The conflict-of-interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual’s actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.

Parinda Khatri has a conflict of interest in relation to service on the Committee on Strategies to Improve Access to Behavioral Health Care Services through Medicare and Medicaid because she is the chief executive officer of Cherokee Health Systems, a federally qualified health center that serves as a community mental health center that receives reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.

The National Academies has concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include at least one person who has substantial current experience in managing a federally qualified health center that serves as a community mental health center for an underserved population that has a high burden of behavioral health needs. As described in her biographical summary, Dr. Khatri has extensive experience in leadership roles at Cherokee Health Systems working directly on the challenges that community mental health centers face providing behavioral health services for underserved populations. Dr. Khatri also has extensive experience in working to blend primary care and behavioral health services.

The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Dr. Khatri is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent experience and expertise who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.

The National Academies believes that Dr. Khatri can serve effectively as a member of the committee and that the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.