About Dr. Magee

Mike Magee, M.D., is a recognized leader in the health care arena. He is well known for his unique perspective on health care and for championing patient rights, principled leadership, access to scientific discoveries and a populist vision for health system reform in the United States. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Magee was the host of "Health Politics with Dr. Mike Magee," a weekly Internet program covering news and information related to health and health care. The program produced more than 180 segments on topics ranging from obesity to aging and caregiving to health insurance and global warming. In his role as host of the program, Dr. Magee strived to help viewers understand the big picture of health and how our health care system works. Dr. Magee continues to share his views on these topics at www.HealthCommentary.com.

He has served formerly as a Senior Fellow in the Humanities to the World Medical Association; a David Rockefeller Fellow; Professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College and a Master Scholar at New York University School of Medicine. He is currently a member of the National Commission for Quality Long Term Care, chaired by former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

In his frequent writing and speaking on health care, Dr, Magee has begun to anticipate and predict a new health care model - one that empowers individuals and "humanizes" the system, establishing new team-based approaches and home-centered health care. He is a staunch advocate for the patient-physician relationship and for health care based on the principles of compassion, partnership and understanding.

Dr. Magee's work on creating healthy and productive cross-sector partnerships between government, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations is well known and often quoted, placing him at the center of health care reform. He is often called upon to speak worldwide on a wide range of clinical, public health, and public policy issues that impact quality of life.

Dr. Magee has provided testimony to Congress and has consulted for the American Medical Association, the American Association of Medical Colleges and the American Hospital Association. As author of the book "The New Face of Aging" and a national spokesperson for the Senior Olympics, Dr. Magee has been an effective advocate for healthy aging. He has appeared on many national broadcasts to discuss healthy aging, including "The Today Show," "CBS Morning News" and "Larry King Live." Among other topics Dr. Magee has addressed in the media are family health, health care reform, patient advocacy, research and discovery, and the importance of the patient-physician relationship.

Dr. Magee is past president of the National Association of Physician Broadcasters (now the National Association of Medical Communicators) and a former radio and television columnist, titled by the Boston Globe, "the most optimistic physician in America."

Dr. Magee is also an accomplished public speaker and author. His other books include "The Best Medicine," "The Book of Choices," "Positive Leadership," "All Available Boats," "Positive Doctors in America," "Health Politics: Power, Populism and Health," and "Healthy Waters."

Born on January 20, 1948, Dr. Magee is the son of a house-call-making doctor and one of 12 children. He attended medical school in Syracuse, NY, and did his surgical residency at the University of North Carolina. He spent 13 years as a country doctor in rural New England before assuming progressive academic and leadership posts, including senior vice president of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, our nation's first hospital.