Dr. Ehrenfeld is an anesthesiologist with Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the president of the American Medical Association (AMA).
He subspecializes in neuroanesthesiology (administering anesthetic drugs and providing related critical care to neurosurgical patients) and has special expertise in hospital medicine and clinical informatics.
Dr. Ehrenfeld’s many professional activities include serving as senior associate dean, professor of anesthesiology, and director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
He is certified by both The American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Preventive Medicine (clinical informatics). He is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, as well as the American Medical Informatics Association.
Steve Leibforth, Castle Connolly’s managing director, recently visited Milwaukee to present Dr. Ehrenfeld with a commemorative plaque.
“Being a Castle Connolly Top Doctor isn’t just about knowing the science behind the medicine; it’s also about going above and beyond for patients and making sure they feel heard and their needs are met,” Dr. Ehrenfeld says. “The peers who nominated me for this award are physicians I’ve looked up to over my career, which makes it particularly special.”
Dr. Ehrenfeld is glad that the Top Doctors listings help connect individuals to the care most appropriate for them.
“Having a sense of who the best doctors are — across specialties, across diversity, across the country — helps patients know where they can get trusted healthcare,” he says.
Following a lifelong calling and ensuring that patients feel heard
Taking care of others is a natural fit for Dr. Ehrenfeld, who grew up in Wilmington, Delaware; his mother is a psychologist and his father was a dentist.
“I always wanted to do something in healthcare, and I fell in love with the fast pace and acute care of anesthesiology and felt like I could make an impact,” he says.
Part of that impact for Dr. Ehrenfeld is making sure that his patients feel heard.
“I think my patients would tell you that in addition to knowing the science behind the medicine, I’m a doctor who listens,” he says. “I get to their eye level to hear their concerns and to make sure they feel cared for, which I think are also really important parts of the equation.”
“As a doctor, I don’t think there's anything more rewarding than meeting an anxious patient, putting my hand on their shoulder, and helping them through a difficult time,” Dr. Ehrenfeld continues. “And then watching them leave the hospital in better health than when they came in because of what I was able to contribute.”
The evolving doctor-patient doctor relationship and the role of technology
Dr. Ehrenfeld believes that a number of factors are changing how physicians and patients interact.
“There are a lot of external forces that are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship right now,” he says. “For example, we continue to see tremendous legislative overreach, with more and more states dictating how medicine is practiced, which is very problematic.”
Ongoing technological advances are also causing the patient-physician relationship to evolve.
“We're seeing a major shift because of technologies like digital tools, software, and artificial intelligence, which change the interactions between doctors and patients,” he says. “It's so important that we keep the human connection at the center of the doctor-patient relationship and at the center of healthcare.”
Through their efforts at the AMA, Dr. Ehrenfeld and his colleagues are working to do that.
“We're trying to keep lawmakers out of our exam rooms and to make sure that technology works for patients and physicians to support their relationship, not try to replace it.”
In the meantime, Dr. Ehrenfeld believes that the use and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and healthcare will continue to grow.
“I think AI is going to transform healthcare and make us more effective clinicians,” he says. “I see it being very helpful with diagnoses, and I think it’s going to automate a lot of tasks so that we doctors can turn our attention back to patient care and medicine at its foundation.”
“There are many exciting uses for AI,” he continues, “and almost three in ten doctors — myself included — are now using it in their practices, which I expect will only increase.”
Dr. Ehrenfeld anticipates that artificial intelligence will help patients more directly, as well.
“I think AI will make today’s complex healthcare system much more accessible for people who have to navigate it — making it easier for them to engage in their own care, which is so vital.”
Demographic representation, health equity help create a comfortable pathway to care
Dr. Ehrenfeld, a LGBTQ+ physician, understands the importance of representation and health equity.
“I know how important it is for patients to see themselves in their healthcare teams, which is why it’s critical for those teams to be diverse. When I walk into a patient's room, see a same-sex couple, and tell them I'm a gay physician, I see their anxiety melt away,” he says.
“Because of things like gender identity, sexual orientation, and race, many patients feel excluded and turned away. So it’s meaningful to me both personally and as a physician to contribute to patients having more positive experiences.”
Dr. Ehrenfeld believes that openly LGBTQ physicians can help to “create an easy, comfortable pathway for people to access care, which is so critically important,” he says. “I want patients who see me as a visible gay doctor to know that this is a healthcare system that will provide the care they need.”
The issue of health equity has been near and dear to Dr. Ehrenfeld’s heart for years, he says.
“Equity issues around LGBTQ health have been an important part of my career for almost two decades. And the AMA Center for Health Equity is the actualization of the organization-wide commitment to the goal: for all patients across the United States have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare.”
AMA efforts to reduce physician burnout, reduce non-care tasks
The AMA is also striving to lessen chronic overwork, stress, and depletion (“burnout”) among healthcare providers. Burnout is common and widespread, especially post-pandemic, when clinicians were stretched to their limits for many months. The issue, combined with a number of other factors, makes a career in medicine increasingly difficult.
“I think we need to do a couple things to improve the experience for today’s physicians, and one is to make sure that burned-out physicians are able to get help,” says Dr. Ehrenfeld. “The AMA has been working with state medical boards to have facilities eliminate stigmatizing prior-diagnosis questions that often prevent physicians from seeking care when they need it.”
Another issue, he says, is “to eliminate or facilitate tasks that take us away from practicing medicine — things like faxing forms to insurance companies, getting prior authorization, and having to fight to get patients the care they need.”
“We also have to make sure that technology is an asset and not a burden,” says Dr. Ehrenfeld. “For years the top physician dissatisfier was the electronic health record, because they were so time-consuming and difficult to use without providing much helpful information. We've got to make those things easier.”
