50 Most Influential Physician Executives – 2017

Dr. Leana Wen has served as Baltimore's health commissioner since January 2015. An emergency medicine physician and vocal public health advocate, she leads a department that has been widely recognized as a leader in healthcare innovation. Soon after she started, with the city facing an unprecedented number of people dying from opioid overdoses, Wen issued a blanket prescription for the opioid antidote naloxone to all 620,000 residents of Baltimore. The program is credited with saving over 800 lives since 2015. Wen is a frequent speaker on public health issues, has led several popular TED talks, and co-authored the 2012 book When Doctors Don't Listen.