Shouldn’t Patients + Physicians Flourish Together?

We have a chance to affect the future of medicine; to advocate for patient interests; to restore the time doctors need to think, to listen, to establish trust, and build bonds, one encounter at a time.

—Eric Topol, MD, Co-founder of Medicine Forward, The New Yorker, 2019

Our vision is 10 million people activated to help patients + physicians flourish in their relationships with each other by 2035

Medicine Forward is a 501c3 nonprofit that unites doctors, patients, and change leaders nationwide to restore the patient-physician relationship as the heart of medicine. We operate as a multi-disciplinary federation, working at individual, community, and system levels. As part of a broad network of advocates, we seek healthcare transformation that cares for caregivers, ensuring patients and communities receive equitable and sustainable care.

10 Million People Activated for Flourishing

The mission of Medicine Forward resonates with me as a recently burnt out doctor who craves restoration of the doctor-patient relationship and the TIME to be curious about my patient’s ailments.

—Medicine Forward Member, March 2024

Key Initiatives

Next Gen Fellows - Medicine Forward Next Gen Fellows are current medical trainees who are working daily to advance and integrate wellbeing interventions into medical training. Initiatives include the evidence-based PEERS (Practice Enhancement Engagement Resilience and Support) program in active use at Mount Sinai, and a national medical student wellbeing report card in collaboration with PsychSIGN and the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation. Fellows are encouraged to explore aspects of wellbeing that excite them and are given support and guidance by members of Medicine Forward to implement their ideas into actionable plans.

Medicine Forward National Gathering - Medicine Forward is hosting an opportunity for our members and anyone else committed to restoring and nurturing human connection in healthcare to be in dialogue. This transformative event will take place in November in NYC. Watch for more about this on the Medicine Forward Mighty Network.

Coaching and Wellbeing Support - In recognition of the significant increase in physician burnout, moral injury, mental health decay, and suicide, resources to support doctors at the individual and collective levels are needed. The Medicine Forward community includes some of the leading physician coaches and wellbeing experts in the country. Meet our coaches.

Our Collaborators

Impact

1 million+ healthcare leaders have been engaged through our collaboration with the All In Campaign on advancing healthcare worker wellbeing

1 million+ are engaged through social media outreach of our key leaders and advocates including Dr. Eric Topol, Dr. Esther Choo, Dr. Leana Wen, Dr. Tatiana Prowell, and others
25K have been engaged via stories on Medicine Forward on numerous podcasts with national reach: Out of Patients, Health Design Podcast, New Future of Work
700+ attended the virtual Town Hall launch of Medicine forward. An equal number have attended subsequent virtual Town Hall sessions: Stop the Stigma and Prior Authorization

500+ physicians have joined Medicine Forward through grassroots efforts

36% of television households reached in Spring 2023 with a Gray TV feature on Medicine Forward’s advocacy disrupting Prior Authorization
900+ Substack subscribers to Medicine Forward’s e-newsletter
50+ donors have contributed
Numerous examples of support across the Medicine Forward community for people to speak up in local and national settings

Town Hall Replays

Reclaiming the Soul of Medicine — Town Hall Launch Event

November 23, 2020. Top physician leaders Eric Topol, MD, Esther Choo, MD, Leana Wen, MD, and Emily Silverman, MD, come together to discuss the imperative of uniting to stand up for the patient+physician human bond.

"Disrupting MOC" with Aaron Goodman, MD

Oct 16, 2023. An interactive discussion with physicians and other health care leaders across the country about how physicians are standing up to disrupt the status quo. In addition to a live presentation, attendees met in small group discussions as a way to connecting people, initiatives, and organizations across the country with the collective goal of amplifying physician voices to accelerate positive healthcare transformation.

Starting Good Trouble with Gabe Bosslet, MD

Sept 21, 2023. The Good Trouble Coalition is a grassroots coalition of Hoosier healthcare and public health stakeholders who collaborate to educate, empower, and facilitate political advocacy to improve life in Indiana in the areas of patient-centered care, public health, and social justice.

Breaking Bad! Prior Auth Harms the Physician-Patient Relationship

May 31, 2022. Medicine Forward identifies the bureaucratic burden of prior authorization as our top advocacy priority, and partners with ACP to disrupt it. Featuring Peter Basch, MD, Subha Airan-Javia, MD, Linda Goler-Blount, MPH, Adrienne White-Faines, and Gabe Charbonneau, MD.

Breaking Bad Series Part II: ACP & Medicine Forward Advance Solutions for Prior authorization

October 3, 2022. Prior authorization is a wicked problem that only getting worse. In our continued collaboration with ACP, we shift our focus to solutions thinking — especially grassroots policy advocacy. Featuring Shikha Jain, MD, David Pugach, JD, Robert Gluckman, MD, and Gabe Charbonneau, MD.

Stop The Stigma: Standing Up for Physician Mental Health

March 28, 2021. Alarmed by an escalating physician mental health crisis, Medicine Forward joins hands with AMWA leaders and the Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation. The focus is on eliminating stigmatizing barriers to a thriving physician workforce. Featuring Brian Dixon, MD, Kim Templeton, MD, Loice Swisher, MD, Corey Feist, JD, and Emily Silverman, MD.

The Principles We Live & Breathe

We stand up for authentic human relationships with sufficient time and presence with every patient, cultivating optimal communication, empathy, and care. We put humanistic patient care first before the business of medicine.
We build on a foundation of wellbeing and trust for all patients and healthcare workers as our primary aim.
We bring physicians together from diverse backgrounds and communities to discover and elevate our shared voice. We are highly collaborative through a multi-disciplinary and multi-network model of organizing.
We claim our power as change agents passionate about a much better future for healthcare for all.

Join Medicine Forward

Shouldn’t Patients + Physicians Flourish Together?

Our vision is 10 million people activated to help patients + physicians flourish in their relationships with each other by 2035

Key Initiatives

Our Collaborators

Impact

Town Hall Replays

The Principles We Live & Breathe

We put the sacred Patient-Physician relationship first

WE BUILD ON A FOUNDATION OF WELLBEING AND TRUST

WE BRING PHYSICIANS, PATIENTS, & COLLABORATORS TOGETHER

WE CLAIM OUR POWER as change agents to accelerate transformation