Bruce Hensel, M.D.

Emmy winning Journalist and broadcasting personality Dr. Bruce Hensel has heartfelt feelings and an opinion or two about our Healthcare system. And with his dynamic approach to Medicine–that informs, advises, empowers and confronts–America is watching, reading and listening.

Throughout his successful 30-year career in broadcasting, millions have come to know the Doctor as an acclaimed Medical expert and broadcaster whose stories cover breakthrough medical advances and cutting edge treatments.

Countless others have benefited from his willingness to expose an ailing, overworked system and fraudulent medical practitioners.

As NBCTV’s’ Chief Health, Medical and Science Producer, Editor and Correspondent– in Los Angeles, New York and many affiliate stations- -Dr. Hensel is a true television luminary. He is renowned for his empathy, understanding and his ability to turn “doctorese” into plain English; to make the most complex and confusing medical jargon understandable and usable for his audience.

Over the past three decades, Dr. Hensel has amassed numerous awards, including six Emmys and two Golden Mikes. He has been honored by the City of Los Angeles for Outstanding Contributions to the Community and Achievements in Health Care Reporting.  He also received the “Communicator of the Year Award” from the Publicist Association and has garnered top reporting prizes from the American Aesthetic Society; The American Heart Association (four times); the American Diabetes Association; and The California Medical Association, among many others.

Radio is another of Dr. Hensel’s venues for success. He was on-air Chief Medical Advisor for KFWB radio for nine years and hosted two highly successful talk shows for KFI and KABC radio. He also has filled in for Dr. Drew Pinsky at “Loveline.”

He is the author of the book, Smart Medicine: How to Prevent Medical Mistakes and Get the Most Out of Your Medical Care, published by Putnam.  It stands as an Everyman’s bible for information on quality medical care and treatments. Other writing credits include Contributing Medical Editor of Family Circle magazine and contributing author for Ladies Home Journal.  He also acted as Chief Content Writer, Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board for drkoop.com. The Internet site (before failing as a business entity) was acknowledged as being the most credible resource for medical information on the Web. In that role, the doctor was also a founding member of the Bioethics Committee for Privacy Protection on the Internet.

In addition to his many Scientific and Journalistic achievements, Dr. Hensel is also recognized in the Arts. His Showtime documentary, “The Opposite Sex,” a controversial, engrossing account of transsexuals, won the Grand Jury Award from The OUTFEST Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film, which he and Stuart Krasnow (Executive Producer of many reality shows), co-created and produced, received critical acclaim from such entertainment industry standards as the Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly, which called it: “Difficult to watch, impossible to turn away.”

Dr. Hensel continues to practice as a respected physician, serving as Regional Director for Emergent Medical Associates who own 16 emergency rooms.

He is a Full Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine and was Chairman of the American Red Cross Medical Advisory Committee.  He has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Hensel will continue broadcasting Medical news while affecting change within the Medical and Healthcare system by producing other feature and documentary films on controversial subjects.  He is now extending his reach with a national consumer advocate radio show.  The Doctor will always be on call for America to help them get through their health challenges, and set the record straight the next time the Healthcare system throws them a curve.

Dr. Hensel graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Theory.  He studied journalism at UCLA and Columbia University and attended medical school at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.

He received his internship and residency training at Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital and at UCLA.