Sandrine Pirard, MD, PhD, MPH, is the chief medical officer for the West Region at Carelon Behavioral Health. We had the opportunity to chat with her at the 2023 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference, where she told us about Carelon’s focus on the integration of behavioral and physical health.
She noted that one of the organization’s key focuses is supporting individuals with substance use disorder, for which she said the social determinants of health need to be taken into account
“Unless we [bring] everyone to the table on this—we have the physical provider, the behavioral health provider—together, and are thinking about, ‘How can we support that individual?,’ we’re not going to get the outcome that we’re hoping for.”