Annual Meeting Highlights Integrated Care Elective

CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT

The Spotlight series highlights presenters at the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Session Title

I Need a Psychiatrist but Can’t Find One: An Introduction to the Integrated Care Elective to Increase Access to Care

Presenter

Sasidhar Gunturu, MD, FAPA

Key Points You Want Readers to Know

While implementing the integrated care model at our health care system, we observed training gaps within the primary care speciality. To identify the root causes of this deficiency, we conducted focused sessions and surveyed the primary care trainees. The results overwhelmingly showed that the residents were not comfortable in identifying, diagnosing, and treating mild/moderate psychiatric illness.

To help fill this gap, we developed a psychiatry in primary care rotation for internal medicine and family medicine residents. Since its inception, approximately 70 residents have taken this elective. In this session, we presented the structure of the elective and the pre- and post-elective survey results. Also, we discussed our plans to advocate for psychiatry as a core for other primary care specialities.

About the Presenter

Dr Gunturu is an international medical graduate born in India. He serves as director of the psychiatric integrative services and community psychiatry, overseeing the integration of behavioral health in 15 BronxCare Health System medical clinics. He is the associate vice chair for education and director of residency training at Bronx Care Health System in New York. Gunturu is the Consulting Chief of Behavioral Health at Essen Medical, where he is responsible for the Behavioral Health needs of more than 100,000 lives in the South Bronx, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. He currently serves on the advisory board of ITTICan and na2ure nonprofits organizations.

Presenter’s Professional Interests

Consultation liaison psychiatry, public psychiatry, residency training curriculum, designing and implementing integration of behavioral health services in primary care clinics

Fun Facts

Dr Gunturu enjoys traveling to new places, learning and experiencing new cultures, jet skiing, CrossFit training, swimming, and relaxing on the beach with his dogs.

See more in this series here.

Ms Khan, the interviewer in this series, is a fourth year medical student based in Chicago. She has always had a keen interest in behavioral health and mind-body wellness. Over the years, she has served as a radio show host and producer to promote mental health and well-being.