PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
Magni Hamso, MD, MPH, FACP, FASAM (she/her/hers)
Program Director
magni.hamso@va.gov
Dr. Hamso is an internal medicine & addiction medicine physician. She is the Medical Director at the Dept of Health & Welfare’s Division of Medicaid, a part-time staff physician at the Boise VA, and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington. Dr. Hamso attended Columbia University for medical and public health school and completed her residency at the Montefiore Medical Center Primary Care & Social Internal Medicine Residency Program in New York. Tired of living in the big city and ready for easier access to the outdoors, she moved to Boise in 2014. Prior to joining Medicaid in 2019, Dr. Hamso was Associate Program Director at the University of Washington-Boise Internal Medicine Residency. She also cared for largely uninsured medically and psychosocially complex patients and taught students and residents at a local FQHC. She has long been involved in advocacy around the opioid overdose epidemic and for several years served on the State Behavioral Health Planning Council, the Project ECHO Idaho Board, and as a volunteer consultant for SAMHSA’s Opioid Response Network. She still participates in the statewide Opioid Overdose and Misuse Workgroup, sits on the Treatment Courts Coordinating Committee, and gives regular medication for addiction treatment trainings through Project ECHO Idaho. Although she currently spends most of her time at Medicaid, she still sees patients at the Boise VA, caring for veterans with chronic pain and opioid use disorder.
In addition to seeing patients and participating in didactics with Dr. Hamso at the Boise VA, addiction medicine fellows have the unique opportunity to engage in a longitudinal advocacy and health systems rotation at the Division of Medicaid. Fellows spend one to two afternoons per week for 3- months at Medicaid, learning about Medicaid and assisting with pharmacy, drug testing and inpatient/residential SUD reviews. They also work with Dr. Hamso to develop an independent project related to their own interests in addiction as well as a need at Medicaid. Recent projects include assessing the impact of a first opioid prescription on long-term and high dose opioid use for opioid naïve Medicaid participants, as well as working with colleagues across the health department to design a new case management program for pregnant women with SUD, including facilitating stakeholder meetings with prenatal care clinicians, behavioral health clinicians, and current or previously pregnant women with SUD to inform the program.