APA’s annual meeting app is now available. For easy downloading, just scan in the QR code at left with your smartphone and follow the directions. The app will give you 24-hour access to up-to-the-minute scientific program and event schedules, a customizable calendar and itinerary builder, maps, an exhibitor listing with interactive booth map, social media interaction, and meeting alerts. The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and some Blackberry devices, as well as a WAP application for all other Web-enabled mobile devices.

APA members are asked to identify individuals who are deserving of recognition for their professional contributions and achievements for the following 2013 APA awards. The deadline for nominations is June 1.

• John Fryer Award,  which honors an individual whose work has contributed to the improvement of the mental health of sexual minorities.

• Solomon Carter Fuller Award,  which honors a black citizen who has pioneered in an area that has significantly benefited the quality of life for black people.

• Oskar Pfister Award,  which honors an outstanding contributor in the field of psychiatry and religion.

• Kun-Po Soo Award,  which recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions toward understanding the impact and import of Asian cultural heritage in areas relevant to psychiatry.

• Alexandra Symonds Award,  which recognizes a woman psychiatrist who has made significant contributions to promoting women’s health and the advancement of women.

• George Tarjan Award,  which honors a physician who has made significant contributions to the enhancement of the integration of international medical graduates into American psychiatry.

Detailed information about the materials required for nomination and the address for submission can be accessed at www.psych.org/share/OMNA/MURawards.aspx or by contacting Alison Bondurant at abondurant@psych.org or (703) 907-8639.

Medicare fees for psychotherapy have become slightly lower, effective last month. Although Congress voted to continue the current Medicare fees through the end of 2012, it did not vote to continue paying a 5 percent bump that had been added to payment for the psychotherapy CPT codes for the past several years. If you are billing for psychotherapy, be sure to check your Medicare contractor’s Web site to learn the new fees. If you need help, call the APA Practice Management Help Line at (800) 343-4671.

Once again, APA invites you to contribute to a special program that will benefit a charity in the city hosting the annual meeting. The charity for this year’s meeting, selected by APA President John Oldham, M.D., is the Philadelphia Mental Health Center (Center City office). Its Web address is www.philamentalhealth.org/. The center’s goal is to improve social conditions by offering quality treatment and therapy to those who are affected by mental illness and find themselves without the proper resources. Donations can be made when you register for the meeting online (www.psych.org/annualmeeting). Last year’s drive raised $7,200 for Mental Health Kokua in Honolulu.

How to correctly use the CPT codes for general medical evaluation and management (E/M) of patients is the subject of a free course for APA members. E/M codes are often the most appropriate codes to use for psychiatric care and may result in better remuneration. Although medical evaluation and management is a critical part of current psychiatric practice, E/M codes remain an underused resource. The course can be accessed at www.apaeducation.org/ihtml/application/student/interface.apa/index.htm. Participants can earn up to 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.

The new deadline for paying APA membership dues is June 30. If you have not paid your dues by that date, your membership will automatically expire (unless you are enrolled in the APA scheduled payment plan). Don’t let your membership inadvertently expire! Renew online or over the phone at (888) 357-7924, or enroll in the APA Scheduled Payment Plan to pay your membership dues automatically by credit card in monthly, quarterly, biannual, or annual installments. There is no charge for participation in this plan.

APA is inviting nominations for its first minority/underrepresented group (MUR) trustee position on the Board of Trustees, to be elected in the 2013 national election. Nominations are due by June 15. The MUR trustee must be a member of one of the seven Assembly MUR caucuses and will be elected by APA members who have joined one of those caucuses. The seven caucuses represent American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; Asian Americans; blacks; Hispanics; lesbians, gays, and bisexuals; women; and international medical graduates. Members can join a caucus by going to the APA Web site and clicking on “Member Profile.” For nomination information, go to www.psych.org/Share/OMNA/Call-for-Nominations-for-the-New-APA-MUR-Board-Trustee.aspx.

APA’s Division of Education is offering free access to APA members to a new performance-in-practice (PIP) module on substance abuse screening. (Non-members must pay $399.) The module has been approved by ABPN to meet the practice assessment component (Part 4) for maintenance of certification (MOC) and offers 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Beginning in 2013, for psychiatrists applying for 2014 MOC examinations, Part 4 will require physicians to compare patient charts for five patients with published best practices, practice guidelines, or peer-based standards of care and develop a plan to improve effectiveness and efficiency of care delivery in their clinical practice. The performance-in-practice module can be accessed at www.apaeducation.org/ihtml/application/student/interface.apa/index.htm?page=catalog.

Help increase the APA international community by encouraging friends and colleagues who are practicing psychiatry internationally to join APA. As part of the international member-get-a-member recruitment campaign, psychiatrists you refer who meet APA requirements for international membership will have their application submitted for a drawing that will be held at APA’s 2012 annual meeting in Philadelphia. You and the referred new member will be eligible to win free registration for the 2013 annual meeting, free 2013 APA membership dues, or a $100 gift certificate from American Psychiatric Publishing. Visit the APA Web site for additional requirements.

Members-in-training (MITs) now have access to a free online subscription to Psychiatric Services. To activate your account, visit ps.psychiatryonline.org and use your APA member username and password. To retrieve or update your username and password, go to your account in Members Corner on APA’s Web site. This free subscription is just one of the educational benefits that APA offers you. Another valuable resource is the AJP Residents’ Journal at http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/residents_journal.aspx.