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EMILY FRIEDMANIndependent Health Policy and Ethics Analyst851 West Gunnison Street, Unit G
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In August 2006, the readers of Modern Healthcare named Emily Friedman as one of the 100 most powerful people in the health care field. | ||
Public Speaking * Books * Periodical Writings * Other Writings  * Awards and Honors * Comments on her Speaking * Comments on her Writing * Contact Information * Photographs | ||
See what's from Emily Friedman in Hospitals & Health Networks Weekly and in Health Progress
Emily Friedman is an independent writer, speaker, teacher, and health policy and ethics analyst based in Chicago. She is contributing editor of Hospitals & Health Networks and contributing writer for the Journal of the American Medical Association, Health Progress, and other periodicals. Ms. Friedman also writes a regular column for Hospitals & Health Networks Weekly. She is most noted for her work in health policy (including health care reform initiatives), health care trends, health care quality improvement activities, health insurance and managed care, the social ethics of health care, ethics issues for health care leaders, health care for the underserved, health care history, population demographics and their implications for health care, and the relationship of the public with the health care system.
Ms. Friedman has written more than 750 articles and editorials in the past 33 years. She is the editor of Making Choices: Ethics Issues for Health Care Professionals (American Hospital Publishing, 1986), Choices and Conflict: Explorations in Health Care Ethics (American Hospital Publishing, 1992), and An Unfinished Revolution: Women and Health Care in America (United Hospital Fund of New York, 1994). She authored The Aloha Way: Health Care Structure and Finance in Hawaii (Hawaii Medical Service Association, 1993) and The Right Thing: Ten Years of Ethics Columns from the Healthcare Forum Journal (Jossey-Bass, 1996). She writes on health care for the World Book Encyclopedia Yearbook and the Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ms Friedman is currently writing a history of health care in Minnesota and recently published major articles, white papers, and reports on lessons from health care in Cambodia, current U.S. health care reform efforts, the ethics of health care reform, food and drug safety in the United States, and participation of minority groups in clinical trials.
A prolific public speaker, she addresses audiences ranging from state legislators to allied health professionals to nursing and medical groups to community groups to hospital and health system leaders and health care associations. She has also lectured at many universities, including Harvard, Princeton, the University of California - Berkeley, the University of California - San Diego, Ohio State, Yale, and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. In 1987-88 she was a Rockefeller Fellow in Ethics at Dartmouth College. Beginning in 2009, Ms. Friedman has appeared repeatedly on National Public Radio programs, notably "To the Point," with Warren Olney. All of her appearances are archived on the Internet at www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp.
She also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioethics in the Department of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights at the Boston University School of Public Health, which has repeatedly named her one of its highest-rated teachers. In addition, she is a consultant on information dissemination to the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has made many radio and television appearances, including "ABC News Nightline" and National Public Radio.
She has won many awards and honors, including being an Honorary Life Member of the American Hospital Association, an Honorary Life Member of the American Medical Association, a Fellow of Academy Health (formerly the Association for Health Services Research), and an Honorary Lifetime Fellow of the American Academy of Medical Administrators. She has received the Corning Award of the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development.. The Emily Friedman Award for improvements in community health is presented annually by Community Health Partners, Charleston, South Carolina.
In addition, she has won many writing awards. In 2003, her column, "Making Choices," in Health Forum Journal, won a National Award of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (the largest competition in U.S. business publishing) and the Gold Award from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (the highest award that the Association grants).
In 2002, 2004, and again in 2006, the readers of Modern Healthcare named her as one of the 100 most powerful people in the health care field. In April 2005, the editors of Modern Healthcare named her one of the "Top 25 Women in Healthcare."
She is an avid photographer with several record album and CD covers to her credit. Her other hobbies include writing poetry, ethnic cooking, hiking, and the support and preservation of traditional folk music and culture.
Ms. Friedman is originally from Los Angeles. In l968 she received a B.A. degree in English, with honors, from the University of California at Berkeley.
All of Ms. Friedman's presentations are developed specifically for a given audience, after consultation with the appropriate parties. She thus does not offer standardized or "canned" talks. Some of her presentations are accompanied by PowerPoint audiovisuals.
Among her recent presentation topics are:
For speaking engagements, Ms. Friedman can be contacted directly or through speakers' bureaus. Among the bureaus that represent Ms. Friedman are the American Program Bureau, Newton, MA; The Bazel Group, Hermitage, TN; Executive Speakers Bureau, Germantown, TN; Five Star Speakers &apm; Trainers, Kansas City, KS; Healthcare Speakers Network, Zionsville, IN; Innovative Healthcare Speakers, Bozeman, MT; International Speakers Bureau , Dallas, TX; Key Speakers Bureau, Corona Del Mar, CA; Keynote Speakers, Belmont, CA; Leading Authorities, Washington, DC; Promenade Speakers Bureau, Brooklyn, NY; The Speakers Bureau at The Center for Healthcare Governance, Chicago, IL; The Speakers Network, Charlotte, NC; and The Speakers Platform, San Francisco, CA. See contact information below.
In January 2006, Ms. Friedman's extensive report, White Coats and Many Colors: Population Diversity and its Implications for Health Care, was published by the American Hospital Association. It is available at no charge in electronic format: http://www.hospitalconnect.com/ahapolicyforum/resources/content/AHAWhiteCoatsFINALprinted.pdf (3.15 MB)
Ms. Friedman is contributing editor of Hospitals & Health Networks and columnist for Hospitals & Health Networks Weekly; her column appears six times a year. She also writes guest editorials and articles for Modern Healthcare and other periodicals.
From 1986 until July 2003, Ms. Friedman wrote an award-winning column on ethics and social policy in health care, "Making Choices," for the Health Forum Journal. In July 2003, the American Hospital Association, which owns the Health Forum, terminated publication of the Health Forum Journal. Several of Ms. Friedman's recent columns can be found on this website (see below), and earlier columns can be accessed at www.healthforumjournal.com, by signing up for a free log-in and then searching for "Emily."
A compendium of Ms. Friedman's Health Forum Journal columns from 1986 though January 1996 is available in her book, The Right Thing, available from her (autographed) for $38 (checks and cash only). See the "Books Available" section of this website for more information.
Frontiers in Health Services Management
Although it is not available on this website, Ms. Friedman published an in-depth study of the impact of uninsured patients on U.S. hospitals in the Summer 2005 issue of Frontiers in Health Services Management. The publication, which also contains other articles on the subject and an additional commentary by Ms. Friedman, is available from Health Administration Press, One North Franklin, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60606-4425, (312) 424-2800, or online at http://www.ache.org/PUBS/frontiers.cfm.
Hospitals & Health Networks OnLine columns:
Other articles by Ms. Friedman:
Health Forum Journal columns:
In 2009, Ms. Friedman was commissioned by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to write a research paper on the lack of diversity among clinical trial participants and how more diversity might be attained. Her paper was published in 2010 on the CIRM web site. Because it is was state-funded, it is public domain and can be downloaded and shared — and Ms. Friedman encourages you to do so. The link is below, and, as with all of Ms. Friedman's work, she welcomes your comments.
http://www.cirm.ca.gov/files/PDFs/Publications/Diversity_Report.pdf
Ms. Friedman can be contacted directly:
or through the speakers' bureaus that represent her, including:
| "Thank you for making last night into one of our best evenings yet." | ||
| — Ian Masters, radio host and director of the Hammer Forum, Armand Hammer Museum, UCLA | ||
| "A lot of rave reviews directed your way!" | ||
| — Teaching hospital CEO | ||
| "I was moved by your passion and compassion, and others were as well. It is very moving to see someone as knowledgeable as you are in your field harnessing that knowledge for the common good. You bless us." | ||
| — University official | ||
| "You were terrific, and many folks were still talking about it as they were going to their cars." | ||
| — Hospital association executive | ||
| "She hit it out of the park! I could have listened to her all day." | ||
| — Health system executive | ||
| "Your presentations were excellent." | ||
| — Medical care foundation executive | ||
| "Many thanks for the splendid presentation you gave.... It was thoughtful, hard-hitting, and provocative. Both the content and the manner in which you delivered it were outstanding." | ||
| — Health care governance researcher/trustee | ||
| "Thanks for doing a fantastic job at the event!" | ||
| — Speakers' bureau representative | ||
| "Stay the course as the 'voice of the patients' ... all patients." | ||
| — Hospital association executive | ||
| "Thank you for sharing your expertise and the gifts of your talent and insight with us." | ||
| — Hospital association executive | ||
| "Thank you for your fantastic presentation. As always, it is great to work with you." | ||
| — Hospital executive | ||
| "We are still moved by your presentations; there were many discussions this morning about you and how wonderful you were!" | ||
| — University official | ||
| "It was an absolute delight having you with us . . . Your remarks, as always, were so on target with our theme and wonderfully enhanced by your special research . . ." | ||
| — State hospital association CEO | ||
| "Your presentation was the highest ranked at the conference and resulted in many, many positive comments. Additionally, your presentation stimulated lively discussion throughout the entire three days of the meeting and we came away with many wonderful and thoughtful ideas of how to better serve our current and future members." | ||
| — Health plan executive | ||
| "The board members loved you! They truly appreciated your expertise, style, and candor. They want you to come back!" | ||
| — Health care foundation executive | ||
| "Fired up - could have spent the day with her!" | ||
| — Aging Services professional | ||
| "I could have listened for hours - extremely informative!" | ||
| — Health care executive | ||
| "Stellar comments and a richly deserved standing ovation . . ." | ||
| — Medical association CEO | ||
| "Everyone was talking throughout the meeting about how much they enjoyed your keynote address." | ||
| — Multistate association meeting professional | ||
| "Thank you so much for your brilliant and engaging address. You made a tremendous impact on our leadership team – your observations, reinforcement and calls-to-action clearly resonated." | ||
| — Fortune 500 health care company executive | ||
| "Your talk was a masterpiece!" | ||
| — National health care magazine publisher | ||
| "As usual, you were stimulating, thoughtful, and right on target for the audience." | ||
| — Health system CEO | ||
| "It was such a joy to have you as part of our conference! You are truly a gifted speaker with such an extraordinary mind. You received a 4.8 on a scale of 1-5. Our audience loved you!" | ||
| — Corporate health care information technology executive | ||
| "The client was RAVING about you!!! You did a wonderful job!" | ||
| — Speakers' bureau representative | ||
| "The best keynote speaker we have had in nine years." | ||
| — Medical society official | ||
| "For most of the audience, it was their first time hearing her speak, and I must say that her reviews were glorious!" | ||
| — Hospital medical staff executive | ||
| "Even if some do not agree with what she has written or said, her audiences have always been impressed with her candor, provocative content, and insights." | ||
| — Noted bioethics consultant and author | ||
| "Ms. Friedman's clear, cogent reasoning and courage to tell the truth are a welcome relief." | ||
| — Health care association executive | ||
| "One good thing about your talks is that they always change!" | ||
| — Hospital association CEO | ||
| "You were a raging success." | ||
| — Health care attorney/association officer | ||
| "You were the reason for my attendance… and you were the high point of the conference." | ||
| — National foundation executive | ||
| "It is testimony to your effect on this industry that myself and others find your teachings memorable. Your advocacy makes a difference." | ||
| — Hospital executive | ||
| "You are a great speaker and you taught me a lot." | ||
| — Young health care executive | ||
| "This was a '10.' Highly detailed, yet global, with eloquent specific conclusions from all the facts." | ||
| — Health system trustee | ||
| "Your talk was a regular topic of conversation throughout the conference, and, I'm sure, beyond as well. It was inspirational, provocative, and thought provoking - and much needed and appreciated! Seldom do we get such rave reviews!" | ||
| — Medical society leader | ||
| "You are a rock star! In five years of hosting this conference, I had never seen or imagined a standing ovation [until you received one]. Your presentation exceeded my expectations, which were very high." | ||
| — Ethics center executive | ||
| "You gave a superb presentation." | ||
| — Trustee organization president | ||
| "She is both intelligent and witty. People loved her so much at the conference I hired her for that I am having her back." | ||
| — Hospital association education director | ||
| "As usual, you were on target and thoroughly effective . . ." | ||
| — Medical association executive | ||
| "Thanks for the thoughtful, funny, and moving presentation.... You more than deserved the standing ovation. . . . We were very lucky to find you." | ||
| — Nutrition education professional | ||
| "Our hats are off to you . . . you were great!" | ||
| — State public health official | ||
| "You were a hit!" | ||
| — Medical group executive | ||
| "Your presentation was splendid — not surprising, since your presentations are always splendid." | ||
| — State hospital association CEO | ||
| "Your presentation provided a moving and inspiring message…" | ||
| — State hospital association executive | ||
| "You did a great job. There were many kudos." | ||
| — Professional meeting planner | ||
| "Staff . . . are already going back to your data and comments to figure out the implications for programming. Nothing could be a better outcome than that!" | ||
| — National foundation executive | ||
| "Your insights . . . were enlightening and appreciated." | ||
| — Medical association executive | ||
| "Thank you for a wonderful presentation! You were a huge hit." | ||
| — National association executive | ||
| "People realized that we ended with the perfect speaker — you." | ||
| — National association executive | ||
| "Words totally inadequate to describe this presentation . . . unebelievable, wonderful, thought-provoking, and outrageous!" | ||
| — Health care executive | ||
| "Exciting, excellent, top of the chart, inspiring, best speaker of the conference, challenged my thoughts." | ||
| — Comments from meeting participants at a national conference | ||
| "Your willingness to dig deep and find all of the good things is a great boost to the many people who are committed to patients. More important is your willingness to allow yourself to explore all sides (when no one else will) — it is a real a tribute to your integrity." | ||
| — Hospital association executive | ||
| "You always make a reader stop and think ... usually about things we would rather ignore." | ||
| — Health care system executive | ||
| "You were one of the two most-read contributors to Hospitals & Health Networks Weekly in 2009. Your work also made the Top Ten list for Hospitals & Health Networks magazine as a whole." | ||
| — Editor, Hospitals & Health Networks Weekly | ||
| "For me, you are [one of] the two best writers and commentators on health care policy in the USA. Unfortunately, too few are reading and thinking along the lines that you are." | ||
| — Former hospital association executive | ||
| "Keep up the good articles!" | ||
| — Health system CEO | ||
| "Students mention to me how much they love your work." | ||
| — Professor of health administration | ||
| "I loved the article you published about Hawaii." | ||
| — Health insurance company CEO | ||
| "Thank you for continuing to write your insightful essays.... Frequently I tack them onto quizzes for my students." | ||
| — Professor of health administration | ||
Thank youThank you for visiting this website! I hope you found it stimulating, inspiring, and life-changing — or at least informative. |
| — Emily Friedman |