Join us Wednesday, April 24 at 3:00pm ET for PART II of our live, interactive tweetchat with Linda Girgis, MD, on the current status of mental healthcare in the United States. Check out our recap of PART I. Topics to be discussed are subject to change but will likely include:

  • How the public can be better educated on how to address emergency situations among patients with mental disorders
  • Why some feel that mental illness is often treated as less important than physical illness and how that thinking can be changed
  • How to address patients who aren’t willing to accept that they might have a mental disorder
  • Why health insurance companies differentiate mental health disorders from others and how that mentality can be changed
  • What primary can providers and others can do to help when a patient who needs specialized care from a psychiatrist and/or psychologist is left waiting for months
  • What steps must be taken on the state and/or national levels to increase access to mental healthcare
  • How to increase psychiatrist/psychologist numbers
  • How to get psychiatrists to accept more insurance types again
  • More…

How to Join the Chat

  1. Log into your Twitter account. Don’t have an account? Where have you been?! Just kidding, we don’t judge, but you should get one! It’s easy to create, and free. You’ll be glad you did.
  2. A couple minutes before 3:00pm ET on April 24, Search Twitter (top right of every Twitter page) for #PWChat.
  3. On the search results page, click Latest at the top left. This will show you all the latest tweets using the #PWChat hashtag. The page will automatically update every couple minutes, letting you know how many new tweets there are using the #PWChat hashtag.
  4. Answer questions, reply to other’s comments, or make a comment of your own as much and as often as you like. Just make sure to leave room in include #PWChat to make sure what you tweet is included in the chat. Otherwise, it won’t be seen.
  5. While you’re at it, be sure to follow @physicianswkly and @DrLindaMD!


About Dr. Girgis

Dr. Linda Girgis MD, FAAFP is a family physician who treats patients in South River, New Jersey and its surrounding communities. She holds board certification from the American Board of Family Medicine and is affiliated with both St. Peter’s University Hospital and Raritan Bay Hospital. Dr. Girgis also collaborates closely with several universities and medical schools where she teaches medical students and residents.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Dr. Girgis attended the St. George’s University School of Medicine and successfully her medical degree. She went on to complete her internship and residency at Sacred Heart Hospital, a program affiliated with Temple University. During this time, she was recognized as intern of the year by the faculty. Over the course of her practice, Dr. Girgis has continued to earn awards and recognition from her peers and a variety of industry bodies, including:

• Top Innovator in Healthcare award by Quality Insights, 2006
• Patients’ Choice Award, 2011-2012
• Compassionate Doctor Recognition, 2011-2012
• Bridges to Excellence Recognition 2012-2015
• NCQA Physician Practice Connections – Patient Centered Medical Home, 2012-2015

She is an Advisory Board member for Sermo. Additionally, she is a blogger for Physician’s Weekly and MedicalPractice Insider as well as a guest columnist for Medcity News and Health IT Outcomes. She published articles in several other media outlets. Recently, she has authored the books, “Inside Our Broken Healthcare System” and “The War on Doctors”. She has been interviewed in US News, on NBC Nightly News, and many other media outlets. Dr. Girgis’ primary goal as a physician remains ensuring that each of her patients receives the highest available standard of medical care.

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