Best-Selling Author to Headline Empowering Physicians Event September 26

August 21, 2025

Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD, the best-selling author of An American Sickness, will be the keynote speaker at the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Learning & Connection event on Friday, September 26, from 4 to 9 pm at the historic Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. 

Rosenthal is the editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, and the author of An American Sickness, a revealing investigation into America's healthcare system.    

Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD

A former ER physician, Rosenthal was an award-winning reporter at The New York Times for 22 years, gaining acclaim for her coverage of health and health policy issues. Drawing on her expertise, Rosenthal unpacks one of America's most complex and frustrating institutions with a humanist approach, and examines what physicians, patients, and providers can do to help repair it.   

Rosenthal talked with Minnesota Medicine in the upcoming September/October issue, which will be available in early September. She addressed how physicians can help improve the healthcare system: “When I speak to residents, I always tell them - and this is a big ask - right on your computer to order tests, show how much it's going to cost. I think doctors could push for that. I mean, the EMRs, which all doctors take, could tell you if you're ordering something expensive. You know the patient, you know the drug, you know their insurance, you should be able to pop up what it's going to cost,” she said, also noting that “doctors can push their institutions for more price transparency, so they at least know what's being billed on their behalf.” 

Rosenthal will provide a 60-minute presentation, answer questions for 15 minutes, and then be available to sign books.    

The event will also include University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, MD, a networking reception, a physicians-in-training poster symposium, and an introduction to the next MMA president, Lisa Mattson, MD.   

For more details and to register, click here.