1. Home
  2. Our Speakers
  3. Joe Sachs

Joe Sachs

NEW EXCLUSIVE
  • Emergency Physician & Emmy Award-Winning Television Writer
  • Executive Producer of HBO Max's 'The Pitt'
  • Executive Producer & Writer, 'ER'
  • 2026 TIME100 Honoree & Humanitas Prize Winner

Add to my speaker list

An emergency physician and Emmy Award–winning writer, Joe Sachs has built a career shaping how millions understand medicine while continuing to practice it himself.

Sachs spent fifteen years writing and producing ER, crafting more than thirty episodes of the landmark series, and now serves as Executive Producer of HBO Max’s The Pitt. At the same time, he continues to treat patients at a Los Angeles trauma center, grounding his work in real cases, real pressure, and the consequences that follow.

That dual perspective defines his work. Sachs translates high-stakes clinical reality into narratives that resonate far beyond the hospital, earning recognition from the Humanitas Prize, the Writers Guild, and TIME, which named him one of the most influential people in health.

On stage, Sachs brings audiences inside moments where decisions carry weight, communication shapes outcomes, and clarity is not optional, offering a perspective that connects leadership, responsibility, and what it means to act when it matters most.

 

Joe Sachs headshot
The Pitt Season 2 Official Podcast: Episode 1 | HBO Max - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Joe Sachs
Expand all >

Translating Complexity So People Actually Understand It

As the creative force behind ER and The Pitt, JOE SACHS has spent his career making complex systems legible to millions. He breaks down how to communicate difficult ideas with clarity, why accuracy builds trust, and how storytelling shapes public understanding. ...

As the creative force behind ER and The Pitt, JOE SACHS has spent his career making complex systems legible to millions. He breaks down how to communicate difficult ideas with clarity, why accuracy builds trust, and how storytelling shapes public understanding.

What High-Stakes Environments Reveal About Leadership

Drawing from years in trauma centers and writers’ rooms, JOE SACHS explores how leadership shows up when outcomes are uncertain and stakes are high. He offers a clear view of responsibility, communication, and how trust is built when it matters most. ...

Drawing from years in trauma centers and writers’ rooms, JOE SACHS explores how leadership shows up when outcomes are uncertain and stakes are high. He offers a clear view of responsibility, communication, and how trust is built when it matters most.

Building a Career That Does Not Fit One Lane

From the ER to the writers’ room, JOE SACHS has never operated within a single definition of success. He shares how to navigate unconventional paths, make decisions without a clear roadmap, and build a career that evolves with your interests and opportunities. ...

From the ER to the writers’ room, JOE SACHS has never operated within a single definition of success. He shares how to navigate unconventional paths, make decisions without a clear roadmap, and build a career that evolves with your interests and opportunities.

Why Accuracy Is Not Optional

As an emergency physician and Emmy Award–winning writer, JOE SACHS has built his work on getting things right when it matters. He explores how accuracy builds trust, what happens when it breaks down, and why precision in communication is a leadership skill, not just a technical one. ...

As an emergency physician and Emmy Award–winning writer, JOE SACHS has built his work on getting things right when it matters. He explores how accuracy builds trust, what happens when it breaks down, and why precision in communication is a leadership skill, not just a technical one.

(-)
Press & Media
Joe Sachs - Broadcasting ER Issues | Time100 Health 2026 - TIME
MedPage Live March 24: 'The Pitt' Q&A With Show's Executive Producer - MedPage Today
(-)
Biography

Joe Sachs is an emergency physician, Emmy Award-winning television writer, and Executive Producer of the HBO Max series, The Pitt.

He began his interdisciplinary career as a student at Stanford Medical School, where he simultaneously pursued a master’s degree in Filmmaking. After graduation, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at UCLA. His television career began in 1994 with the NBC television series ER. He remained with the program throughout its fifteen-year run, eventually serving as Executive Producer and writing a total of thirty-five episodes of the acclaimed series.

In 2023, he joined HBO Max’s The Pitt, and has written multiple episodes during the show's first two seasons. His 2025 episode “2:00 P.M.” won the Humanitas Prize for best drama teleplay exploring the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way. He is also the recipient of awards from the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America for his work on season one of The Pitt. In 2026, he was named to the Time100 list as one of the world’s most influential people in health.

Throughout his career as a television writer, Dr. Sachs has maintained a part-time practice in Emergency Medicine at a designated trauma center for Los Angeles County, even attending to the most critical patients during the peak of the COVID- 19 pandemic. While writing compelling drama always comes first, his commitment to state-of-the-art medical accuracy has created a positive impact on both professional and public health education all around the world.

More ideas that might interest you:
Addiction & Recovery
Directors & Producers
Doctors & Health Experts
Exclusive to HWA
Global Health Issues
Hollywood Inspiration
New to HWA