David Mee-Lee, M.D.

David Mee-Lee, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist, and is certified by examination of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

Past academic appointments have included clinical affiliations in the Departments of Psychiatry at Harvard University, the University of Hawaii and the University of California, Davis.

Based in Davis, California, Dr. Mee-Lee is involved in training and consultation full-time. For over twenty-five years, he has focused on developing and promoting innovative behavioral health treatment that values clinical integrity, high quality, and cost-consciousness. In addition, he has over twenty-five years experience with dual diagnosis (co-occurring addiction and mental illness) treatment and program development.

Dr. Mee-Lee's clients involve both provider and practitioner groups, as well as managed care organizations. He was a consultant in the first major managed care Medicaid project for substance abuse in Massachusetts, as well as public sector managed substance abuse care in Iowa.

Professional Experience

Dr. Mee-Lee served as Associate Medical Director for Parkside Medical Services Corporation, from 1987-1993.
He was Vice President, Addiction Treatment Programs, for Monarch Health Corporation, from 1985-1987.
From 1986-1993, he was Psychiatric Consultant for New England Telephone's Employee Assistance Program and Medical Department in Boston, Massachusetts.

During 1977-1985 he held the following positions at New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts: Director, Addictions Treatment Unit; Assistant Chief of Psychiatry; and Director, In-service Education, Department of Psychiatry.
From 1977 to 1996, he continued a limited inpatient and outpatient private practice in psychiatry and addiction medicine before shifting to full-time training and consulting in 1996.

Educational Background

Dr. Mee-Lee earned his medical degree from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 1972. He earned an M.S. in Psychiatry from Ohio State University in 1976.

Professional Affiliations

His professional affiliations include: Co-Chair of The Quality Improvement Council for the American Society of Addiction Medicine; American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry; and American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Mee-Lee is Chair of the Coalition for National Clinical Criteria. He co-chaired the development of a Treatment Improvement Protocol on Patient Placement Criteria for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. He has been Field Representative of the National Coalition of Addiction Treatment Programs to the Hospital Accreditation Program Professional and Technical Advisory Committee of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Publications and Authorship

Dr. Mee-Lee has published a number of papers and book chapters on addiction. He has developed an instrument for individualized treatment planning, the Recovery Attitude and Treatment Evaluator (RAATE). Dr. Mee-Lee was one of the authors of the Cleveland Criteria; and also the first and second editions of the Criteria. He was the chief Editor of the revised second edition of the ASAM Patient Placement Criteria, ASAM PPC-2R, published in April 2001.