Orentlicher graduated from Harvard Medical School and then completed an internship in internal medicine.
After practicing as a family physician, he returned to Harvard Law School for his Juris Doctor.
While there, he drafted the AMA's first ever Patients' Bill of Rights, guidelines for physician investment in health care facilities that were incorporated into federal law, and guidelines on gifts to physicians from industry that have become the industry standard and a standard recognized by the federal government.
He helped develop many other positions—on end-of-life matters, organ transplantation, and reproductive issues—that have been cited by courts and government agencies in their decision-making.
In June 2020, Orentlicher won his primary for the Nevada Assembly in District 20 and had no opposition for the seat in November 2020.