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Irwin (Sam) Muszynksi, APA's new director of the Office of Healthcare Systems and Financing, has come home in a sense.
Muszynksi directed APA's Office of Economic Affairs for 11 years (1975 to 1986) before working in consulting and legal firms specializing in health care issues. His most recent position was founder and principal of a health care law firm serving physicians, hospitals, clinics, physician hospital organizations, and allied health care practitioners.
"In the past 12 years, I have worked exclusively on provider issues related to antitrust, managed care contracts, reimbursement with public and private payers, selection and deselection, and health care fraud and compliance," Muszynksi commented.
"A lot of my experience parallels what APA is addressing on behalf of its members. Working here gives me the opportunity to help prepare psychiatrists for the health care system of the future."
Muszynski envisions that the office will educate APA members about compliance with HCFA regulations on fraud and abuse, Medicare, managed care issues, CPT codes, and quality performance indicators.
Formerly the Office of Economic Affairs and Practice Management, the office was renamed "as part of a reorganization to broaden the scope of my office to cover health care systems and financing issues," he explained.
"Regardless of who is monitoring the health care system in five years, performance benchmarks and evidence-based standards will be driving decision making," Muszynski observed. "We also need to look at data being developed by outside organizations that would support APA's position on mandated parity."
His immediate goal is "to develop and refine existing products and services to make APA membership more valuable. For example, I plan to make the Managed Care Help Line more specific and useful."
He emphasized that "the organizing principles for my office will emanate from the strategic plan approved by the Board in July" (Psychiatric News, August 21). The Task Force on Strategic Planning presented its conclusions, recommendations, and strategies at the APA fall component meetings last month.
Muszynski, who received his law degree from George Mason University in Arlington, Va., in 1986, said he will be collaborating with APA staff on strategy regarding managed care litigation brought by APA. He plans to work closely with APA's Division of Government Relations, Office of Research, and Office of Psychiatric Services.
Muszynski belongs to the bar associations of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland and the National Health Lawyers Association. He has published and lectured extensively on legal and business subjects related to health care and the managed care health system, including provider liability and managed care contract negotiation issues.