Anika Alvanzo, MD, MS, FACP, DFASAM
Candidate for Secretary
Anika Alvanzo, MD, MS, FACP, DFASAM is a graduate of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, holds a master’s degree in biostatistics from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She is a Distinguished Fellow of ASAM, a Past President of the Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine, and currently serves as Chair of the ASAM Annual Conference Program Planning Committee and Secretary for the ASAM Board of Directors.
Dr. Alvanzo is a Principal at Health Management Associates (HMA) where her consulting includes supporting state and local jurisdictions in provision of technical assistance and coaching to behavioral health providers; community needs assessment and strategic planning for behavioral health service delivery; training on and implementation of the ASAM Criteria; and advancing health equity in addiction treatment.
Dr. Alvanzo has over 15 years of experience in the field of Addiction Medicine. She was previously the Eastern Region Medical Director for Pyramid Healthcare, Inc overseeing medical treatment in residential and outpatient addiction treatment programs in Eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Concurrently, for three years, Dr. Alvanzo served as a physician program specialist for the Behavioral Health Administration in the Maryland Department of Health. In this role, Dr. Alvanzo provided senior-level clinical consultations, including assistance with the planning and implementation of overdose prevention projects; responded to state and federal policymakers on a variety of addiction-related inquiries and issues; and provided expert guidance on medical practice standards for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring disorders for state-funded SUD treatment programs.
Prior to this, Dr. Alvanzo spent twelve years as faculty in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she held a variety of clinical leadership roles, including Medical Director of the comprehensive, opioid treatment program on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus and director of the multidisciplinary inpatient addiction consultation service serving the Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Medicine. During this same time period, Dr. Alvanzo directed the Addiction Medicine rotation for the Department of Medicine Urban Health residents.
Earning recognition as a national leader in addiction medicine, Dr. Alvanzo has served as a subject matter expert on National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, National Quality Forum, and PEW Research Center panels on topics including opioids and chronic pain, quality metric development for opioid use disorder, medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) integration, and integration of recovery-oriented care in various medical settings.
Candidate Questionnaire Responses
1. What have been your greatest contributions to ASAM or to the field of addiction medicine over the last 10 years?
I have been an active member of ASAM since 2008. My ASAM service started in my local chapter where I served as Secretary, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President of the Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine.
For 6 years, I served as a Regional Director on the ASAM Board of Directors where I proudly represented Region V before being elected to the position of Secretary on the ASAM Executive Council in 2022. In addition to serving on the ASAM Board, I have served on various councils and committees. For the last five years, I have served as Chair of the Annual Conference Program Planning Committee, which is responsible for determining the scientific content for ASAM’s Annual Conference.
Finally, I have contributed to several important ASAM documents. I was a member of the guideline committee for the updated ASAM Alcohol Withdrawal Management Guidelines, which were published in 2020; was a member of the writing committee for ASAM’s policy series on racial justice; was one of the editors of the inaugural edition of Pocket Addiction Medicine; and was a Section Editor for the 7th edition of ASAM’s textbook, Principles of Addiction Medicine, which was published earlier this year. Additionally, I was a member of the work group focused on withdrawal management levels of care for the 4th edition of the ASAM Criteria.
In addition to the above contributions, for the last 16 years, I have contributed to the field of addiction medicine in the areas of clinical care, education, and research. Currently, I am a Physician Principal at Health Management Associates where my consulting focuses on supporting state and local jurisdictions in optimizing behavioral health service delivery via a variety of mechanisms including: community needs assessment and strategic planning; technical assistance and coaching to behavioral health providers; training on and development of implementation roadmaps for the ASAM Criteria; and advancing health equity and culturally responsive care in addiction treatment.
I bring to this position experiences at all ASAM levels of care and in a variety of treatment settings including for profit residential addiction treatment, nonprofit mobile buprenorphine treatment, and Medical Director of an opioid use disorder treatment program (OTP) and inpatient addiction consultation service at an academic medical center.
In addition to my consulting work, I continue to practice Addiction Medicine, spending one half-day per week in a comprehensive primary care practice setting in Baltimore, which serves patients with high healthcare utilization who are insured by Medicaid. Educating the next generation of practitioners and those who are new to integrating treatment of addiction into their existing practice has also been a focus area for me. In my current position, I co-facilitate a weekly Project ECHO session for Delaware treatment providers.
For seven years, I directed the Addiction Medicine Rotation for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Urban Health Internal Medicine and Medicine/ Pediatrics residency tracks, designing a diverse, highly rated 4-week experience that included didactic lectures, online modules, completion of buprenorphine waiver certification training, and placements in a variety of addiction treatment clinical settings. Moreover, I have presented regionally and nationally on a variety of addiction-related topics and have previously served as faculty for ASAM educational activities, presenting lectures in the ASAM Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders, Fundamentals and ASAM Criteria courses.
Most recently, I was lead faculty for ASAM’s 4-part educational series on diversity, equity, and inclusion in addiction medicine. Additionally, I have contributed to the field of addiction medicine via my research. My research interests included gender and race and ethnicity differences in the risk for substance use disorders and the association between psychological trauma, posttraumatic stress, and substance use, particularly in women, and I have authored over 35 peer-reviewed manuscripts in these and other areas. Since leaving academic medicine, I have continued to contribute to addiction-related research by serving as member of the Clinical, Treatment and Health Services Research Review Study Section (AA-3) for the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) at the National Institutes of Health.
Finally, as a result of the aforementioned experiences, I have had the opportunity to serve as a subject matter expert on National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and National Quality Forum (NQF), and PEW Research panels.
2. How would your election to the ASAM Board of Directors benefit ASAM and the field of addiction medicine?
ASAM continues to be my professional home, and I am running for the position of Secretary again so that I may continue to serve ASAM and its members.
My various addiction-related teaching, research and consulting experiences, and my clinical experiences in treating largely underserved populations with substance use disorder, at all ASAM Criteria levels of care, make me an ideal candidate for this position.
I would bring to the position a strong work ethic, a spirit of collaboration, and established leadership skills, as well my prior experiences at the ASAM chapter, Board of Directors, and Executive Council levels. As Secretary, I have worked to facilitate organized Executive Council and Board of Director meetings and to maintain accurate records of those meetings. Additionally, I have chaired the Constitution and Bylaws (COB) Council, which is responsible for ensuring the integrity of our organization’s governing documents.
During my tenure as Secretary, COB has successfully updated multiple ASAM policies along with the Constitution and Bylaws, our ultimate governing document. I am seeking a 2nd term as Secretary to enable continuity in the Executive Council, to facilitate continued organization in Executive Council and Board meeting processes and documentation, and to continue the work of updating our polices to promote the continued governance of our society.
In closing, if reelected, I will further ASAM’s efforts in becoming a more equitable society and continue to support ASAM’s vision of addiction prevention, treatment, remission, and recovery that are accessible to and improve the health of all people.