Monday, September 8, 2–3 pm

Lauren S. Hughes, MD, MPH, MSc, MHCDS, University of Colorado

As value-based care (VBC) continues to reshape the health care landscape, it is critical that family medicine residency programs prepare the next generation of physicians to not only adapt to policy changes but to lead them. This session explores how physician engagement at the state and federal levels can directly influence primary care transformation—and how those lessons can be brought back to the clinic and the classroom.

Drawing on firsthand experience from launching the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, a multi-payer global budget model focused on rural and frontier hospitals, and co-chairing the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Standing Committee on Primary Care, Dr Hughes will share insights on how to drive high-impact policy change through coalition building, data-driven decision making, and visionary leadership. These experiences will be directly tied to strategies for training future family physicians to navigate and influence the evolving world of VBC.

Special attention will be given to the implications of VBC in rural and underserved communities, where innovation leverages robust community partnerships, deep knowledge of local health care needs, and a strong commitment to well-being. The talk will also explore how the current federal administration’s policy directions may influence VBC and graduate medical education – and how training programs can remain agile and proactive in this shifting environment.

Attendees will leave better equipped to train, support, and inspire future family physician leaders, those who can bridge the gap between policy and practice to deliver high-quality, equitable primary care.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

1. Describe how physician leaders can influence health policy at the state and federal levels by exploring examples focused on rural health and primary care.
2. Identify effective strategies to teach residents about the evolving value-based care landscape, especially in rural and underserved communities.
3. Discuss the potential impact of the current federal administration’s policies on value-based care initiatives and residency training.

Lauren S. Hughes, MD, MPH, MSc, MHCDS, FAAFP, is the state policy director of the Farley Health Policy Center and associate professor of family medicine, both at the University of Colorado, where she researches how to strengthen primary care infrastructure, transform rural health care delivery, and advance behavioral health integration. Dr Hughes previously served as deputy secretary for health innovation in the Pennsylvania Department of Health, where she launched the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, a new payment and delivery model co-designed with the CMS Innovation Center that transitions rural hospitals from fee-for-service to multi-payer global budgets.

Dr Hughes is a former chair of the American Board of Family Medicine and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program. She currently serves as chair of the Rural Health Redesign Center Organization Board of Directors and is a member of the Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative convened by the Colorado Division of Insurance. In 2018, she was selected as a presidential leadership scholar by former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr., and in 2023, she was named as the co-chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Primary Care. 

Tuesday, September 9, 12:45–1:45 pm

Stacy Ogbeide, PsyD, ABPP; UT Health San Antonio

There has been exponential growth of behavioral health integration (BHI) in primary care within the United States over the past decade. While there has been growth and the development of recommendations for BHI in primary care, this approach to patient care is not yet the standard of care within primary care delivery models, as many practices either do not have behavioral health clinicians within their practice or have sub-optimal behavioral health clinician staffing ratios. The purpose of this presentation is to review the current research related to BHI in primary care and its impact on patient care, the primary care team, and primary care behavioral health workforce development. Additionally, participants will be presented with interventions to improve BHI in primary care within their clinics, teams, and training programs, as well as current and future interventions to address workforce shortages. Lastly, guidance will be provided for health care organizations and academic intuitions on how to provide ongoing support for community-based clinical training initiatives.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

1. Report on current research trends related to behavioral health integration in primary care.
2. Describe the current state of primary care and behavioral health workforce shortages in the United States impacting ongoing behavioral health integration efforts.
3. Explain at least one (1) evidence-informed approach to improve clinical training and workforce shortages.
4. Identify at least one (1), macrosystem approach to support clinical training in primary care within the community.

By training, Dr Ogbeide is a board-certified clinical health psychologist. Dr Ogbeide is the primary care track coordinator for the Clinical Psychology Internship, associate chair for Professional Development & Scholarship for the Department of Family & Community Medicine, and an associate professor (with tenure) of Family & Community Medicine. Dr Ogbeide also has a joint appointment with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Additionally, Dr Ogbeide serves as an assistant dean for faculty in the Office for Faculty within the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio.

Dr Ogbeide is nationally known for her work in behavioral health integration in primary care, serving on committees such as the National Integration Academy Council through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Integrated Primary Care Advisory Group through the American Psychological Association, as well as an associate editor for the journals Families, Systems, & Health and Psychological Services. Dr Ogbeide has more than 60 scholarly publications, more than 160 professional presentations conducted nationally and internationally, and been continually funded through federal grants related to primary care workforce development since 2017.

Dr Ogbeide’s professional areas of interest include: The Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) consultation model, behavioral medicine/health psychology, faculty development and mentorship for those who are underrepresented within academic medicine, clinical supervision in primary care, and primary care workforce development. Dr Ogbeide’s work has been featured on Texas Public Radio, in the San Antonio Express-News, and in other news media outlets. For more information about Dr Ogbeide, visit: www.stacyogbeide.com.

Wednesday, September 10, 10–11 am

Sebastian Tong, MD, MPH, University of Washington

Our previous US surgeon general declared a loneliness epidemic, recognizing the increasing prevalence of loneliness and the associated risks of poorer physical and mental health and premature mortality. As specialists in whole person, comprehensive care, family physicians are uniquely equipped to inquire about and address loneliness in their patients.

In this talk, we will review the health risks and comorbidities associated with loneliness and discuss a framework to think about how to address loneliness in our practices and communities. We will then identify some concrete steps we can each take to reduce loneliness and social isolation not only in our patients but also in ourselves, our colleagues and our communities.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

1. To describe the health risks and comorbidities associated with loneliness.
2. To identify tools to screen for and manage loneliness in primary care.
3. To identify resources to implement practice changes to improve care for loneliness in primary care.

Sebastian Tong is an associate professor of Family Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle where he also serves as the associate director of the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho region Practice and Research Network. He practices outpatient family medicine and addiction medicine at the Harborview Family Medicine Clinic.

He conducts research in practice-based research, substance use, loneliness, and chronic pain, and has received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Nursing Research and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He completed medical school at Boston University School of Medicine, received a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, and finished his residency training in family medicine at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center.