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Patricia Bell, MD 

Specialty
Internal Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Critical Care Medicine

Facility
San Rafael Medical Center
Hospital Based Specialists

Address
99 Montecillo Road
San Rafael CA 94903

Map & Directions

Telephone
Appt/Advice: 415-444-4885

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When I started working at Kaiser San Rafael in 1984, I spent 25% of my time in the ICU and 75% in my outpatient practice of internal medicine. In the summer of 2007 I said some sad goodbyes to my outpatients, many of whom had been seeing me for over 20 years, in order to concentrate entirely on hospital practice. The change made it possible to reduce my monthly working hours and to spend more time with my family (my 2 young adult sons who make me very proud, my fiance, and a cat) and with other things I enjoy (such as singing with the SF Bach Choir).

Now my job titles are Hospitalist (internist who specializes in caring for hospitalized adults) and Intensivist (specializing in taking care of the most seriously ill patients, in the Intensive Care Unit). Under most circumstances I will be your main doctor while you are in the hospital. I will take the lead in determining what is wrong, ordering tests, prescribing treatments, and coordinating your care with other physician specialists, nursing staff, and other professionals such as physical therapists, respiratory therapists, and social workers.

I will visit with you at least once daily, and more often as circumstances require. If you are in the ICU I will see you by 10:30 AM. If you are elsewhere in the hospital, the time of my visit will vary depending on your test schedule and the urgency of your needs and those of my other patients. My basic working hours are 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, longer if needed to get everything done.

My duty is scheduled in 7-day stints, beginning Saturday mornings and finishing Friday evenings. If your hospital stay extends past Friday evening, I will let you know about the doctor who will be taking over for me. After hours, there is always a doctor in the hospital for emergencies who communicates with me the following morning about any problems. When I am on duty in the ICU, the staff can reach me by beeper 24 hours a day.

Please don't hesitate to ask me your questions. I enjoy explaining things! My goal is that you understand your illness, what we are doing about it, and what your next steps will be after leaving the hospital. On the day you are discharged I will give you an updated, accurate list of all your medicines and I will email your primary care physician with a summary of all the findings.

I am happy to communicate with your loved ones on a daily basis. Please ask one of them to be the primary liason to speak with me so that he or she can transmit the information to the rest of the family as appropriate. I can be reached by calling 444-4885 (8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday), or by leaving a message with your nurse.

My credentials below will give you an idea of my training and background. I keep both of my board certifications up to date through educational programs and repeat testing.

I have chaired our hospital's ethics committee since 1992. Let me know if you have any questions about how the ethics committee can help when difficult decisions come up for patients and their families.

I am looking forward to getting to know you and to helping you to have a comfortable, secure, and productive hospital stay.

My Credentials

Medical school Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Internship Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY
Residency Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY
Fellowship St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center of New York, New York, NY
Board certification Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
Board certification Critical Care Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine



 
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