A total of 152 members provided input to the MPS this year via the annual survey to help guide how committees, Council and staff work in the coming year.  This is somewhat less than the 168 who responded in 2021, and represents 20% of the membership.  This year’s survey arrived on the heels of another significant member survey on medical assistance in dying, which may have impacted time available to respond to the general survey.

Continuing Medical Education

Members reported almost 100 specific CME needs. Over 30 were psychopharmacology-related, or roughly a third.  The other CME topics were wide-ranging, with only a few repeated more than once, for example, substance use disorder and opiates, psychedelics and medical cannabis, treatment resistant depression, neuro-related illness, and legal issues.  Eighty-two percent of respondents indicated they would attend a psychopharmacology update.  Next most desired of the topics polled was management of psychiatric disorders in pregnant patients, followed by opiates update.

Preferred CME format was polled, with the following results:

• 22 members indicated they would be likely to attend only in person CME programs
• 22 members would be likely to attend both in person CME programs and virtual CME programs
• 97 said they would be most likely to attend virtual CME programs
• 11 were unsure what type of CME programs they would be likely to attend.

Telehealth

Since 2021, more respondents report seeing patients in person.  Sixty-seven percent of respondents are seeing patients both by telehealth and in person (compared with 55% last year), while 22% practice telehealth only (vs. 35% last year), and 11% treat patients only in person (about the same as in 2021).

This year’s survey asked about use of audio-only and audio-visual telehealth.  Eleven respondents reported using both telehealth formats, two reported using audio-only alone and 123 use audio-visual alone.  Fourteen members reported that they do not see patients via telehealth.  Of the respondents who see patients via telehealth, 10% use audio-only and 97% use audio-visual.

Legislation and Advocacy

The 2022 survey polled five priorities for legislation and advocacy.  Three were closely ranked by respondents, with Access to equitable, quality care slightly higher, followed by Scope of practice, and then Reimbursement/Parity.  Licensure requirements and Addressing Social Determinants of Health were ranked lower than the others, with about the same priority score.  While the surveys are not directly comparable, respondents this year put a lower priority on Reimbursement/Parity compared to 2021 and assigned a higher priority to Scope of practice.

Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)

Find a Psychiatrist now includes CoCM among members’ areas of interest and MPS is considering next steps in this direction.  This year’s survey asked whether respondents have experience being a consultant using the CoCM.  A quarter replied yes.  Of those without experience, 42% were interested in learning how to use the model in consulting with primary care practitioners and 24% were unsure.

Article Suggestions for The Maryland Psychiatrist

Respondents provided almost 80 excellent recommendations for articles to be published in The Maryland Psychiatrist.  Topics suggested were wide-ranging, with some focused on practice-related issues, some on history and others on news, some on profiles of psychiatrists in our state, etc.  Several noted that the publication is already a great product.  [Members interested in submitting articles to be published can email mps@mdpsych.org.]

Social Media Participation

To give context for MPS social media engagement, we surveyed regarding social media participation.  Roughly the same proportion of respondents participate vs. rarely participate vs. do not participate in social media.  Of those who do, Facebook (38%) was most common, followed by LinkedIn (28%) and then Twitter (21%), Doximity (20%), and Instagram (19%).

Satisfaction and Value

Overall, 87% of respondents are satisfied with the MPS (36% very satisfied), while 11% are neutral and 1% are unsatisfied.  These rates are similar to 2021, however more respondents were very satisfied (44%) last year.

This year, respondents indicated the member benefits that are important to them.  Influencing how psychiatry is practiced in Maryland received the highest total among the member benefits polled, followed closely by MPS News, and then legislative reports and representation with state government, and the annual membership directory.  Benefits that received a moderate response were Having a place to turn with questions, APA membership, The Maryland Psychiatrist, and the MPS listserv.  Consistent with 2021 results, Patient referrals, Connecting via MPS social media accounts, and the Online Find a Psychiatrist were important to the fewest respondents.

Concerns about Psychiatry in Maryland

One hundred fifteen concerns were expressed, representing a range of issues.  Some were voiced repeatedly, including the following which were also prominent last year:

• Quality of care provided by mid-level practitioners and scope of practice was noted most frequently
• Access to care, particularly MDs, and access to inpatient care and state beds
• Insurance reimbursement
• Increasing administrative & regulatory burdens, e.g. prior authorization
• In contrast to 2021, telehealth was rarely mentioned, possibly reflecting an expectation that it will continue.

How MPS Can Better Serve Members

Eighty-one respondents gave feedback about what they want the MPS to do in the future.  Several said keep up the good work.  Among other responses, the following were popular requests:

• Advocacy and work in the legislature
• Networking and in person events
• Working for system-wide changes in health care

In addition to these high frequency responses, there were a variety of other important suggestions.

Respondent Characteristics

• 38% private practice (vs 43% last year), of which 61% are solo, 29% academic (vs 23%), 13% private/public (vs 11%) and 13% public sector (vs 10%). Only 1% were retired compared with 6% last year.
• 14% 1-5 years of practice, 14% 6-10 years, 14% 11-20 years, 53% over 20 and 5% still in training. These demographics are similar to 2021, except fewer were in practice over 20 years.
• 75% Central Maryland, 5% DC Suburbs, 4% Western Maryland, 3% Eastern Shore, and of the rest many also indicated they are in central MD.

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