Dr Joseph Scherger

Joseph E. Scherger, M.D., M.P.H., is Vice President for Primary Care and Marie E. Pinizzotto, MD, Chair of Academic Affairs at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Dr. Scherger is President of the Riverside County Medical Association (RCMA) in 2017.  He is also a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Scherger is a leader in transforming office practice and has special interests in nutrition and wellness. He has authored and self-published two previous books on Amazon, 40 Years in Family Medicine (2014), and the first edition of Lean and Fit (2016).

         Originally from Delphos, Ohio, Dr. Scherger graduated from the University of Dayton in 1971, summa cum laude. He graduated from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1975, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed a Family Medicine Residency and a Masters in Public Health at the University of Washington in 1978. From 1978-80, he served in the National Health Service Corps in Dixon, California, as a migrant health physician. From 1981-92, Dr. Scherger divided his time between private practice in Dixon and teaching medical students and residents at UC Davis. From 1988-91, he was a Fellow in the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, focusing on health care reform and quality of life. From 1992-1996, he was Vice President for Family Practice and Primary Care Education at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego.  From 1996-2001, he was the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and the Associate Dean for Primary Care at the University of California Irvine.  From 2001-2003, Dr. Scherger served as founding dean of the Florida State University College of Medicine.

         Dr. Scherger has received numerous awards, including being recognized as a “Top Doc” in San Diego for 6 consecutive years, 2004-2009. He was voted Outstanding Clinical Instructor at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in 1984, 1989 and 1990. In 1989, he was Family Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the California Academy of Family Physicians. In 1986, he was President of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. In 1992, Dr. Scherger was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1994, he received the Thomas W. Johnson Award for Family Practice Education from the American Academy of Family Physicians. In 2000, he was selected by the UC Irvine medical students for the AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award. He received the Lynn and Joan Carmichael Recognition Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in 2012. He served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America from 1998-2001. Dr. Scherger served on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Board of Family Medicine.  From 2005-2010 he served as Consulting Medical Director for Quality and Informatics at Lumetra Healthcare Solutions.

         Dr. Scherger serves on the editorial board of Medical Economics and is an Assistant Editor of Family Medicine. He is a Senior Fellow with the Estes Park Institute. He was the Men’s Health expert and a consultant for Revolution Health, 2006-09, and he has covered California for eDocAmerica since 2003. He was Editor-in-Chief of Hippocrates, published by the Massachusetts Medical Society, from 1999-2001. He was the first Medical Editor of Family Practice Management. He has authored more than 400 medical publications and has given over 1000 invited presentations.

         Dr. Scherger enjoys an active family life with his wife, Carol, and two sons, Adrian and Gabriel. He has completed 37 marathons, ten 50K and five 50 mile ultramarathon trail runs.     

Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH

Lean and Fit Enterprises, LLC