fellowship programs, please complete our response
form.

Psychology internships

As an intern, you will participate in an educational environment that includes direct
patient responsibility and a large and varied patient base. You will also benefit from
the supervision of our experienced faculty and staff.

Our Clinical Psychology Internship Training Program is designed to facilitate your
transition from student to solidly trained professional psychologist. We offer a
program that has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since
1965...
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical
Psychology
The program

The Clinical Psychology Internship Program is conducted under the Department of
Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine of Kaiser Permanente San Diego. Our program is
accredited by the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Accreditation
(750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; 202/336-5979). The program runs
for one full year, beginning at the end of August, and accepts four (4) full-time interns
per year. Interns receive training within the context of our outpatient psychiatric clinics
and services.

Outpatient psychosocial services
The patient population served is highly varied in terms of age, education,
socioeconomic level, and ethnic background. A wide range of outpatient psychosocial
services is available to members and their families, including consultation, diagnostic
evaluation, and family, group, individual, and conjoint therapy.

Department organization
The department has more than 150 clinical staff members consisting of clinical
psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, clinical social workers, and marriage,
family, and child counselors. The department is organized geographically into four
interdisciplinary teams (North, South, East, and West teams) and two centralized
services (Emergency Psychiatry Service [EPS] and Chemical Dependency Recovery
Program [CDRP]). Kaiser Foundation Hospital contracts for psychiatric inpatient care in
a community hospital, where our department psychiatrists attend and our psychologists
provide psychological evaluations as requested.

Team locations
The North Team is located in Vista, about 45 minutes from downtown San Diego. The
South Team has offices in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, within 30 minutes of
downtown. The East Team has offices in the Bostonia area of El Cajon, about 25 miles
from downtown San Diego. The West Team, the CDRP, and the department’s
administration are located in the Point Loma or Sports Arena area of San Diego. The
EPS, which provides a Crisis Team staff in the hospital emergency room, has offices in
the Point Loma building and at the Medical Center. Each team has bilingual staff to help
serve Spanish-speaking members.

Internship team assignments
The four geographically based interdisciplinary teams provide a range of general
mental health services. Each intern is assigned to a general clinical team by the
Psychology Training Committee, based on the committee’s judgment of the best fit
between the intern and the setting. Additional experiences with other teams or with
specialized programs may be arranged on an elective basis. In addition to the Clinical
Psychology Internship Program, the department provides training for social work interns.

Training goal
The goal of our Internship Program is to transition the intern from student to
professional by providing training in the roles and functions of clinical psychologists.
The program follows the Local Clinical Scientist model; the intern will make regular use
of the scientific discipline to focus meaningful questions, gather relevant data, and test
related hypotheses in the process of understanding patients and their problems. The
program employs a multi-supervisor training process, affording interns training,
supervisory and mentoring experiences with licensed staff members of varying
theoretical backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Training objectives
In support of our program's goal, our program objectives are for the intern to operate at
an appropriate level of independence in the role of professional psychologist, by the
end of the training period, with respect to:

Possessing skills to work in a multidisciplinary setting—most importantly, this includes
having professional attitudes toward the practice of psychology and related
professions, which is necessary for effective personal interaction in professional
relationships.

Being competent in psychological assessment (i.e., “intake”/initial clinical assessment).

Being competent in psycho-diagnostic assessment (i.e., “psychological testing”).

Being competent in formulating and implementing psychological intervention strategies,
with a strong emphasis on short-term models.

In order to meet these objectives, the internship program staff is pledged to provide an
intensive, well-supervised clinical experience with a diversity of mental health clients in
terms of age, gender, degree of psychological disturbance, and socioeconomic, racial,
and ethnic backgrounds. The intern will gain experience in using therapeutic modalities
for working with clients as individuals, couples, families, and groups. In the process, the
intern is exposed to a quality managed care program that uses an array of accessible,
effective, time-efficient mental health services for subscribers.

A diversified clinical experience
The Clinical Psychology Internship Program offers a diversified clinical experience that
avoids overspecialization or emphasis on one discipline or technique to the exclusion of
others. It also promotes the intern’s development of individual specialty interests
through an elective system. The program’s multiple supervisor framework enriches the
training experience and enhances learning by providing greater exposure to a variety
of disciplines, techniques, relevant issues, and interdisciplinary experiences. In
addition, although the bulk of training is provided by clinical psychologists, supervision
from other mental health disciplines is provided, and interdisciplinary collaboration is
emphasized.

Evaluations
In addition to ongoing feedback from supervisors throughout the year, formal intern
evaluation is conducted semi-annually. Interns participate in evaluating their own
progress by means of periodic self-assessments, and their input with respect to the
quality of their training experiences is also considered important and is accomplished
twice yearly.
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical
Psychology
Interdisciplinary training


There are 9 California-licensed, doctoral-level psychologists on staff in the Department
of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine who all participate in the Clinical Psychology
Internship Program. Their professional interests and orientations are wide-ranging.
This, in conjunction with the multi-supervisor training process, ensures that interns are
well-trained in group, couples, family, and individual psychotherapy, psychodiagnostics,
and neuropsychological assessment.

The staff is also committed to providing each intern a supportive, nurturing, and
collegial atmosphere. A member of our psychology staff also serves as mentor for
interns, meeting with them monthly to discuss issues related to the internship, to
postdoctoral training, and, in general, to life and work, and goals as a psychologist.

Clinical teams
During the first two weeks of training, the intern is familiarized with the department’s
various staff members and general procedures, as well as the overall philosophy of
Kaiser Permanente. After orientation the intern begins training by a primary supervisor
for one of the department’s general interdisciplinary outpatient teams. The intern will
work with this team and primary supervisor throughout the rest of the year—the primary
supervisor serving as a role model for the discipline and for interdisciplinary
collaboration. Interns receive additional supervision in psychotherapy and
psychodiagnostic evaluations from at least two other staff members.

The intern gains experience with patients with a wide variety and range of clinical
psychological problems who are seen in various modalities including individual,
couples, family, and group psychotherapy. Generally, clinical cases are obtained from
the team to which the intern is assigned. Also, interns often share responsibility for
group therapy with staff from other teams. Interns work with child, adolescent, and adult
patients—with a typical ratio being about 70 percent adult and 30 percent
child/adolescent clientele.

Intervention training includes brief as well as somewhat longer, more intensive
individual psychotherapy. Emphasis is placed on developing skills in short-term
psychotherapy. The department provides a variety of therapeutic modalities available
to patients, including group therapy, child and family therapy, marital therapy, and
emergency services. Theoretical orientations represented range from psychodynamic
to cognitive-behavioral and strategic/solution-focused.

Psychodiagnostic evaluations include adult and child personality evaluation as well as
exposure to neuropsychological assessment.

Minor rotations take place in: 1) our chemical dependency program (CDRP); 2) in the
emergency room at our main medical center; and 3) at the San Diego Family Justice
Center (a community based center providing wraparound services for victims of
domestic violence). These training experiences are considerably less intensive than the
interns' clinical training in their outpatient clinic work, and are intended to strengthen
the intern's basic clinical skills and knowledge in assessment and treatment
planning/case disposition, with respect to chemical dependency issues and acute care
services.

Electives represent 20 percent of the program’s time. An individually designed elective
permits more intensive training in individual interest areas. Possible choices include
(but are not limited to) child clinical, family treatment, strategic/solution-focused
therapy, group-class treatment, CDRP, and services to minority populations. Often
interns arrange their own electives by tapping one of the many resources available in
our comprehensive health care program.

Seminars are designed to enhance learning in psychodiagnostic evaluation and
therapeutic intervention, case conceptualization, crisis management, and a range of
specific content areas (e.g., psychopharmacology). The yearlong seminar series
relates theory and research to clinical experience and also provides a vehicle for case
presentation. A bi-weekly seminar is devoted to professional issues and ethics.

In addition to the internship didactic seminars offered by staff within the department,
interns also attend regular Department In-Service Education seminars featuring guest
speakers. The department and the Region offer various educational programs to all
staff and interns.

Collaboration among staff is an important aspect of each team's functioning, and
interns participate as full team members alongside their primary supervisors and with
other team members.
Interns take part in weekly team meetings, regular peer
review meetings, monthly psychology staff meetings and department meetings.
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical
Psychology
Resources

Each intern is provided a furnished and equipped individual office at his or her "home"
team clinic, including clerical support, all necessary office supplies and equipment, and
a desktop computer with word-processing capability, email, and Internet access.

Each clinic has one or more testing rooms, along with all needed psychological
assessment instruments. Computer-scoring software for various psychological test
instruments is available; and certain personality assessment instruments (e.g., MMPI-2)
can be used and sent to a contract agency for automated scoring and interpretive
feedback. Group rooms are available for group treatment and psychoeducational
classes.

Excellent research resources, including literature searches, library and interlibrary
loans, are provided through a medical/professional library that can be accessed by
phone, computer, or in person.

Our program’s and department's strongest resource is a diverse, talented and very
supportive professional staff.
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical Psychology
(downloaded Nov. 23, 2011)

Stipend, benefits, and vacations

Four funded positions are offered annually. The intern stipend is $27,000 for the
training year. Interns are also provided with individual medical coverage, which takes
effect on the first of the month (in most cases, September 1) following the date of hire.

Three weeks of vacation (one of which must be taken at the end of the internship year)
are given, and the offices are closed on six holidays (Labor Day, Thanksgiving,
Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day). Five days of
"sick leave" are available if needed. Interns are also granted three days of "education
time"during the year, for dissertation-related or professional development activities; and
up to three additional days for purposes of dissertation defense and post-doctoral or
professional employment interviews.
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical
Psychology
Psychology staff

Robert Awalt, PsyD
University of San Francisco, 1997
Staff psychologist, CDRP
Special services/interests: treatment of chemical dependency and other addictions;
treatment of anger management problems; interest in forensic issues
Point Loma

Alisa Duclos, PhD
University of Southern California, 2004
Staff psychologist, North Team
Special services/interests: individual psychotherapy; psycho-diagnostic and
neuro-psychological assessments.
Vista

Daniel Gizzo Jr., PhD
California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, 2001
Staff psychologist, East Team
Special services/interests: child and adolescent treatment; behavior modification;
complicated bereavement in children; psychological and neuropsychological
evaluations; clinical research
Bostonia

Catherine Jervey, PhD
University of South Carolina, 1980
Coordinating psychologist, assistant department administrator, director of CDRP
Special services/interests: treatment of chemical
dependence/addictive-compulsive behavior; personality evaluations; bilingual/bicultural
issues
Point Loma

Arthur Marsh, PhD
California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, 1990
Staff psychologist, South Team
Special services/interests: psychological assessment of children, adolescents, and
adults; individual and couples therapy; multifamily therapy
Otay Mesa

Charlie Morgan, PhD[> > >]
San Diego State University and University of California at San Diego Joint
Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, 2000
Staff psychologist, East Team
Special services/interests: neuro-psychological assessment of adults; aging
and dementia.
Bostonia



Joel Oxman, PhD
York University, Toronto, Ontario, 1981
Director of Intern Training
Staff psychologist, North Team
Special services/interests: child and adolescent evaluations and treatment; parenting
skills and behavior management; educational consultation and advocacy.
Vista

Ellen Quick, PhD
University of Pittsburgh, 1974
Staff psychologist, West Team
Special services/interests: strategic/solution-focused therapy (practice, training, and
supervision); brief treatment of anxiety disorders; personality and neuropsychological
evaluations
Point Loma

Robert Zapinsky, PhD
University of Tennessee, 1978
Staff psychologist, West Team
Special services/interests: child and adolescent evaluations and treatment, family
therapy
Point Loma
San Diego Internship Training Program in Clinical
Psychology
Application

If you have questions about the program or the application process, please contact the
training director by phone at (760) 599-2373, or by email at Joel.A.Oxman@kp.org. (If
using email, please also include a phone number for our convenience in getting back to
you.)

Application process


Application deadline is November 5. Completed applications are reviewed by the
Psychology training staff. All applicants will be notified by mid-December as to whether
or not they have been selected for interview. Interviews are conducted in January. In
early February, the internship program submits to National Matching Service (NMS) a
rank order list, which lists the applicants in order of the program's preference. NMS
makes the match results available in the latter part of February.

Requirements and restrictions

Applicants must be doctoral candidates who are formally enrolled in APA-accredited or
CPA-accredited clinical or counseling psychology graduate school programs.

Applicants must have completed at least 450 "Intervention hours" and 50 "Assessment"
hours (as defined in the AAPI), and all requirements for the doctoral degree except the
dissertation by the start of the internship; completion of the dissertation is strongly
encouraged, to assure full attention and focus on the internship experience.

Applicants need not be U.S. citizens. Kaiser Permanente is an Equal Opportunity
Employer. We encourage applications from qualified minority candidates.

As many prospective interns as possible who have submitted complete applications and
meet the program's criteria will be interviewed. Only in-person interviews are
conducted, to help assure optimal decision making, both by the applicant and the
program.

This program abides by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship
Center's recruitment and application policies. This internship site agrees to abide by
the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any
ranking-related information from any intern applicant. Please carefully review the APPIC
Match Policies found on the APPIC Web site.

Applicants to our program should register with APPIC's Internship Matching Program.
This can be done by requesting an Applicant Agreement Package from National
Matching Services, Inc. (NMS) through their Web site.

Checklist for a completed application

Applications are accepted until November 5. All materials must be received by that date
for the intern to be given full consideration.

A completed application includes the following:

APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI), which can be completed through
the APPIC Web site. (Graduate transcripts, a curriculum vitae, three letters of
recommendation are required parts of the AAPI.)

Kaiser Permanente "Internship Priorities Rating Form."
Click here to download form. Upload your completed form to your APPI online
application.
< < < More on Charlie
David Morgan
Olfactory event-related
potentials in Alzheimer's
disease
Journal of the International
Neuropsychological Society
12 November 2002

CHARLIE D.  MORGAN  and CLAIRE  
MURPHY  
San Diego State University–University
of California San Diego Joint Doctoral
Program in Clinical Psychology, San
Diego


Abstract

Areas of the brain affected in the early
stages of Alzheimer's disease are also
areas heavily involved in the
processing of olfactory information.
Olfactory event-related potentials
(OERPs) and auditory ERPs were
recorded from the Fz, Cz, and Pz
electrode sites in 12 Alzheimer's
disease (AD) patients and 12 age and
gender matched normal controls (NC)
in a single-stimulus paradigm with a
45 s inter-trial interval, using amyl
acetate as the olfactory stimulus, and
in a separate session a 500 Hz tone
as the auditory stimulus. Odor
identification (ID) was also used to
assess ability to identify odors...
Combining scores for odor
identification with olfactory P3 latency
measures resulted in a correct
classification rate of 100%. The results
strongly support the use of olfactory
measures in the assessment of AD.
(JINS, 2002, 8, 753–763.)


2007-2008 Psychology Intern,
Supervisors: Drs. Arthur
Marsh, Bob Zapinski, Charles
Morgan, & Robert A. Walt...
Kaiser Permanente, San Diego.  



BEFORE THE
www.documents.dgs.ca.
gov/oah/dds.../L2005060024.084.
doc
In the Matter of: BRANDON C.,.
Claimant,. vs. KERN REGIONAL
CENTER,. Service Agency. OAH
No. L 2005060024. DECISION.
This matter was heard by Mark E.
Harman ...
Based on his teachers'
recommendations, Claimant was
referred to Charlie D. Morgan, Ph.
D., a clinical psychologist for
Kaiser Permanente, who
conducted a ...



SEIU Threatens To
Dissolve CKPU
December 8, 2009

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente
Unions is the group of unions that,
along with KP management, make up
the Labor-Management Partnership
which was so instrumental in bringing
KP up out of the ashes of the strikes in
the late 1980's. SEIU is evidently so
afraid of losing its monopoly position
within KP that they are threatening to
sunder the entire coalition, rather than
to admit NUHW as a member in that
coalition...
One of the members of the SoCal KP
units wrote a letter to the Executive
Director of the CKPU regarding SEIU's
threat...

Mr. August,

I am a Kaiser employee,
Clinical Psychologist, and
currently a UHW member. I
have been very involved in
LMP as a UBT member both
locally and regionally, LMP co-
lead, and trained LMP
facilitator, and highly value
the LMP process. I received
your statement today from the
CKPU regarding membership
to CKPU and participation in
LMP.

Firstly let me say that I have
always respected your work
with Kaiser and LMP. You
have done wonderful things
in the past to bring
employees and managers
together to discuss ways to
make Kaiser the best place it
can be for our health plan
members and for employees.

Today however I am very
disappointed with your
statement and decision. I
certainly do understand that
Andy Stern is the head of
CKPU and you are under his
employ, and as such are in a
difficult position to follow his
demands or lose your job.

You should know that we as
members ARE supporting
NUHW and WILL win our
decertification vote because
we have been very
disappointed with the
direction Andy Stern and the
UHW trustees have taken our
union and do not agree with
their policies, corporate
unionism, and back-door
deals with management.

I am very disturbed that you
do not support our members'
right to determine which
union we want to represent
us. You are threatening that if
we choose NUHW through a
federal legal process,
exercising our rights, that you
will not allow us to be part of
CKPU or LMP.

Is not a union made up of it
members and members
voices? Is not unionism a
democratic process where we
as members have a right to
take their union in the
direction we feel is best for
us and for those we serve?
Does not LMP consist of
union members (no matter
which union) working
together with management for
the good of all?

I just don't understand how
banning NUHW from
participation does anyone any
good. It does not benefit
CKPU, LMP, Kaiser, or any of
the other unions in the
coalition. It is simply one more
of Mr. Stern's scare tactics to
not lose his union members.

As of today I have lost all
respect for you and see now
that you are simply a puppet
in Mr. Stern's hands to
manipulate and carry out his
agenda within Kaiser. I don't
think you understand that you
are dealing with intelligent,
highly educated professionals
within these three
professional bargaining units,
who are not going to be
fooled by SEIU (and now
CKPU) propaganda and will
not fall to your threats.

Charlie Morgan, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Kaiser Permanente San Diego
ROBERT N. SCHANNON, MD
Chief of Psychiatry
Department San Diego
Med. School:
Albany Medical College,
Albany Ny 12208
Grad. Year: 1973
Asst. Clinical Professor UCSD
Video clip of fictional psychiatrist with
superficial similarities to Dr. Robert
Schannon, but not directly based on
Dr. Schannon.
Formerly in charge:
Marcia Kagnoff
San Diego Education Report
SDER
San Diego
Education Report
SDER
SDER
SDER
October 6, 2013
Patients who were harmed can join class action suit against
Kaiser Permanente

On October 2, 2013 a class action suit was filed in Alameda County, California
- alleging denial of timely and/or appropriate care.

Filed by Siegel, Lewitter, Malkani of Oakland, California
Contact Information: Latika Malkani
Phone Number: 510-452-5000
1939 Harrison Street, Suite 307
Oakland, California 94612

California Class Action Case RG13697775
Filing found here for your viewing:
http://legalstuff.kaiserpapers.org/pdfs/Futterman-v-KFHP.pdf

[The complaint is interesting reading, discussing the investigation of the California
Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC).]

This suit consists of all current and former Kaiser members who have either been
denied access to mental health services, dissuaded from pursuing mental health
services, provided with delayed access to mental health services and/or provided
with inaccurate and confusing information from Kaiser regarding mental health
services available to them from October 2, 2009 to the present.

(Violations of Business and Professions Code, Section 17200 et seq., Violations of
the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing,
Breach of Contract)

--Vickie Travis
http://kaiserpapers.org
Sex conviction for
leading doctor
May 30, 2012
Kathy Robertson
Sacramento Business Journal

Dr. Stephen Melcher,
a
former South
Sacramento
psychiatrist with
Kaiser Permanente
and former president
of the Sacramento-
Sierra Valley Medical
Society,
has been sentenced
to 365 days in jail following
conviction for a felony sexual act
with a minor.

He is currently in custody,
said Shelly Orio, a
spokeswoman for the
Sacramento County District
Attorney.

Melcher was arrested in
December and pleaded no
contest April 3 to a lewd and
lascivious act upon a child
under the age of 14. He was
sentenced on Friday.

The charge stems from
events following a dinner
party at Melcher’s home on
October 7, according to court
records filed by the Medical
Board of California, which is
pursuing disciplinary action
against the doctor. Melcher
fondled an 11-year-old boy
while the two were watching
television, the board
document says. The boy’s
relationship with Melcher was
not disclosed.

The doctor is no longer with
Kaiser, senior vice president
and area manager Patricia
Rodriguez said in a
statement.

“The charges against Dr.
Melcher relate to an incident
that occurred in a social
situation outside Kaiser
Permanente and his medical
practice,” she said.