Carol Alter, M.D.

Carol L. Alter, M.D., has over 30 years experience in diverse settings including clinical practice, research, administration, health care innovation, delivery and policy, with a focus on psychiatric care of patients with medical illness. She has led a number of efforts to develop and expand use of evidence based practice in psychiatric care, including both the development and widespread implementation of the collaborative care model and, more broadly, the use of systematic measurement for diagnostic and treatment purposes to improve outcomes for individuals with mental health conditions.

Alter has been engaged in research regarding these topics, has helped implement a number of mental health integration programs across both public and private settings and has been an advocate for policy reforms aimed at insuring reimbursement and access to integrated and collaborative care. She also chairs the clinical quality committee at the Dell Medical School.

Prior to joining Dell Med, she served as the system lead for Behavioral Health at Baylor Scott & White Health responsible for the development of behavioral health services, including the collaborative care model delivered to over 2 million primary care patients. She also served as the chief medical officer of Mindoula Health, the first national provider of technology-enabled collaborative care model.

Alter was also an associate clinical professor, director of psychosomatic medicine and director of policy and community psychiatry at Georgetown University. There, she led efforts to implement a collaborative care program in safety-net clinics,and partnered with the American Psychological Association and others to facilitate reimbursement for the collaborative care model. She has been involved and lead a number of APA components for over 25 years, most recently chairing the Council on Quality Care from 2021-2024. She currently serves as the APA representative to the URAC Board of Directors.

Alter received both her undergraduate and medical degrees from the George Washington University. She began her psychiatric training at Mayo Clinic and completed a residency in psychiatry at New York Hospital, Cornell Medical College, which included training at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.