CVS Health® is pleased to welcome Taft Parsons III, M.D. as Vice President and Chief Psychiatric Officer. He reports to Kyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.P., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Aetna, a CVS Health company.
In his new role, Dr. Parsons provides clinical partnership across CVS Health’s behavioral health and mental well-being activities, focusing on delivering high-quality, appropriate and cost-effective mental health care for patients, members, customers and communities. He leads the Aetna Medical Affairs Behavioral Health organization.
“As a health care innovation company committed to behavioral health and mental well-being, Dr. Parsons joins our team as Chief Psychiatric Officer at a critically important time when a global pandemic has raised even more importance to mental health and its integration with physical health,” said Rhee. “His expertise in creating solutions to help improve health outcomes will help us continue addressing mental health and mental-physical health integration for the customers and communities we serve.
Dr. Parsons joined CVS Health from Humana, where he served as their Enterprise Medical Director for Behavioral Health.
He has also held a range of positions at Molina Healthcare and Henry Ford Health System, building clinical teams and strong relationships with stakeholders, including provider groups, government leaders and community organizations.
In addition to his strong professional experience, Dr. Parsons has published more than a dozen articles on behavioral health and patient care and holds affiliations with the American Psychiatric Association and the Michigan Psychiatric Society. He earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Morehouse College in Atlanta and a medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
With Dr. Parson’s appointment, Deborah Fernandez-Turner, D.O. has been named Deputy Chief Psychiatric Officer, reporting to him.
To learn more about Taft, follow him on LinkedIn.