About Jon Bertman

Though born in Boston, Massachusetts, Jonathan M. Bertman, 40, moved to Rhode Island to complete his medical training at Brown, and has lived here since. Currently he lives in Saunderstown with his wife, Sandy Musial, MD (39), and children, Max (7), and Jack (4). Prior to attending medical school, Jon was a science teacher at the Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City for 5th through 8th grade students. Click here for more details on Jon's education, training, and life experience.

Jon is a board-certified Family Physician. He founded and works at South County Family Medicine with a Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner. Jon is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Brown University, and regularly teaches medical students and residents. He is a member of the Rhode Island Medical Society and was recently made a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

In caring for patients, Jon learned that a large segment of the population was at risk for serious health problems, such as HIV/AIDS, simply because people were uncomfortable discussing "personal" issues. Jon found that many of his patients were afraid to ask about important issues because they were embarrassed. To provide a place for folks to learn about their most personal concerns, he decided to build a medical website where such topics could be addressed and discussed with the anonymity of an online community. His website, AfraidToAsk.com, gained critical acclaim for its straight-forward approach to medical issues and the uncensored discussion on its bulletin boards. The site is visited by hundreds of thousands of users each month.

In 1999, Jon learned his medical website was being blocked as a result of a congressional act know as the Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Jon sued the United States government to stop the law on the grounds that the act infringed on his right of free speech. With legal representation from the ACLU, Jon testified in Philadelphia, and won an injunction against the introduction of the law. (Alas, the case was subsequently appealed to the US Supreme Court, who overturned the lower court's ruling by a 5 to 4 vote.) In 2001, Jon was awarded the Citation of Merit from the Rhode Island Library Association "For His Efforts To Protect The First Amendment Rights of All Rhode Islanders."

Also through his experiences as a family physician, Jon realized that there was a strong need to bring technology into the medical office setting. Finding a distinct lack of cost-effective software to accomplish the unique needs of practicing physicians, he decided to develop an application that would do everything required to run his own office. He wrote, tested, used, and sold his electronic medical records program, fittingly called Amazing Charts, to physicians around the country. Today it is being used in over 500 practices across the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and even Spain.

Jon is a dedicated husband, father, physician, and teacher. He believes that, in addition to enjoying our own lives, most of us have a strong desire to help improve the lives of people around us, and those less fortunate than we. By thinking globally, and acting locally, Jon believes we can make our house, our community, and our world, a better place for ourselves and our children.