David J. Bachrach, FACHE/FACMPE
President
The Physician Executive’s Coach Inc.
Boulder, CO

The Association’s (Medical Group Management Association and the American College of Medical Practice Executives) present the Harry J. Harwick Lifetime Achievement Award — their highest form of recognition — to an individual who has made outstanding, nationally recognized contributions to health care administration, delivery and/or education over the course of his/her career, advancing the field of medical practice management.

The award is named for the first medical group practice administrator — Harry J. Harwick, FACMPE — who joined the Mayo Clinic in 1908. He served in management leadership for 44 years, retiring in 1952. Harwick was one of the founding members of MGMA and its president in 1928.

David J. Bachrach, FACMPE, FACHE, is the 2007 recipient of the Harwick Award. Bachrach is president, The Physician Executive’s Coach Inc., Boulder, Colo., a nationwide leadership coaching and advisory service for physicians in executive positions at academic health centers, cancer centers and teaching hospitals.

Bachrach began his career as administrative assistant to the chairs of the Departments of Surgery and Obstetrics & Gynecology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He then served in a variety of administrative positions at the University of Michigan Medical School and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. His deep knowledge of academic health care is invaluable in his position as a voluntary faculty member for the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program (ELAM), a leadership development enterprise for women physicians, scientists and dentists. He also serves as an advisory board member and lecturer for the Leadership Education for Advancement and Promotion Program at the University of Colorado.

Bachrach is a 34-year member of MGMA and ACMPE, earning his Fellowship in 1979 at age 30. He has made countless contributions to the Associations as a volunteer leader, and served as ACMPE Board chair in 2002-03. In 2002 he and his wife, Linda, and their children established, through ACMPE, the Bachrach Family Scholarship for Excellence in Health Care Administration, which supports graduate students.