Anthony Mazzarelli
M.D., J.D. Contact Anthony MazzarelliAnthony Mazzarelli is a doctor, healthcare executive, lawyer, bioethicist, and associate professor. He uses this unique background to engage audiences of all types, ranging from hospital leaders, health system boards, hospital staff, medical groups, physician leaders and nonmedical groups. His clinical, academic and leadership experiences shape all of his talks to make them informative as well as entertaining. He is a regular guest on multiple local and national media outlets and is a regular fill-in host on CBS radio, where his nonpartisan approach to current events has reached 38 states and Canada. Anthony is the author of two bestselling books, Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference and Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways the Serving Others is the Best Medicine for Yourself.
Along with his responsibilities as an executive in a health system, Dr. Mazzarelli continues to practice emergency medicine at a Level 1 Academic Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey —an urban community previously known for its challenges with poverty and crime. This helps him remain close to the practice of medicine and how it impacts patients, staff and physicians.
Dr. Mazzarelli is Co-President and Chief Executive Officer of Cooper University Health Care and the Dean of Clinical Affairs for Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Cooper University Health Care is a $1.7B Academic Medical Center, Level 1 Trauma Center, with over 100 ambulatory locations and an 850-physician multi-specialty faculty practice plan. Prior to his current role, Dr. Mazzarelli served as Cooper’s Chief Physician Executive where he oversaw the physician practice, as well as quality/patient safety and continuous process improvement efforts for the health system. He lectures about healthcare policy, bioethics and process improvement within the medical school and residency programs. Dr. Mazzarelli started Cooper’s Process Improvement Office, which included the introduction of continuous process improvement principles such as Lean Six Sigma as a methodology for operational efficiency and quality improvement. This helped the organization achieve its first-time recognition as a “Top Performer” by The Joint Commission as well as achieve millions of dollars in savings. Prior to his current role, Dr. Mazzarelli was the Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation, responsible for assisting in the development of the latest strategic plan for the health system that was adopted in 2012 and has resulted in the largest growth in the health system’s history, with revenue now exceeding well past a billion dollars annually. Aside from growing the size of the practice in both physicians and revenue, Dr. Mazzarelli oversaw the implementation of a variable compensation plan as well as the doubling of physician engagement scores during the same time. He was also one of the three original team members to work on integrating Cooper and Rowan in preparation for the founding of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and organizing for initial accreditation for the new medical school that graduated its first class in May 2016.
Dr. Mazzarelli received his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, his law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School and his master's in bioethics from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2010, he was awarded the Halo Award for leading a team of 18 health care providers from Cooper into Haiti in the days immediately following the 2010 earthquake. Dr. Mazzarelli has been named one of the 50 most powerful people in New Jersey health care by NJ Biz and NJ ROI. He has been named an ROI Influencer in Health Care for 2022 and named Philadelphia’s Most Admired CEO from Philadelphia Business Journal. Dr. Mazzarelli has also received numerous commendations for his leadership.
Areas of Expertise
- Business Operations
- Care Transformation
- Digital Technology and Analytics
- Organizational Transformation
- Strategy and Innovation
Industries
- Healthcare
Professional Associations
- Member, American Association of Physician Leaders
- Member, American College of Emergency Physicians
- Member/Committee Member, American College of Healthcare Executives
- Member, Fellow of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Member, National Association of Corporate Directors
- Member, Vidocq Society
Education & Certifications
- Bachelor of Science (BS), with Honors, Washington and Lee University
- Medical Doctor (MD), AOA Honor Society, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Rutgers)
- Juris Doctorate (JD), with Honors, University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Master’s in Bioethics (MBE), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
- American Board of Emergency Medicine
Speaking Topics List
- Communication
- Employee Attraction and Engagement
- Executive Leadership
- Leadership
- Organizational Culture
- Resilience and Well-Being
- Patient and Consumer Experience
- Physician Alignment and Engagement
- Quality and Safety
- Strategy and Innovation
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Top Presentations
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Compassionomics: Is There Evidence Behind the Art of Medicine?
Audience: All Healthcare Roles Focus: Leadership, Communication, Employee Attraction and Engagement, Patient and Consumer Engagement Length: KeynoteThere is art that is not science, and there is science with no art. However, contrary to how most people typically think, there are aspects of art that is pure science. That science is rooted in neurobiology, physiology, immune function, human connection, behavior change and even health economics. Compassion science tells us that the provider-patient relationship can increase patient satisfaction, improve clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs. It can also dramatically impact the engagement of those that deliver care. Additionally, the relationship between healthcare providers and staff to each other can have a profound impact on the engagement and resilience of staff. It is how healthcare professionals choose to interact with each other and view those interactions that determines whether it leads to burnout or fulfillment. In short, are people happy because they are successful or successful because they are happy? This session will review the data behind the “art of medicine” and, perhaps more interesting, the evidence (or lack thereof) behind the everyday advice that people often give to each other.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the definition of the field of compassion science
- Explore the impact of the provider-patient relationship on patient experience, clinical outcomes, healthcare spending and provider engagement
- Examine the role of the positive psychology literature and its applicability to healthcare professionals
- Learn the data behind the advice that people often give each other about how to treat one another and patients
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Compassionomics: How the Clinical and Economic Value of Caring Can Drive Physician Engagement
Audience: Executive Leaders, Physician Leaders Focus: Leadership, Communication, Physician Alignment and Engagement Length: KeynoteWithout physician engagement it is nearly impossible to achieve any meaningful goals or change as a healthcare organization. However, physicians are often the most resistant to change and the most difficult to get buy-in for meaningful initiatives or transformations. How do you overcome this seemingly natural physician/administrator divide? Using a case study, this session will highlight the pathway of how to significantly increase physician engagement scores. It is the lessons learned, both what went well and not so well, in being able to motivate and organize in a way to impact how an organization interacted and led their physicians to a doubling of physician engagement scores.
Learning Objectives:
- Articulate strategies to improve physician engagement
- Understand how to prioritize efforts to drive enhanced engagement
- Learn how selection of engagement champions and use of physician leaders are catalysts to drive engagement
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Wonder Drug: The Science of Serving Others
Audience: All Healthcare Roles, Non-Healthcare Roles Focus: Leadership, Communication, Employee Attraction and Engagement, Patient and Consumer Engagement Length: KeynoteIn this presentation, Dr. Mazzarelli will illuminate, through neuroscience and captivating stories from his clinical practice, how being a giving, other-focused person is a secret superpower. Research shows that the evidence-based way to live your life is serving others. Kinder people not only live longer, they also live better. Science shows that serving others is not just the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do.
Dr. Mazzarelli will make you rethink your notions of “self-care” and “me time,” and realize that focusing on others is a potent antidote to the weariness that so many of us feel in modern times. Getting outside of your own head, outside the swirl of self-concern that may dominate your mental chatter, is, ironically, one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Building upon his earlier work showing that, in the context of healthcare, having more compassion for patients is a powerful way to not only achieve better patient outcomes, but also promote well-being, resilience and resistance to burnout among healthcare workers, Dr. Mazzarelli now extends this research to uncover how the power of serving others reaches far beyond the medical world and can be a life-changing therapy for everyone.
Dr. Mazzarelli’s work relates to the varying meanings of giving in real people’s daily lives. His message will convince and inspire people to make simple prism changes. You don’t need a total life upheaval, just a purposeful shift in mindset. In fact, the crucial first piece of his evidence-based prescription is this: start small. Per science, the best way to well-being, personal success, and professional success is about focusing on others—whether they are your co-workers, your patients, your clients, your neighbors, or even strangers.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the personal and professional benefits of giving and focusing on other people
- Examine the role of the positive psychology literature and its applicability to the workplace setting
- Learn the data behind the advice that people often give each other about how to treat one another