Specialty Gastroenterology Facility Hayward/Fremont Medical Centers Department of Gastroenterology Address Hayward Main Building, 2nd Floor 27400 Hesperian Blvd. Hayward CA 94545 Niles Building, 3rd Floor 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway Fremont CA 94538 Map & Directions Telephone Appt/Advice: Hayward (510) 784-4813 Appt/Advice: Fremont (510) 248-3088 E-mail your doctor View your preventive services

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Closed	9:00 am 5:00 pm	9:00 am 5:00 pm	9:00 am 5:00 pm	9:00 am 5:00 pm	9:00 am 5:00 pm	Closed
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

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My Personal Approach

When you make an appointment to see me for a consultation, you will receive either a longer or a shorter appointment. Either consultation will include a brief or a long interview (called the “history”) and a shorter or longer physical examination (called the “physical”).

In the minority of cases it is clear that a procedure needs to be done. The consultation simply reviews the need for the procedure and makes sure that the procedure can be done safely.

In the vast majority of cases, I will want to examine a patient problem and analyze what is causing it.

The most important part is an interview which focuses on what the patient is experiencing. Here, I am not too interested in what other doctors think is going on -- I prefer to make up my own mind, untainted by preconceptions. The patient may be telling me the same story they have told others, but I will be listening afresh, and perhaps I will hear it differently than others do. For this reason, I want to interview the patient directly. The input of family members and others comes later.

Afterwards, I always perform a physical examination. Only then do I review information about laboratory and X-rays. With the history and exam in hand, I will know what questions to ask of the X-rays and laboratory. This disciplined approach helps me to keep the focus on treating a human being, not an X-ray or a laboratory value.

In terms of treatment, I am a minimalist. I prefer to keep things natural, and not put unnecessary foreign substances in our bodies. This includes herbs and pills – pills are never “natural”. I therefore try to treat with diet, exercise and lifestyle changes alone if possible. If medications are necessary, I use the least disruptive of the body’s natural equilibrium, not necessarily the “strongest” (whatever that means).

My Background

I received a BA from Boston College, majoring in history and philosophy (my approach to medicine owes much to my studies of how we acquire knowledge and process it). After a thesis in 18th century French history, I went on to a master’s degree in history at Harvard. A few years later I returned to school to do my premed studies at Grove Street Junior College and at UC Berkeley, then went on to medical school at McGill. I received both the psychiatry prize and the medicine prize at graduation in 1977.

After my internal medicine residency at Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, I founded the Potrero Hill Medical Group (San Francisco) in 1982 and practiced internal medicine for 6 years in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. In 1988 I returned to PMC for my gastrointestinal fellowship, and then joined Kaiser Permanent Richmond full time in 1990 (I had worked part time since 1978). In 2005 I transfered to the Fremont campus.

Working at Kaiser Permanente is an ideal fit for my belief in preventive medicine. It also enables me to work closely with my colleagues in gastroenterology to help provide the best care possible for our 3 million plus patients. I have published research in liver transplantation, hepatitis C, colon problems, and care of patients with upper intestinal disorders. In the rest of my life I enjoy running ultramarathons, gardening, reading history and of course, eating well.

My Credentials

Medical school	Mcgill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Internship	Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Residency	California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Fellowship	California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
Board certification	Gastroenterology, American Board of Internal Medicine

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