Positions: 
  Director, Division of Health Services Research
  Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Health
    Policy & Management

Dr. Fortney is the Director of the Division of Health Services Research. He is recognized as a national leader in research to improve treatment of depression in rural areas.  His previous publications include a paper in Psychiatric Services which found that the cost for treatment of major depression for Arkansans is generally offset by the reduction in lost workdays due to depression.  His research has included a grant that studied the impact of managed care on rural access to substance abuse facilities as well as a grant that probed the cost-effectiveness and overall effectiveness of the VA's Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), a program designed to shift the focus of VA mental health care from an inpatient setting to an outpatient setting.

Along with substance abuse, depressive disorders, geographic access, utilization, and managed care, Dr. Fortney's other research interests include telemedicine and the role of primary care in mental health.