Marty Makary MD

Dr. Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and Professor of Health Policy & Management. He is a leading voice for physicians writing for the Wall Street Journal and USA Today and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

He is the founder of Restoring Medicine, an advocacy effort to help people who can’t afford their medical bills. Dr. Makary also serves as executive director of Improving Wisely, a national physician collaboration to reduce unnecessary medical care and lower health care costs. His current research focuses on the appropriateness of medical care, administrative waste, price and quality transparency, and the impact of health care costs on low-income populations.

Dr. Makary was the lead author of the original articles on the Surgical Checklist and later served in leadership with Atul Gawande on the World Health Organization Surgery Checklist project. Makary has published more than 250 scientific articles, including articles on payment reform, vulnerable populations, and opioid prescribing guidelines. He is also an advocate for treating medical conditions when possible with healthy foods and lifestyle medicine. Dr. Makary has been named one of America’s 20 most influential people in health care by Health Leaders magazine.

His newest book The Price We Pay speaks to the heart of American Medicine's public trust--a trust being eroded by the high cost of care. Described as “a must-read for every American” by Steve Forbes and a “deep dive into the real issues driving up the cost of health care” by Dr. Don Berwick, The Price We Pay is the “The Big Short” of American Medicine.