Enhancing Advocacy and Reducing Cost of Care for Psychiatric Patients in General Hospitals: The Case for a Proactive Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Model

Sponsored by the Ewald W. Busse, MD, SD Lectureship Endowment Fund Hochang Benjamin (Ben) Lee, M.D. is the John Romano Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Chief of Psychiatry at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Prior to his chairmanship at University of Rochester, he was the founding director and Chief of Yale's Psychological Medicine Service and Director of Psychological Medicine Research Center at Yale. Previously, he had also been Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Director of Research Development at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. His primary research interests are: 1. Developing innovative models for delivery behavioral health service for medical and surgical patients. 2. Prevention of neuropsychiatric morbidity (e.g. delirium, depression, and dementia) after major surgery among the elders. 3. Asian American mental health issues, especially among the elders. Dr. Lee is board certified in psychiatry with sub-specialty certification in psychosomatic medicine. His primary clinical interest is in behavioral aspects of dementia care, especially among those elders with multiple medical comorbidities. Dr. Lee completed psychiatry residency and combined neuropsychiatry/psychiatric epidemiology fellowships at Johns Hopkins after earning his MD at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1997. Dr. Lee is the Editor-In-Chief for Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and the former President of International College of Psychosomatic Medicine.