CPT codes for psychedelic treatment, meaningful careers, your boss is reading your social media, and more!
RWL #346
Greetings from the Last Homely House! Well, the Adventure Van is back with us. I spent almost as much on repairs as the Blue Book says it is worth, but I decided I would try to get one more year out of it. If I can, I will have been driving it for 20 years. Plus, we have had some very good news here at the LHH - we now have not one, but two daughters engaged as of last week! So I’m going to need to set aside some funds for weddings in the near future. I may be driving the Adventure Van for more than 20 years… Life is good. We are very blessed to have such a challenge.
The second round of spring flowers are out now at the LHH - peonies, columbines, and my favorite, the irises. I hope the end of spring is treating you well.
See you Sunday with a new essay. As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: WSJ, The New Rules of Success in a Post-Career World
Why: You guys know I can’t resist any article that talks about finding meaning in work. I especially liked this passage:
The people who are most fulfilled at work don’t start with how; they start with who they want to be, what they want to be doing and why they want to be doing it. In other words, they don’t just climb, they also dig. They perform what I call a “meaning audit,” doing personal archaeology to unearth the lessons of work they inherited from their parents, the values they admired in their role models and the dreams they’ve been nursing since childhood.
I just ordered his book. I’ll let you know what I think. In the meantime, check out this article.
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What: Behavioral Health Business, Psychedelics Must Be Based in ‘Traditional Psychiatric’ Care
https://bhbusiness.com/2023/05/31/psychedelics-must-be-based-in-traditional-psychiatric-care/
Why: I’ve been following the emergence of psychedelics as legitimate treatments for depression and anxiety for several years. I was skeptical at first, but the research seems to be positive. This is a good discussion of the business of developing a practice that includes psychedelics. A good point for providers thinking about this line:
“I’m not sure how anyone could build a sustainable business around a particular drug, such as ketamine,” Dr. Steve Manlove — founder of Advanced Brain and Body Clinic in Minneapolis, and Manlove Brain and Body Health in Rapid City, South Dakota — told Behavioral Health Business. “We’re not in the ketamine business, though we do a lot of ketamine treatments. Ketamine is not in our clinic’s name. … It’s simply one of the most effective medications for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD and more.”
Apparently there is a forthcoming CPT code for psychedelic therapies. I look forward to using it in my classes on coding. I wonder how many RVUs it will be worth! You know when there is money attached, that is when it is really going to blow up (good or bad).
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What: BBC, The Truman Show: Has a film ever predicted the future so accurately?
Why: Have you seen The Truman Show? It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. Haven’t seen it?
The prophetic film intricately chronicles the daily life of the eponymous clean-cut insurance salesman, Truman, who is totally unaware that his existence is the subject of a globally televised and ethically precarious show, his family and friends are actors, and the world around him is a manufactured facade. Chosen to appear from birth, Truman's life is documented with 5000 cameras placed throughout his "hometown" of Seahaven Island that broadcast his life around the clock to a loyal 1.5 billion viewership.
Of course we already had the idiotic TV series on MTV, The Real World, so it wasn’t prophetic of reality TV, but it was prophetic about the way we live our lives online today. I love the movie because of its philosophical approach to the question of how we know things, and how we know what reality is. As the article points out, it is resonant of Plato’s Cave.
Don’t read this article if you haven’t seen the movie. And if you haven’t seen the movie, go see the movie!
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Watch
What: Laura Vanderkam, How to gain control of your free time (12 min)
Why: I’ve mentioned this before, but I use Evernote throughout the week to keep track of the material I might want to share here on RWL. It’s a great service because it works on my phone, so as I’m doom scrolling, I can grab an article or video and save them for later. After I use an article, I put it in a folder called “RWL - Used”. But when I come across a piece that really resonates with me, that I might want to call up again later, I put it in the folder, “RWL - used - the best stuff”. I was working on my Being in the World essay for this past Sunday and I wound up pulling this video out of the “best stuff” folder. I didn’t wind up using it because the essay went in a slightly different direction, but I watched it again and remembered why I liked it so much. I’ll probably use it as the centerpiece of a future article, but I’ll share it again here because I think it is one of those messages that is worth pulling out from time to time.
The central question: Do you make good use of your time? How deliberate are you about your time?
Do yourself a favor and watch this.
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Listen
What: As We Work (WSJ), Your Boss Is Checking Your Social Media. It’s Not As Scary As You Think (15 min)
Why: I regularly counsel my students about reviewing their public social media. This pod has some good advice about that. Basically, it’s ok to have a social media presence, but you don’t want to come off as a bully, overly licentious, or a drunk. Other than that, it shouldn’t be any of your employer’s business. And there are upsides if you have a positive personal brand. It’s remarkable how much more public our lives are today than when I was in college.