Deputy Chief Medical Officer
Washington State Health Care Authority/Department Social and Human Services
Seattle, Washington
Dr. Charissa Fortinos is the current Washington State Medicaid Medical Director and the current Acting Medicaid Director for Washington State, concurrently, yet she still has time for all things Opioid Treatment Program (OTP). Dr. Fortinos championed the removal of prior authorization on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for Washington State Medicaid. Dr. Fortinos has also improved payment policies in Medicaid, including being a key force for the transition from time-limited insurance coverage of MOUD to be understood as an ongoing treatment for a chronic and often lifetime disease.
Dr. Fortinos was instrumental to the development of hub-and-spoke models for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in Washington and was the original author of the Washington State Opioid Response Plan. Dr. Fortinos helped define OUD as a medical condition in Washington State resulting in the Governor’s Opioid Legislation package from 2019. Dr. Fortinos lead Washington State Health Care Authorities’ response to COVID-19 pandemic in being the first state in the nation to deal with COVID-19 in OTP settings. Dr. Fortinos is an advocate for reducing barriers to care and continues to fight for patient rights in all medical facilities, helping reduce stigma for pregnant and post-partum mothers and working to ensure reimbursement for substance abuse disorders is normalized.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
8:45 AM – 9:15 AM