Subspecialty : Non Surgical Sports Medicine

Dr. Brian Halpern was the first nonsurgical, fellowship-trained and board certified sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Halpern founded the Primary Sports Medicine program at HSS, one of the first PSM programs within a hospital in the United States, and served as its first Chief of Service for seven years.

Dr. Halpern has been one of the pioneers in the non-operative approach to acute and chronic musculoskeletal problems, and has been a leader in the field both at HSS and nationally. His vision of how the field of sports medicine can impact research, education, and patient care is exemplified by his role as a Founder of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, which is now the largest organization of sports medicine physicians and team physicians in the US. Further, he was a long time President of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Foundation (AMSSM). Most recently, he was honored by being named the AMSSM Senior Traveling fellow of 2019, where he will be traveling to Japan to exchange research and best clinical practices.

In the research arena, Dr. Halpern has been a leader in developing research and clinical practices in the use of orthobiologics. This has now evolved into the field of regenerative medicine. Research conducted in the HSS PSM service has great potential for the treatment of all patients and for the future of joint repair.

Known to his patients for his empathy and big heart, Dr. Halpern, along with other members of World T.E.A.M. Sports, an organization that brings adaptive and able-bodied athletes together in sports, won an Emmy Award for the documentary “Vietnam: Long Time Coming.” The 1998 film documents his efforts to bring orthopedic care and rehabilitation services to post-war Vietnam and Vietnam veterans. In honor of his work in Vietnam, Dr. Halpern was the first recipient of the AMSSM Humanitarian Award.