Two years of activity on the Tennessee Professional Screening Questionnaire (TN-PSQ) have shown the online mental health screening tool is helping to address the “parallel pandemic” affecting Tennessee health professionals in the era of COVID.
This is according to TMF Health Quality Institute leaders, who say data and user comments appear to confirm that the new resource is reaching its intended population and goals. More than 400 health professionals served by the TMF have utilized the site since it was launched in February 2020 as a proactive way to address rising mental health referrals to its Physician’s Health Program.
The TN-PSQ is a free, confidential, interactive online mental health screening tool based on the PHQ-9 questionnaire — a widely-accepted vehicle for self-assessment of common mental disorders; it offers a response from, and optional anonymous interaction with, a licensed mental health professional for further assistance and connection to nearby mental health resources. The resource is separate and apart from the TMF, and its users are unknown to the TMF unless they contact the Foundation and reveal they have taken the screening.
Its target audience is health professionals who may not contact the TMF Physician’s Health Program directly; the goal is to reach them before a mental health condition leads to more serious problems affecting patient safety and/or resulting in a referral to the TMF or action by an employer or state licensing board.
Click here for more information about the TN-PSQ.
To take the screening, click here.
Dr. Baron obtained his MD and MPH degrees from Tulane University. He completed his Anesthesiology residency at Washington University in St Louis and his Psychiatry residency at Vanderbilt University. He is board certified in Anesthesiology, Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Baron was appointed to the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (BME) in 2010 and
reappointed in 2015. He helped write Tennessee Department of Health rules pertaining to the treatment of pain, prescribing controlled substances, and Office-Based Opioid Treatment. He also served on two workgroups for the Federation of State Medical Boards: Physician Sexual Misconduct, and Physician Illness and Impairment. Dr. Baron resigned from the Tennessee BME in January 2017 to accept the Medical Director position of the Tennessee Medical Foundation- Physician’s Health Program.
In 2006, Dr. Baron published original research showing that high dose opioids increased chronic pain scores. In 2023 he helped write two book chapters: “Fitness for Duty” for the Encyclopedia for Neurological Disorders and “Supporting Patients Working in Safety Sensitive Occupations” for the 4th Edition of the ASAM Criteria. Dr. Baron was installed as president of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs (FSPHP) in May 2024.
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