Medical Director - Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care

About the role

SHIFT: Day (United States of America)

Seeking Breakthrough Makers

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers countless ways to change lives. Our diverse community of more than 20,000 Breakthrough Makers will inspire you to pursue passions, develop expertise, and drive innovation.

At CHOP, your experience is valued; your voice is heard; and your contributions make a difference for patients and families. Join us as we build on our promise to advance pediatric care-and your career.

CHOP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or any other legally protected categories in any employment, training, or vendor decisions or programs. CHOP recognizes the critical importance of a workforce rich in varied backgrounds and experiences and engages in ongoing efforts to achieve that through equally varied and non-discriminatory means.

A Brief Overview

The Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids (HMHK) program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a specialized integrated behavioral health service, dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being among children and adolescents within the primary care setting. Embedded within the medical home, HMHK partners closely with primary care providers (PCPs) to identify, assess, and treat psychiatric conditions early, with the goal of improving long-term outcomes and overall quality of life.

Using a multidisciplinary and collaborative care model, HMHK provides comprehensive, evidence-based services including psychiatric assessment, brief psychotherapy interventions, medication management, and family support.

About the role

• The HMHK Medical Director is a full-time (1.0 FTE) position with approximately 0.7 clinical and 0.3 administrative responsibilities
• Teams are comprised of primary care providers, psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed behavioral health clinicians, care managers, nursing staff, and learners at various levels of training.

What you will do

• Provide integrated primary care consultation, direct patient care (in-person and/or telehealth), case-based collaboration, and population-based mental health support within pediatric primary care clinics.
• Conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations for children and adolescents identified through screening or referral within primary care.
• Develop and implement evidence-based treatment plans, including initiation, adjustment, and monitoring of psychotropic medications, with careful consideration of medical comorbidities.
• Provide brief, targeted psychotherapy interventions appropriate to the primary care setting (e.g., supportive therapy, CBT-informed strategies, motivational interviewing, problem-focused intervention).
• Manage mild to moderate psychiatric conditions directly, including depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and trauma-related disorders.
• Provide consultation for more complex, severe, or treatment-resistant conditions and facilitate appropriate referral to specialty or higher levels of care when indicated.
• Participate in case review and collaborative treatment planning with PCPs and behavioral health clinicians to ensure coordinated, patient-centered care.
• Provide supervision, guidance, and psychopharmacology consultation to behavioral health clinicians and care managers to promote evidence-based practice and continuity of care.
• Deliver services virtually when functioning in a telehealth capacity, maintaining integration within the primary care workflow.
• Comply with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) documentation, scheduling, and billing practices in a timely and efficient manner.
• Support educational initiatives for primary care providers, other healthcare providers, community partners, and other stakeholders
• Support quality initiatives, population health strategies, program evaluation, and program development efforts within the integrated care model.
• Mentor and support career development for behavioral health clinicians across disciplines
• Regularly participate in clinical and administrative meetings related to primary care behavioral health integration.
• Provide leadership for clinical practice:
• Advise on clinical best practices in the assigned setting in collaboration other clinical leaders and CHOP Administrative leadership.
• Collaborate with leadership in medical, surgical, behavioral health or nursing disciplines to optimize care model
• Provide physician leadership for Advanced Practice Nurses (e.g. APN credentials)
• Provide clinical leadership DCAPBS physicians in partnership
• Recruitment and succession planning for physicians, in collaboration with Psychiatrist-In-Chief
• Develop performance measures for physicians in quality, productivity, and citizenship
• Review and approve physician credentials and privileges, in collaboration with Psychiatrist-In-Chief
• Address Legal and/or Risk Management issues as they pertain to physicians, in collaboration with Psychiatrist-In-Chief
• Support physician professional development (e.g. identifying leadership opportunities within the network such as coordinating educational experiences for medical students in primary care)
• Advise CHOP Administration of new clinical trends in Behavioral Health from a strategic and network perspective; provide input and thought to DCAPBS strategic direction and planning
• Development of a care model of the future
• Foster linkage between primary and specialty care to implement specialty care protocols in the primary care or specialty care setting, including development of education strategies to support these efforts
• Develop CHOP philosophy with respect to care delivery innovations (e.g. care delivery options).
• Support the education mission/leadership at CHOP (e.g.: operationalize the needs of clinics for residents so it meets the residency program needs and also can be implemented at the practices); act as the conduit for medical student teaching
• Provide leadership in conjunction with CHOP Administrative leadership around practice management issues such as:
• Payer issues in collaboration with Medical Director QPS, MSO, CHOP finance
• Clinical perspective and impact of financial decisions
• Collaborate with City/Community/Government entities on pediatric public health issues; keep abreast of grant funding and programmatic opportunities supported by external sources, connect with city on child care and advocacy

Education Qualifications

• High School Diploma / GED Required
• Doctorate Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine Required

Skills and Abilities

• Epic knowledge desired
• Skills are:
• Demonstrated leadership at all levels of an organization.
• Excellent communication skills
• Strategic thinking and vision
• Proven track record of collaboration
• Financial aptitude
• Practice management experience
• Ability to influence and lead change effectively.

Leadership

• Ability to work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team
• Exercise strong communications skills, both locally and with respect to the CHOP enterprise
• Support a Fair and Just Culture that balances institutional learning and personal accountability. Model and promote safety behaviors, teamwork and communication to create a respectful and resilient work environment.
• Demonstrate behaviors that exemplify organizational sensitivity, resiliency and flexibility, ability to influence, conflict management.
• Foster open, transparent and effective communication at a local level and across the system as a whole
• Lead with a focus on operational, process and procedural innovation, challenging traditional approaches as necessary
• Promote collaboration and sharing of resources with a focus on the development of flexible staffing and leadership across areas
• Communication skills needed to present goals clearly.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with children, adolescents, and families.

Information Management

• Support implementation and optimization of integrated electronic health record systems to facilitate communication between psychiatry and primary care.
• Ensure timely documentation of evaluations, treatment recommendations, and collaborative care plans.

Quality Management

• Participate in initiatives to improve early identification and treatment of pediatric mental health conditions within primary care.
• Support compliance with institutional, accreditation, and regulatory standards.
• Promote family engagement, patient satisfaction, and culturally responsive care delivery.

Licenses and Certifications

• Medical License - in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - upon hire - Required and
• Board Certification - Medical Sub/Specialty - Adolescent Psychiatry - upon hire - Required and
• DEA License - - upon hire - Required

Additional information

To carry out its mission, CHOP is committed to supporting the health of our patients, families, workforce, and global community. As a condition of employment, CHOP employees who work in patient care buildings or who have patient facing responsibilities must receive an annual influenza vaccine.

Salary Range

$36,279.00 - $678,760.00 Annually

Salary ranges are shown for full-time jobs. If you're working part-time, your pay will be adjusted accordingly.

At CHOP, we are committed to fair and transparent pay practices. Factors such as skills and experience could result in an offer above the salary range noted in this job posting. Click here for more information regarding CHOP's Compensation and Benefits.