Melinda Ford, D.O., D.O.
- Assistant clinical professor of family medicine
Areas of Expertise
Expert Bio
Dr. Melinda Ford is an experienced primary care physician and medical educator who has firsthand clinical knowledge of the challenges of treating drug-dependent patients. In addition to her assistant professorship at the Heritage College, she works for OhioHealth Physician Group Heritage College as a family medicine and addiction physician.
Dr. Ford, who became board certified in family practice and osteopathic manipulative medicine in 2005, added a certificate of qualification in addiction medicine in 2017. She has made numerous presentations and contributions in the area of addiction treatment, including her participation in an October 2017 community forum in Athens, Ohio about opioids with Sam Quinones, author of the best-selling “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opioid Epidemic.”
She also served on a 2014 conference of experts for the National Academy of Sciences, addressing the topic, “Exploring Drug Dependent Newborns in the Appalachian Region”; spoke at a 2014 Athens County, Ohio, community forum on drug addiction; and co-presented on the topic “Addressing Opioid Use and Pregnancy in a Rural Appalachian Setting” at a 2013 Opiate Conference in Columbus. As an educator, she has provided orientation for Heritage College medical students doing rotations in addiction medicine, in which she offered an overview of the topic and answered questions.
Dr. Ford is a member of the Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders for Region V of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.