Erica Rowe Urquhart, M.D., Ph.D. is a former orthopedic surgeon, physician-scientist, and author focused on healthcare economics, medical practice consolidation, and health equity in the United States. She recently joined the Editorial Advisory Board of Medical Economics, where she provides strategic guidance on independent practice business strategy and U.S. healthcare macroeconomics. Dr. Urquhart earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Harvard College, followed by an M.D. and Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her orthopedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, one of the nation’s leading orthopedic institutions.

Dr. Urquhart practiced general orthopedic surgery for nearly twenty years as a partner at Urquhart Orthopedic Associates, gaining direct experience with the financial, regulatory, and operational pressures facing private medical practices. Her academic work has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and Cell, and she has received multiple national research awards for her contributions to musculoskeletal and neuroscience research.

She is the author of Invisible Hand Wielding the Scalpel: The Hidden Cause of America’s Healthcare Crisis, a critical analysis of how capitalist market forces, private equity, and healthcare consolidation are reshaping medical care delivery and contributing to physician burnout, reduced patient choice, and widening health disparities. Written for both healthcare providers and patients, the book documents the evolving state of American healthcare in 2025–2026 and calls for informed advocacy, policy engagement, and systemic reform.

Today, Dr. Urquhart speaks and writes on healthcare economics, the decline of private medical practice, physician-led care models, and the pursuit of equity and justice in healthcare. Her work is grounded in lived clinical experience and a commitment to informing the next generation of providers and patients.