1974 FACU LTY: Joanne Medlinsky, MD Parvin Saidi, MD Richard Cross, MD Mark A. Bloomberg, MD ’74, MBA A fter graduating from Boston University, Dr. Bloomberg, a native of Trenton, returned to New Jersey for medical school. He completed his residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, in Boston, and has remained in that area ever since. Following his residency, Dr. Bloomberg launched a solo medical practice, “the last solo practice in Waltham, [Massachusetts,]” he believes. Today, in semiretirement, he is a senior physician executive with HealthNEXT. In addition, he serves as president of the Bloomberg Healthcare Group, a solo consultancy specializing in quality improvement, a subject he teaches at the Harvard School of Public Health. Always an entrepreneur, he helped launch the first yearbook at Rutgers Medical School. And last year, he enthusiastically volunteered to chair his class’s 40th reunion, enjoying the opportunity to rebuild connections and round up classmates to celebrate. Dr. Bloomberg’s professional evolution began in 1977 at Waltham Hospital, where he was assigned to the Quality Assurance Committee. He found that the topic interested him, accepted appointment as committee chair, and, in 1982, became medical director of the hospital’s independent practice association. In 1987, Tufts Health Plan, a cutting-edge health management organization, recruited him as corporate medical director. Dr. Bloomberg continued in private practice for several years, “burning the candle at both ends,” he says. “Then I realized that, by improving the quality and coordination of patient care, I could influence the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.” He sold his practice and went with Tufts full time, while earning an MBA at Northeastern University. The “livesinfluenced” number grew to six million in 1996, when Dr. Bloomberg became chief medical officer of Private Healthcare Systems, a nationwide preferred provider organization. He is a physician surveyor for the National Committee for Quality Assurance, with a particular interest in developing the concept of the patientcentered medical home. In addition, he is one of only 60 distinguished fellows of the American College of Physician Executives. Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 55 COURTESY OF MARK A. BLOOMBERG, MD ’74, MBA