Integrating Psychiatric & Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment: Models, Evidence & System Transformation Opportunities
Treating substance use disorder and psychiatric conditions separately no longer reflects the reality of the consumers being served.
In the fifth webinar of the 2026 RECADEMY 12-part series, Dr. Charles Whitehill and Dr. Louai Bilal examine the growing gap between consumer complexity and how care is traditionally delivered—and why integrated treatment is essential to improving outcomes.
Across care settings, co-occurring conditions are the norm, not the exception. Yet fragmented systems continue to create barriers to engagement, disrupt continuity, and make it more difficult to stabilize consumers, particularly in increasingly complex, fentanyl-era environments.
This session explores how leading organizations are moving beyond sequential care models to more integrated approaches that address psychiatric and substance use disorders simultaneously. The discussion highlights practical strategies for aligning clinical workflows, care transitions, and treatment models to better support long-term engagement and recovery.
Featured Speakers:
Louai Bilal, MD, MSc
Dr. Bilal is currently the Medical Director of the Kaiser Fremont MPU, Assistant Chief of Hospital Staff in KP Fremont, and interim Medical Director at Telecare Heritage Hospital. He has been an inpatient psychiatrist throughout his career and has consulted on medical floors and emergency rooms. In addition to clinical care, he has been heavily involved in postgraduate education, acting as site director for many medical student clerkships and later for Kaiser’s own psychiatric residencies in Oakland and San Jose. He is the Program Director of Psychiatric Education at the GSAA and has helped lead the efforts toward internalizing ECT service in KP SCL, expanding the use of ECT in Fremont to include inpatient ECT and court ordered treatments.
Charles C. Whitehill, MS, MD
Dr. Whitehill currently serves as the Chief of Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services (AMRS) for Napa Solano Kaiser. He is board-certified in both Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. Before focusing his career on addiction medicine in 2014, Dr. Whitehill practiced family medicine in diverse clinical settings beginning in 2002. His approach to care emphasizes compassionate, accessible, and evidence-based addiction treatment. Outside of work, he enjoys training for triathlons, sailing with family, or playing the Great Highland bagpipes.
Stuart Buttlaire, Ph.D
Dr. Buttlaire is the Vice President of Clinical Excellence and Leadership at OPEN MINDS. He brings over 35 years of executive, clinical, and policy experience to OPEN MINDS. He has experience in both the public and private sectors of health care providing leadership and direction in health care delivery. His career has focused on advancing integrated behavioral health and addiction medicine through strategic innovation, system redesign, quality improvement, and sustainable policy reform.
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