Dr. Peter Blumenthal was installed on Saturday as the 233rd president of the Medical Society of New Jersey during the delegates session of the organization’s 2025 annual meeting. He succeeds David E. Swee, MD.
Blumenthal has been a member of MSNJ since 1978 and a member of the society’s board of trustees since 2016, serving on various councils and committees.
“Dr. Blumenthal brings a keen eye toward critical public health issues and a fresh perspective that will benefit our members and the broader medical community,” said Larry Downs, CEO of MSNJ. “His dedication to evolving the practice of medicine and advocating for physicians is unwavering.”
In his inaugural speech as president, Blumenthal said, “We must create space for physicians to practice medicine without the burden of intrusive or misguided regulations. Common sense and humanity must prevail. One clear example is the movement to remove stigmatizing questions about mental health from licensing and credentialing applications. These questions discourage physicians from seeking the help they may need. Safe Haven laws—such as the model adopted in Virginia—eliminate this barrier. I believe strongly that ‘some people are physicians, but all physicians are people.’ We owe it to each other to create a system where seeking help is a sign of strength, not a liability.”
Blumenthal said he’s spoken out against Medicare cuts and believes “it’s time to be equally forceful about Medicaid. This is the benefit that provides essential care—including mental health care—for our poorest patients.”
He also considers educating patients to be a “personal mission of mine… When patients understand their conditions and treatments, they become collaborators in their own care,” he said.
Blumenthal earned his medical degree from the University of Bonn in Germany, where he also completed his doctoral thesis in biochemistry. Blumenthal trained in clinical pharmacology at Tulane University and clinical pharmacokinetics at SUNY Buffalo, before obtaining his master of public health degree from Rutgers University. He continues his academic contributions as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and regularly lectures at legal education seminars.
The Medical Society of New Jersey was founded in 1766 and is the oldest professional medical society in the United States.
