Join us for a live Webinar on Wednesday, November 15 from noon to 1 p.m. ET to discover the features and benefits of our online assessment tool.

The information presented is useful whether you’ve recently signed up for PARiConnect or if you’re just curious and want to learn more.

Whether you’re in private practice or part of a large organization, this interactive session will help you learn how to use PARiConnect to simplify your assessment process.

During this Webinar, you will:

• See a real-time demonstration of PARiConnect, including viewing the online assessment process from start to finish.
• Learn about the flexibility of the system, in particular the different administration options available (e.g., e-mail,  onscreen, and manual data entry).
• Find out how to manage large numbers of accounts, clinicians, and clients.
• Observe how to import and export data in large batches.

Get information on capturing the current status of inventory and reallocating uses.

Register now! Don’t miss this month’s informative Webinar.

We listened to Customer feedback and made it easier to order PARiConnect products. PARiConnect products have been integrated into their main product page, making it easier to purchase print and digital items at the same time! Simply visit the product page, click on the price list, and you can add both print and digital items to your cart easily!

PARiConnect, our online assessment platform, takes the work out of paperwork. You can easily administer, quickly score, and safely save and store assessment files online from any computer or device. Handling files and paperwork are no longer necessary.

There are even more advantages:

•When you purchase assessment products through PARiConnect, you pay no shipping and handling fees. That’s additional savings for you on top of no subscription or licensing fees.
•PARiConnect gives you immediate access to your assessment products. No more waiting for materials to arrive—you can start using your products right away!

Now it’s even easier to measure everyday memory, learning, and executive aspects of memory. The MEMRY is now available for administration and scoring via PARiConnect, our online portal.

The MEMRY is the first nationally standardized rating scale specifically designed to measure memory in children, adolescents, and young adults. It measures everyday memory, learning, and executive aspects of memory, including working memory.

It provides rapid screening for memory problems in youth, an ecologically relevant assessment of memory in everyday life, and multiple perspectives about memory capacity from different raters. The MEMRY can be used to determine whether a more comprehensive evaluation is required or as a core component of a comprehensive assessment for youth suspected of memory problems.

The MEMRY:

• Features both informant (ages 5-19 years) and self-report (ages 9-21 years) forms.
• Includes an overall score, the Everyday Memory Index (EMI), as well as scales that tap learning, daily memory, and executive/working memory and three validity scales.
• Allows clinicians to differentiate between problems caused by memory failures versus failures due to problems with working memory and attention, a common referral question.
• Appropriate for use with typically developing youth, as well as individuals with suspected memory or learning problems.
• Provides intervention recommendations based on MEMRY scores.

The MEMRY was conormed with the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™) and the Memory Validity Profile™ (MVP), providing a full suite of memory products!

Learn more about the MEMRY or the MEMRY on PARiConnect today!

This week, Richard Brummer, Senior Manager of Quality Assurance will be retiring after 12.5 years with PAR. This is the third part in a series where PAR staff share their memories and well wishes on Richard’s retirement.

Did you miss Part 1 or Part 2? Catch up now.

We will miss you, Richard!

The first time I ever met Richard was when I was doing post-hire interviews my first week at PAR. I remember walking into his office and seeing a display case with an electronic tether. I was a little intimidated. I came to find out that he was the project manager of the team that created the electronic tether. I think this may have intimidated me a little bit more, but as I got to know Richard both inside and outside of work, his wisdom, integrity, sense of humor, and caring made him stand out as both an employee and a human being. He quickly became one of my favorite people and I am sad to say that life at PAR will truly not be the same without him!

-Rebecca Gerhardstein, Senior Project Director

 

Richard has a quiet but impactful way of helping others. Beside the many Customers (internal and external) he has assisted over the years, Richard and his wife Sandi have been faithful supporters of Meals On Wheels of Tampa. As a company, PAR is an Adopt-A-Route Partner of Meals On Wheels (MOW), with staff taking turns delivering meals to the homebound in our community. Richard has been a vital part of this group of volunteers. For the first few years, he organized and managed the PAR group of volunteers, while also delivering an additional weekly MOW route with his wife Sandi. By speaking with the recipients and others, I learned he and Sandi did many other things behind the scenes to help the recipients. Such acts of kindness included visiting numerous additional times with 90+ year old recipient Dorothy, who lived alone, and continuing to visit her frequently when she moved to an assisted living facility; constructing a wooden ramp so one of the wheelchair-bound recipients could more easily access his home; and helping one of the recipients, who was a self-acknowledged hoarder, clean out her apartment. The list goes on. We will miss Richard and the many ways he has helped all of us at PAR, as well as those in our community.

-Cathy Smith, Vice President of Community Relations

 

Richard was an extremely valuable member of the PAR Team. Not just for his many contributions to our success, but also his cheery disposition and charitable heart. I will miss the delightful chats, stories, and delicious goodies from Sandi. Thank you for all that you have done for PAR!

-Vicki McFadden, Permissions Specialist

 

In the 9 years I have known Richard, he has always been such a pleasure to work with—not only great at his job but also funny and warm. My favorite memory with him is when he presented me with a framed screenshot of a certain PARiConnect screen, the wording on which he and I had debated heavily. I won the debate, and he was sweet enough to frame the results for me. Of course, the framed screenshot is still hanging on my office wall. Richard is just that type of person—caring, kind, a real friend. I will truly miss working with him.

-Erika Thompson, Manager of Production

 

Richard Brummer is one of the nicest people I have ever met and worked with. He’s so kind and thoughtful while always keeping you on your toes with his joshing. I’ll always remember when he surprised me with my “No Love Like Dog Love” mug during Christmas. I felt so special that day. His visits to my desk are going to be so missed. I hope he knows how much he is loved!

-Lauren Howland, Desktop Publisher

 

Good luck, Richard! We will miss you!

 

This week, Richard Brummer, Senior Manager of Quality Assurance will be retiring after 12.5 years with PAR. This is the second part in a series where PAR staff share their memories and well wishes on Richard’s retirement.

Did you miss Part 1? Click here.

For months, every time I walked into Richard’s office, my eyes were drawn to something strange, and I couldn’t fathom why he had it. Perched beside his monitor is a section of a tree trunk about a foot and a half in length and about six inches in diameter. Glued to this piece of wood is an assortment of brightly-colored plastic bugs. For a long time, I just thought that he really liked the outdoors and it was his alternative to a painting of a tree. I asked about it after a while, and Richard explained that one of his many responsibilities is to find errors and inconsistencies in our digital products during development. Any issue he and the team finds is logged in a central place that is used to communicate with the programmers. Issues are called ‘bugs’ in the programming world. Those bugs are recorded in a log. A bug log. This whole time, he’s had a bug log in his office.

-Amy Kovacs, Research Assistant

 

Richard Brummer brought a bottle of champagne to every meeting during the development of PARiConnect. Here, he opens that bottle in the PAR parking lot on January 2, 2013, the day of the PARiConnect launch.

For the past 12 years, Richard has been passionately committed to ensuring that all PAR products contain no errors or quality problems when they are published. And he has done an exceptional job leading this effort and achieving his objective more than 99% of the time. He has developed innovative processes and procedures to evaluate and test product quality, and has trained others to be able to meet the same standards.

Richard also led the effort to design and develop PARiConnect and ensure that it was completed and launched in early 2013. He has continued to be a very strong champion for the ongoing development and evolution of the PARiConnect platform and experience, and has spent endless hours teaching our Customers and others about it. PARiConnect would not be the same without all of the major contributions he has made to it.

-R. Bob Smith, III, PhD, Chairman and CEO

 

Richard has made so many valuable contributions to PAR over the years, particularly his tireless work to help build PARiConnect into a powerful and user-friendly platform. He also worked on a daily basis to ensure that every product published by PAR was error free. But what I’ll remember most is his commitment to doing things the right way. He has always been consistent and steadfast in his beliefs. He fought on behalf of our customers and did a great job of keeping our Customer Support department informed. For that and many other reasons, we’ll miss him dearly. Thanks for everything, Richard!

-Daniel McFadden, Manager of Customer Support

 

Richard has always inspired me to think differently about things. His Innovation Academy was an amazing course that made us really question protocol and view things in a different light. Not only did it help us, but it helped our Customers and made PAR an even better company. I’ll miss Richard’s honesty and wit as well as his almost daily visits to our department (often with treats from his wife). I hope that he truly enjoys his retirement as it is well deserved. He will be missed greatly.

-Teri Lyon, Senior Technical Support Specialist

 

Richard and the accounting staff during a company celebration.

I will miss Richard’s impromptu visits. He is one of the few employees who prefers face to face meetings and walks through the south building regularly. He is very personable and I enjoy his visits and his good nature and sense of humor. I’ll also miss Sandi’s baking. Oh, and he has been extremely helpful with our fixed asset inventories!

-Karen Clifford, Senior Accountant

Did you miss Part 1? Click here. Come back tomorrow for Part 3.

1. PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process. Assess clients when and where you wish—on-screen in your office, remotely via Internet, or by entering responses from paper-and-pencil administrations.


2. PARiConnect saves time. Instant scoring and reporting means you get immediate feedback, enabling you to spend more time with your clients and less time waiting for results.


3. PARiConnect improves accuracy. Built-in verification tools help you confirm the accuracy of data entry, so simple mistakes won’t cost you valuable interpretation time.


4. PARiConnect protects your data. Designed with HIPAA compliance in mind, you can be sure your data are secure, safe, and protected.


5. PARiConnect offers 3 FREE assessments and reports for the instruments of your choice! Register for PARiConnect today to take advantage of all this innovative online assessment platform has to offer!

Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

Join us for a free Webinar on how to make PARiConnect work for you! Whether you are new to this innovative, online assessment platform and curious as to how it can help your assessment process or if you are a current user who wants to learn more, there is something for everyone!

• New users will learn how to import client information, assess clients when and where you wish, and generate score and interpretive reports.


• Experienced users can deepen their understanding of the platform, learning how to manage inventory, reallocate uses for large multi-user accounts, and organize client groups.


• All attendees will be able to submit questions and comments throughout the Webinar so their particular concerns can be addressed.

In less than an hour, you will learn how PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process, whether you are a single practitioner in private practice or a large institution with varied assessment needs. Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

Learning WHY a student struggles in math so you can determine HOW to intervene just got easier! The FAM is a comprehensive assessment of mathematics designed to examine the underlying neurodevelopmental processes that support the acquisition of proficient math skills. It not only helps determine if an examinee has a math learning disability, but also identifies the specific subtype of dyscalculia, which better informs decisions about appropriate interventions.

With the FAM on PARiConnect, you can:

• Receive Score Reports instantly for the FAM battery and FAM Screening Form after entering scale-level data.


• Obtain brief interpretive statements available only through PARiConnect.


• Generate Reliable Change Reports to track performance after multiple administrations of the FAM.

Try the FAM on PARiConnect today!

Free 24/7 training on the FAM is available on the PAR Training Portal!

In every area imaginable, technology has paved the way for innovations that make life more convenient—from the first television, to the microwave oven, to smartphones, the list is constantly growing. And the field of mental health is no exception. People who desire to speak with a psychologist can now do so from the comfort of their homes. Telepsychology is a method of therapy that provides psychological services using technology such as telephone, e-mail, online chat, text, and videoconferencing.

Telepsychology allows more flexibility, increasing access between doctor and patient because the session isn’t limited to face-to-face visits. However, questions remain as to its legitimacy and effectiveness. In response to these questions, the American Psychological Association (APA) has prepared eight guidelines to educate psychologists and their patients regarding the opportunities and challenges to using telepsychology. The guidelines were developed by the Joint Task Force for the Development of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists, established by the following three entities: The APA, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, and the APA Insurance Trust.

The guidelines for psychologists using telepsychology are as follows:

Guideline #1: The Competence of the Psychologist – Take appropriate trainings to ensure they are competent to use the technology and that they tailor the technology to the needs of the patient.

Guideline #2: Standards of Care in the Delivery of Telepsychology Services – Ensure the same ethical and professional standards of care are followed as when providing in-person services.

Guideline #3: Informed Consent – Obtain consent, following applicable laws, regulations, and requirements that specifically address the unique concerns related to providing telepsychology services.

Guideline #4: Confidentiality of Data and Information – Protect and maintain the confidentiality of patient data and inform patients of any potential risk in loss of confidentiality due to the use of telecommunication.

Guideline #5: Security and Transmission of Data and Information – Ensure security measures are in place to protect data from unintended access or disclosure.

Guideline #6: Disposal of Data and Information and Technologies – Dispose of data and the technologies used to prevent unauthorized access and dispose data safely and appropriately.

Guideline #7: Testing and Assessment – Consider the unique limitations inherent in administering tests and assessments that are normally designed to be implemented in person.

Guideline #8: Interjurisdictional Practice – Comply with all relevant laws and regulations when providing telepsychology services across jurisdictional and international borders.

These guidelines are intended to offer the best guidance for incorporating telecommunication technology into the doctor/patient relationship. As telepsychology evolves, these guidelines can help psychologists to provide their telepsychology clients with the same level of professionalism as their in-person clients.

Do you use telepsychology in your practice? What tips can you share? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!