ATTC Network Forum 2014: What Participants are Saying

November 12, 2014

Maureen Fitzgerald
ATTC Network Coordinating Office

At The ATTC Network Forum 2014: Advancing the Integration of Substance Use Disorder Services and Health Care (November 4-5)  participants spent two days thinking in new ways about the Network. Presentations from plenary speakers and other presenters are now available for viewing on the Advancing Integration page of the ATTC website:

Mady Chalk, Director, Center for Policy Research & Analysis, TRI
Redonna Chandler, Chief, Services Research Bureau, NIDA
Les Sperling, CEO, Central Kansas Foundation
Glenda Wrenn, Director of the Division of Behavioral Health, Satcher Health Leadership Institute
Lori Ducharme, 
Program Director for Health Services Research, NIAAA
Ronald Dwinnells, 
Chief Executive Officer
Ohio North East Health Systems, Inc.
Adam Viera, Policy Associate
Community Health Systems at the Altarum Institute
Corinna Dan, 
Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor
, Health Resources and Services Administration
Shelina Foderingham, 
Director
, Practice Improvement at the National Council for Behavioral Health


This lineup of experts sparked a lot of discussion and new ideas to kick-off the national conversation on advancing integration. Here's a sampling of some of that different thinking: 

“I’m struck by both the challenge and opportunity the Forum presented in how to think about further integrating health care. Attending a conference hosted by a group focused on addiction treatment brought home the fact that a lot still needs to happen in communicating about behavioral health with general health care. We resumed the discussion when I got back to the office—that we have to help the medical community consider substance use disorders when we’re talking about integrated care models.…the Forum left me challenged with how to improve that communication so we can get to where we want to be with a whole health model.”
Glenda Wrenn, MD, MSHP
Director of Behavioral Health for the Satcher Health Leadership Institute
Morehouse School of Medicine
 "I appreciated hearing a variety of perspectives and meeting people from across the Network. With the focus on integrating SUD services into the rest of the  healthcare delivery system, the Forum offered a useful mix of problem identification and discussion of possible solutions and strategies. I particularly enjoyed hearing about successful integration efforts, such as those shared by Les Sperling of the Central Kansas Foundation. It was also really valuable to spend time as a Network identifying our priorities using the Nominal Group Technique."
Ariel Singer, MPH
Program and Training Director
Northwest ATTC
"...I felt like I learned a ton and I left this meeting very energized to take my new knowledge back to my workplace and see how I might be able to apply it to the work we're doing both in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network and on the ATTC Advisory Board. I was impressed not only with the organization and content of this event, but also with the innovative ways information was presented to the audience. The Sli.do feature, which allowed the audience to post questions using a computer or mobile device while presentations were taking place was a fascinating, efficient way to ask questions as they came up while we listened. I also enjoyed the Ignite Talks, in which speakers were given a very short frame of time to present a brief look at a specific topic. This really energized the audience, while piquing our interest in a variety of subjects we could investigate further on our own...I appreciate that the ATTC was trying to do something besides the standard PowerPoint-with-speaker-format. I would definitely be interested in attending another Forum!"
Meg Brunner, MLIS
Member, ATTC Network Coordinating Office Advisory Board
National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Dissemination Library
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington

"I saw the Forum as an attempt to redirect the ATTC Network's dialogue and its vision. My understanding is that the Network was created for training consistency across substance use disorder treatment. Now the focus is: can the Network translate what is good and relevant practice in SUD settings into other health care settings?" Hospitals are clamoring to understand how to manage patients with substance use disorders...if there are exciting models for integrating substance use disorder services with other healthcare, who better than the ATTC Network to teach policy makers, Medicaid directors, CMOs and CFOs about them?"
Dr. Terry Horton, M.D., FACP
Christiana Health Care System
Chief, Division of Addiction Medicine
Medical Director, Project Engage

Did you attend the Forum? What was the biggest takeaway for you?  Or, if you didn't attend the Forum, what do you think the ATTC Network can do to ensure that substance use disorder services are fully included in integrated care settings? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.