David Blumenthal (born August 31, 1948) is an academic physician and health care policy expert, best known as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the period 2009-2011 during early implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provisions on "meaningful use".
Blumenthal was born in Brooklyn, the son of Jane M. (née Rosenstock) and Martin A. Blumenthal, the president of a commodities trading firm. His mother was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to a Jewish family that originated in Prussia and Baden, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Frankfurt, Germany.
Blumenthal received his B.A. from Harvard College (1970), his M.D. from Harvard Medical School (1975), and his M.P.P. from Harvard Kennedy School (1975). His internship and residency were at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1975 to 1980.
Blumenthal was associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston (1987 to 1991) and then associate physician at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1991, physician from 1997.
Blumenthal was a lecturer of health policy at the Kennedy School of Government from 1980 to 1987. He was an instructor, then professor, of medicine, social medicine and health policy, and of health care policy at the Harvard Medical School from 1980 and also a lecturer on health services, health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1983.