Charlene Wong, MD

I specialize in adolescent and young adult medicine and health services research.  Clinically, I love serving as both a primary care physician to young people ages 12-26, while also providing specialized care to this population. The types of care I specialize in include addressing young people's reproductive health concerns (for example, menstrual or contraceptive issues), chronic illnesses, behavioral challenges, and developmental difficulties. My focus is on providing high quality medical care to youth through respect for each individual, support of their physical and emotional growth, and education to empower them to be thriving, independent adults. I also spend a substantial amount of my time being an advocate for young people through health policy and research.

I serve as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK) model. NC InCK is a CMS-funded pilot to develop and implement a local integrated service delivery and payment model for Medicaid/CHIP insured children (birth up to age 21).  Duke, UNC, and the North Carolina Medicaid agency are partnering to lead this effort with up to $16 million of funding to build capacity and infrastructure. All Medicaid & CHIP insured children in a 5 county area (~100,000 children in Orange, Alamance, Durham, Granville, Vance) are included in the model. 

In addition to NC InCK, my research and policy portfolio focuses on healthcare transformation and health-related behavior change, leveraging principles from behavioral economics and employing person-centered research and policy practices.  Most of my healthcare transformation projects relate to informing the transition to value-based care. My research is based out of the Department of Pediatrics, the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy.  I direct health behaviors and needs research in the Duke Children's Health & Discovery Initiative and am the Associate Program Director for the National Clinical Scholars Program at Duke.  I am also a faculty member in the Duke Center for Childhood Obesity Research. 

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time in the outdoors with my husband and two children.