Robert J. Mandel, MD, MBA

Vice President, Health Care Services

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Robert has been working with Andrew Dreyfus for the past two years on the company's transformation agenda, an effort aimed at creating a health care system in Massachusetts which delivers safe, timely, effective, affordable, patient centered care to all who need it.  He returned from the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) where he served as Chief Operating Officer for a year (on loan from BCBSMA).

Prior to this, Robert was at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for five years most recently as Vice President of eHealth.  His responsibilities in this role included managing the BCBSMA eHealth Program with significant focus on the eRx Collaborative and piloting medical decision support applications and other technologies that offer the potential of improving the quality and efficiency of care delivery.

Prior to being named Vice President of eHealth, Robert spent three years as Vice President of Provider Enrollment and Services where he lead many of the organization's administrative simplification initiatives.  In his tenure at the company, Robert also served as Vice President of Health Care Services Administration and Medical Information and as Senior Medical Director of the Provider Partnerships Division.  Responsibilities included integrating activities and functions across the Health Care Services Division, enhancing the interface with other divisions, leading the organization's medical informatics initiatives as well as developing and maintaining relationships with physicians, physician organizations and integrated delivery systems and working with them to improve the quality and efficiency of care delivery.

Prior to joining Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Robert was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Health Central, a provider-sponsored health plan in Harrisburg, PA.  Before that he served as Vice President of Clinical Integration for Capital Health Systems in Harrisburg, PA.  He practiced ophthalmology full time for eight years in Harrisburg, PA, before beginning his administrative career.

Robert did his undergraduate work at Princeton University and obtained his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  After deciding to leave clinical practice, he obtained an MBA through the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1994.