Physician Q&A
Dr. Hitesh Makkar, Unity Health Network
What is your specialty?
Pulmonology, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine.
How has the medical field evolved throughout your career?
The technological age has made it easier to access patient information, which increases safety and allows for lower costs, less duplication. Also because of advancements in technology, we are diagnosing and treating multiple disease states with minimally invasive techniques as opposed to surgery.
What is one memorial moment that has stuck with you?
The first time a patient thanked me for saving his life. I clearly remember the circumstances and it reminded me of why I went into the medical field.
Are there any projects that you are working on or topics that you are studying?
[I’m working on] multiple projects—all related to sleep medicine—as this field is constantly evolving as we learn more.
What is one aspect of the job that you find rewarding?
Developing a long standing relationship with your patients. They become your friends and family.
What do you see as the future of your field?
I think that this time is the Renaissance of medicine. There are so many things changing so quickly. I think in the future, care will be delivered virtually and quickly.
Gordon L. Bennett, M.D., Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center
What is your specialty?
My specialty is orthopedic surgery with a subspecialty fellowship in foot and ankle reconstructive surgery.
What is one aspect of the job that you find rewarding?
The most rewarding part of my job is the ability to improve the quality of life of the patients I see with a wide variety of nonsurgical and surgical treatments. I am very fortunate to be able to work with 35 other subspecialty orthopedic surgeon partners in my group, and I work with an excellent support staff of bright and energetic people. I honestly enjoy going to work every day.
Are there any projects you are working on or studying? If so, what?
I typically publish one or two research articles every year on a wide variety of foot and ankle topics. I have started doing ankle replacements recently, as the technology has improved significantly in the past year or two.
How has the medical field evolved throughout your career?
Orthopedic implant technology has improved dramatically over the years. The quality of joint replacements, fracture treatment devices, arthroscopic technology and orthobiologics is amazing.
What is the future of your field?
The future of orthopedic surgery is bright. The current technology is excellent and getting better. With people living longer healthier lives, we can continue to keep most people active with less pain.
Is there a memorable moment that has stuck with you?
As with most Orthopedic surgeons, I am fortunate to have memorable moments at work on a regular basis. Although we can't make everyone perfect or better, we definitely improve the quality of life of most of the patients that we treat.
Are there any challenges in the profession? What are they and how do you overcome them?
The main challenge in the future will be continued access to quality health care at an affordable price. This will affect all areas of healthcare and it’s quite evident that there is not a simple solution.
Maryjo L. Cleveland M.D., Summa Physicians
What is your specialty?
My specialty is geriatric medicine. I generally see patients who are frail and having trouble with something related to aging, such as falls or memory loss.
What is one aspect of the job that you find rewarding?
Often, my patients have been told that the problem they are experiencing is "normal for your age." I like to bust that myth! I like when stopping certain medications improves memory, when physical therapy improves strength and balance and therefore reduces falls, when depression can be treated, etc. This sounds odd but I especially like it when I can walk through a patients decline with them, such as in the case of Alzheimer's Disease, and be there for the patient and family along this journey.
How has the medical field evolved throughout your career?
Lots of things have changed in the 23 years I have been practicing from owned physician practices, to electronic medical records to accountable care organizations. The one thing that has not changed is that my responsibility every moment is to give the best care possible to the patient sitting in front of me.
Are there any challenges in the profession? What are they and how do you overcome them?
I think the biggest challenge in geriatrics is the need for time. There is no way to care for a complicated 80-year-old on 10 medications in a 15 minute office visit. You need time, and a team, to really do this right. Fortunately, Summa recognizes this and supports innovative models of care that allow for this time.
In your opinion, what's the future of your field?
There is job security in geriatric medicine! Just look at any demographics and realize that the fastest growing population segment are the over 85's. We will need people who know how to care for older adults in all medical fields—doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists. Geriatrics is a challenging and rewarding field—not for the faint of heart—and I am hoping we can recruit more people who are interested in this kind of work.
Dr. Allison J. Moosally, Allied Dermatology and Skin Surgery
What’s your specialty?
My specialty in medicine is dermatology, skin cancer surgery and cosmetics.
Are there any memorable moments that have stuck with you over the years?
I’ve had a lot of special moments and a lot of fun things have happened throughout my profession. On a personal level: meeting my husband (who is also in this profession), meeting some of my colleges. But this past year we opened our own practice and it’s been quite special. We took on 40 plus employees and we have nine providers.
How has the medical field evolved throughout your career?
I would have to say the amazing advances in the National Genome Project. Being able to map genetically all of these genes that are correlated directly to diseases that we see everyday. Because we are able to identify those genes, we are able to come up with more targeted pharmacological therapy to treat them.
What is one aspect of the job that you find really rewarding?
The patient relationships that I am able to make. Skin cancer is the bulk of my specialty. We do a procedure called Moh’s surgery and your patients are there all morning or all afternoon. It’s a way to remove skin cancer by taking the least amount of normal skin, while getting the highest cure rate. Because it takes [a long time], you get to spend hours with your patients. They are wide awake, so they talk to you and you talk to them and they tell you about their life and ask about yours—a lot of times when you get skin cancer, you get more than one, so I’ve known some of these patients for over 10 years.
It’s the ability to do a positive thing in medicine but obtain that personal connection with your patients.
Are there any major challenges in your profession?
I would say the biggest challenge that has changed dramatically since I finished my residency and internship has been the introduction of the electronic medical record and the large amount of patient data that is required by physicians in order to complete an office visit. I think a lot of the benefits of the electronic medical records help us at the pharmacy level, as well as at the education level for the patient, but at the same time the patients get very frustrated because of the loss of face-to-face contact.
Lisa M. Cousineau, D.O., OBGYN Associates
What is your specialty?
My specialty is Obstetrics and Gynecology.
What is one aspect of the job that you find rewarding?
The aspect that I find most rewarding is that my field is all encompassing in the care of women in all stages of life—from adolescence to pregnancy to menopause. I really get to know my patients.
How has the medical field evolved throughout your career?
OBGYN practices in our local community are joining big hospitals to stay in business. It is increasingly tough to stay independent. OBGYN Associates is one of the only independent practices around. I can honestly say that our niche is personalized patient care. Because of our independence we can focus our practice on building relationships with patients. Our patients are like family to us. We see grandmothers, mothers and their daughters. You are not a number at our practice. One of my staff will answer the phone and you won't go through prompts to get a real person on the phone.
Are there any new challenges in the profession?
Yes, technology. New uses of electronic communications help us to stay in contact with our patients. We have electronic medical records. Patients are able to quickly communicate with us via their own patient portal. They can see their own test results and be more involved with this information and their care. We are ahead in our field in technology, with all of our technology.
We have worked hard to maximize the use of our electronic medical records. Even though we are not owned by the hospital, we are still part of a network of the doctors in our community with both our hospital systems. This enables us to communicate effectively and eliminate unneeded tests, allowing us to be good stewards of medical dollars. We are careful that new technology does not replace personalized attention to your care.
Are there any projects that you are working on or studying?
Currently I am very interested in hereditary cancer screening, through genetic testing. Patient risk assessments can identify patients at risk for hereditary cancers such as breast, ovarian or colon cancer. I can specifically target those who need genetics testing and help an entire family. As a physician, we can change our management to track them when their risk is above normal.
What do you see as the future of your field?
The field will most likely be broken into more subspecialties. This is good and bad, because we will no longer have the doctors who deliver babies and also, later, can perform a hysterectomy.