David A. Pollack, M.D.

  • Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine

Biography

David A. Pollack, M.D., is Professor for Public Policy in the departments of Psychiatry, Family Medicine, and Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, Oregon. His activities include teaching, writing, and consulting on policy, systems, health reform, and medical leadership issues to various local, state, and national organizations. He also consults on services research projects.He served as Medical Director for the Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OMHAS, now AMH) for the Oregon Department of Human Services from 2002-2006, and as Associate Director of the Public Psychiatry Training Program from 1987-2006, and continues to teach medical students, social work students, and residents for that program. He also teaches health policy related topics for the OHSU Division of Management’s Health Management MBA and Certificate programs.Dr. Pollack has worked as a community and public psychiatrist in Oregon for over 36 years. For nearly 11 years he served as Medical Director at Mental Health Services West, a large community mental health center in downtown Portland. He has written about, and done presentations at numerous meetings on various aspects of the following issues:Community Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Psychosocial Aspects of the Arms Race, Mental Health Delivery Systems, Mental Health Care Financing, Psychiatric Aspects of HIV, Mental Health Integration with Primary Care, Disaster Psychiatry, Behavioral Health Workforce Development, and Behavioral Health Services Research Infrastructure Development.Since 1989, he has been an active member of the Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Subcommittee of the Oregon Health Services Commission. His work on the Oregon Health Plan helped to shape how mental health services were integrated into that innovative health care reform project. The experiences derived from that work contribute to his ongoing work on health care reform and mental health policy.In 1997 he co-edited and published Managed Mental Health Care in the Public Sector: A Survival Manual. In 1999, another co-edited book was published addressing the issues of the interface between mental health and primary care, Advancing Mental Health and Primary Care Collaboration in the Public Sector. In 2004, he organized and edited a book on the use of force in psychiatry, Moving from Coercion to Collaboration in Mental Health Services.In the fall of 1998, he went to Washington, DC, as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, in which capacity he worked in the Health Office of Senator Edward Kennedy. His work in the Kennedy office included the development of health and mental health related legislation, constituent and lobbying activities, speech writing, and interactions with federal regulatory agencies. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and currently serves as a member of the Scientific Program Committee for the annual Psychiatric Services Institute. He served on the APA’s Council for Advocacy and Public Policy from 2001-2006. He previously served as a member of the Committee on Psychiatry and the Community in the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He has been a member of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP) since its inception and has served on its board since 1990. His work with AACP has included a strong emphasis on health care reform and delivery system issues. He has chaired the Program Committee for over 18 years, maintaining responsibility for identifying and organizing topics and presenters on issues that are current and important to public sector mental health.

Education and training

    • B.A., 1969, Northwestern University
    • M.D., 1973, Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
  • Residency

    • Psychiatry Residency, OHSU, 1973-76

Memberships and associations:

  • American Psychiatric Association Oregon District Branch
  • American Psychiatric Association American Association of Community Psychiatrists Physicians for Social Responsibility Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry

Publications

Publications

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