Photo by Kent Dayton/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
WALTHAM - Dr. Monica Bharel, a senior advisor for the City of Boston and former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) as the 2022 recipient of the Society’s Special
Award for Excellence in Medical Service and its Woman Physician Leadership Award.
The award for excellence honors a physician who has made a distinguished demonstration of compassion and dedication to the medical needs of his or her patients and the general public. The Woman Physician Leadership Award recognizes a woman physician for
outstanding leadership, professional contributions, and being a role model.
“(Bharel’s) entire career has been spent in the service of patients and marginalized communities, including homeless, substance-using and racial minority populations,” said Dr. Carole Allen, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. “As a public
servant, she has excelled in advancing public health.”
Bharel, in her role as public health commissioner worked with the Massachusetts Medical Society and the state’s four medical schools - Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine, and UMass Chan Medical
School - to develop and adopt a set of principles aimed at promoting an antiracist, more diverse, inclusive, and equitable medical culture in the state.
An accomplished medical educator, Bharel was a practicing internist for 20 years.
Bharel received her Master of Public Health degree through The Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University and is a graduate of Boston University School of Medicine.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
