.jpg "Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, DFASAM photo")
Founder/President
Encounter Medical Group, PC
ANDREA GRUBB BARTHWELL, M.D., D.F.A.S.A.M.
Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., D.F.A.S.A.M., is the Founder of Encounter Medical Group, P.C., manages and consults through the global health care policy firm EMGlobal, and is Director at Two Dreams, a comprehensive alcoholism and addiction treatment system. Reflecting her long-term commitment to individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), she was named as the founding Chair of the Board of the Foundation for Opioid Response Effort (FORE) with a $100 million endowment.
Dr. Barthwell served as Deputy Director for Demand Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under President George W Bush from 2002 to 2004. As a member of the President's sub-cabinet, Dr. Barthwell was a principal advisor on policies aimed at reducing the demand for illicit drugs.
Dr. Barthwell’s current work is focused on developing strategies to expand access to treatment for opioid dependence disorder, expanding practitioner knowledge of urine drug testing in the identification and treatment of substance use disorders, and helping individuals and families prevent substance use disorders.
Dr. Barthwell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School. Following post-graduate training at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University Medical Center, she began her practice in the Chicago area. She was a founding member of the Chicago Area AIDS Task Force, hosted a weekly local cable show on AIDS, and was president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
In 2003, Dr. Barthwell received the Betty Ford Award from the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse. In 1997, Dr. Barthwell's peers named her one of the "Best Doctors in America" in addiction medicine.
