Speaker's Profile

Dr. Deborah Fernandez-Turner is the AVP and Deputy Chief Psychiatric Officer for Aetna, a CVS Health company. In this role, Dr. Fernandez-Turner is a physician-leader for mental health within CVS Health, leading the consultation and implementation of evidence-based practices and holistic treatments for all levels of care. In addition, she provides expert support in mental health to Aetna’s care management program and provides input into national mental health policy in close conjunction with key stakeholders across CVS Health. An expert in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Fernandez-Turner was Children’s Medical Administrator for Aetna. In this role, she was responsible for the oversight of psychiatric medical programs covering over 400,000 covered lives (children alone) as well as Quality Management, Utilization Management and Medical Management programs operated by the RBHA for children and adolescents in compliance with Federal and State laws and contractual requirements. With a focus on patient and family centered, evidence-based care, she also helped create programs and policies for the Medicaid plan in Maricopa County.Dr. Fernandez-Turner is Board Certified both in General Psychiatry as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She graduated from New York University, then Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed a psychiatric residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center–Hillside hospital and a child psychiatry fellowship at the University of Arizona. Prior to her work for Aetna, she has held administrative and clinical positions in both private and public sectors in Arizona and Minnesota.