Best Docs 2007: The Specialists

Gastroenterology

Dr. Jacqueline Wolf

Vital Stats: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; 27 years in practice.
Clinical Notes: The media put a spotlight on gastroenterology back in 2000 when Katie Couric famously underwent an on-air colonoscopy on the Today show; more recently, stars like Jimmy Smits have touted the colon cancer–screening procedure. Though Wolf hasn’t seen studies proving it, “I’m sure that’s had an impact on people getting procedures,” she says. A slew of new drugs for GI disorders is also increasing demand for gastroenterologists’ services, but for Wolf, it’s business as usual: With women M.D.s being a scarce commodity in her field (some estimates peg them at just 8 percent of the total), she’s had a bustling practice for years.
What’s Hot, What’s Not: Wolf says that the most common complaints, such as IBS and constipation, are as prevalent as ever; what’s changing is the pharmaceutical landscape. Sulfa-based drugs for inflammatory bowel disease, for instance, are on the way out, as physicians turn to new treatments without this troublesome ingredient (many patients are allergic to sulfa, or simply can’t tolerate it).
What’s Next: Interest in virtual colonoscopy, a kind of CAT scan, is growing. But before it really catches on, Wolf says, researchers will have to come up with an improvement on the standard colonoscopy prep; even for virtual procedures, patients must first undergo this grueling, hours-long process to flush out their works.
Doctor’s Orders: Know your family history; especially with colon cancer, it will tell you if you have increased risk and give an idea of when you should get screened. And, no surprise when it comes to all things digestive: Always, always opt for healthy foods.

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Internal Medicine

Dr. Somava Stout

Vital Stats: Medical director, Revere Family Health Center (a Cambridge Health Alliance program); four years in practice.
Clinical Notes: Board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics, Stout has seen firsthand the staggering demand for primary care, the healthcare entry point that internists (along with similarly scarce family practitioners) provide: Since she joined the Revere facility in 2004, its patient load has grown about 200 percent a year. “So few doctors are entering primary care, doctors who are in it are leaving it, and that’s leading us toward a crisis,” she says. “I think it’s been projected that by 2011, about 14,000 patients a day will enter Medicare. It’s really amazing—and somewhat frightening—to think about what will happen.”
What’s Hot, What’s Not: Prevention and testing are at the top of the primary care docs’ to-do list, Stout says, as they work to stave off greater burdens of illness for their patients down the line. The flip side? Fewer and fewer have time to do actual procedures.
What’s Next: Getting out of the office to help build a healthier community. At the Revere center, for instance, the doctors join in with patients’ walking groups, and travel to the supermarket with them to help them learn to read nutrition labels.
Doctor’s Orders: Stay connected to other people who also have an interest in health, like finding a buddy to exercise with. “It’s okay to just do little things every day, as long as you stay committed to walking down that path.”

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