Years of teaming with pediatricians as a primary-care psychologist has taught W. David Driscoll, PsyD, a few tricks on how to talk to physicians: Use plain English, keep it concise and provide regular updates on a patient's treatment. Pediatricians, he says, consistently point out that many psychologists don't provide enough follow-up information on patients.
"Pediatricians care for a vast number of children and families," says Driscoll, a child and adolescent psychologist in private practice at Family Psychology Associates in Rochester, N.Y. "To allow them to keep their finger on the pulse of what's happening is so important."
Driscoll is this month's winner of APA's Innovative Practice Presidential Citation for being a "model of primary-care psychology," through his 24 years of collaborating with Rochester's community pediatricians, says APA President James H. Bray, PhD. Driscoll is also a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Following years of successful case-by-case collaboration with the six-pediatrician Elmwood Pediatric Group, the practice invited Driscoll to lease space so he and his colleagues could also see patients on-site.
"We have a booming practice, and I attribute that to our commitment to collaboration," says Driscoll, who spends breaks between patients calling and e-mailing physicians to keep them in the treatment loop.
Driscoll, who specializes in treating adolescent boys, fields referrals for patients with such problems as mood and anxiety disorders, depression, learning problems and autism spectrum disorders. He and his colleagues also help pediatricians handle mental health and behavioral problems that go beyond their expertise.
"We are the distribution box for the mental health referrals there," says Driscoll. "We don't have a specialist who helps with eating disorders, but we know who does."
—J. Chamberlin