Specialty Internal Medicine Facility Sacramento Medical Center Department of Medicine - Fair Oaks Building Address Fair Oaks Building 2345 Fair Oaks Blvd. Sacramento CA 95825 Telephone Appt/Advice: (916) 973-5243 E-mail your doctor

My Office Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	8:30 am 5:00 pm		8:30 am 5:00 pm	1:30 pm 5:00 pm	8:30 am 12:30 pm
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

Two brief messages for my patients:

#1)As you likely already know, I consider the internet and www.kp.org a vital part of my practice. For more info on that, please read below the first dotted line.

#2)Recently, I have read two books on nutrition that I highly recommend to my patients. The first is called The China Study, by T. Collin Campbell. The 2nd book is more geared towards patients with diabetes, it is called Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes. I would recommend this book for patients with Pre-Diabetes as well. One quick note, some patients that have really stuck to Dr. Barnard's program have found that their sugars drop very quickly. If you are taking insulin, glipizide, or glyburide, you may need to decrease your dose(s) if you start this program. Because of that, it is important that you watch your sugars closely if you decide to try Dr. Barnard's program, which, of course, I recommend that you do.

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1) Dates where I will be out of the office (WILL NOT HAVE internet access, emails will be answered when I get back) : 1/15/09 and 2/22-2/26/09

If you are new to my homepage, I have one message for you - I hope you email. If you have not done so already, I hope you will register yourself at www.kp.org. I consider email and kp.org an integral part of my practice. I even have my 11:40AM and 12 noon appointments blocked out, just so I can be sure to answer your emails by 12:30PM whenever I am working in the clinic.

SOME EMAILING TIPS FOR MY PATIENTS: If you think that I might be prescribing you medications as a result of your email, let me know which pharmacy you would like to use and when you will pick up the medications.

-If you are online, I will review your lab results thru the internet at kp.org. Unless you specifically tell me to do so, I will NOT send you a paper letter if you are registered at kp.org. Most test results get released to kp.org automatically, only HIV, hepatitis labs, and any lab related to cancer will not. I try to send my patients comments on their lab results (what they mean, etc) within 2 to 3 days after the results are in. You will get a notification email sent to the email address you have on file that will tell you when you have a new "lab result" or a new "message". If you want to see this notification email, you need to make sure that the kp.org address (Kpautoresponse-NCAL@kp.org) is allowed thru your spam filter.

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My Qualifications

I joined the Permanente Medical Group in 2002.

My Healthcare Practice

As a physician, I do have a personal interest in asthma - I have grown up with the condition since age 8. I also have an interest in cardiology, simply because I find the heart fascinating. However, please remember that simply because I am interested in the field, it does NOT make me an asthma or a heart specialist!

As a primary care physician, I try to educate patients so that they are better able to care for themselves. I have always felt that if I can be an effective teacher to my patients, not only will they be healthier, but they will be more empowered when it comes to their own healthcare.

This is perhaps most true when dealing with chronic pain. What I try to teach to my patients with chronic pain is that when it comes to pain, the MOST important organ is the brain. The brain has a "volume knob" for pain that can be turned up and turned down. In patients with chronic pain, that knob, for whatever reason, is turned way up. The most effective way to manage chronic pain (note that I said manage, NOT cure) is to turn down that knob. Studies have shown that the best way to do this is by working on mood, sleep, and exercise. Therefore, I focus on optimizing these three items. Notice that chronic pain killers is NOT on that list. While narcotics do have a role, in my experience, patients who rely solely on medications to stay comfortable are doomed to live a life filled with pain.

I chose primary care because I enjoy forming long-term relationships with my patients. That has always been the most rewarding part of medicine for me.

On a more personal note, I have two sons, one born in 2005, Kyle, and our newest family addition, Lucas. Ask me to show you their pictures, they are both very cute. =)

Receiving Your Healthcare From Kaiser Permanente

I think that the quality that Kaiser Permanente is able to deliver is in large part due to the integrated healthcare we are able to provide. Thanks to the various clinical health educators and chronic condition management programs, I am better able to care for my patients.

My Outside Interests

When I’m not working I enjoy snowboarding, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and reading science fiction and fantasy novels.

Be sure to visit the New Kaiser Permanente Website for additional information regarding appointments, prescriptions, health education classes and other health-related topics. You can also click on my department link above to receive additional health information.

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Prevention Information on Your Registration Slip

My Credentials

Medical school	New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Internship	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Residency	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

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