About Robert Pearl

As a practicing physician, Stanford professor, Forbes.com contributor and former medical group CEO, I have a unique perspective on the business of healthcare and the culture of medicine. I’m passionate about helping people understand the interactions and consequences of these forces. Recently named one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 most influential physician leaders, I’m a strong advocate for the power of integrated, prepaid, technologically advanced and physician-led health care delivery.As the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017) and president of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (2009-2017), I led the nation’s largest medical group, comprising 9,000 physicians, 35,000 staff, and 4 million Kaiser Permanente members on the west and east coasts.In 2017 I authored “Mistreated: Why We think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong,” a Washington Post bestseller that offers a road map for transforming American healthcare. All proceeds from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.I serve as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and am on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where I teach courses on strategy and leadership, and lecture on information technology and health care policy.Since 2013, I’ve been a regular contributor to Forbes, covering the business of healthcare and the culture of medicine. I’ve had the opportunity to be featured on CBS This Morning, CNBC, NPR, and in TIME, USA Today and Bloomberg News.I’m board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, having received my medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine, followed by a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University.