Announcing A New Cardiology Practice in Southern California

In March of 2022 the skeptical cardiologist and his wife, (formerly the eternal fiancee’) loaded half of their St. Louis belongings into a green Mini Countryman and set off down the semi-lethal I-44 for Encinitas, California.*

We had grown tired of cold and gloomy St. Louis winters (although they are definitely less cold and snowy these days) and the hot and humid St. Louis summers rife with mosquitos. Slowly but surely we had become besotted with the beauty and climate of the San Diego area.

Thanks to a new physician work paradigm I was able to continue my cardiology practice at St. Louis University using telehealth visits for 8 months out of the year. For two months in the spring and two months in the fall, I saw patients in person in St. Louis in the outpatient clinic and did bi-weekly rotations serving as an attending on the cardiology consult team at SLU hospital.

I also continued to add and see patients who had contacted me through my social media presence as the skeptical cardiologist who lived in or were temporarily in North Carolina, Missouri, or California, the states I am licensed to practice medicine in.**

Starting A New Practice in California

In February of this year, I began working in a cardiology practice in Encinitas with United Medical Doctors, “Southern California’s Premier Independent Multi-Specialty Medical & Surgical Group.”

Dr. Melody Hermel, a young and brilliant cardiologist who did her training here in San Diego started the cardiology practice of UMD in San Diego County. She is beloved by her patients. Of note, she is an integrative cardiologist, combining “traditional and alternative approaches to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmia, congestive heart failure and women’s heart disease.”

You might wonder whether an old skeptical cardiologist and a young integrative cardiologist could co-exist but so far we are in near-perfect accord on the vast majority of cardiology topics we’ve discussed and we get along famously.

Once I began working here in Encinitas, it became clear that dealing with two separate cardiology practices was not optimal for patient care. I decided to end my practice in St. Louis as of September 6 of this year.

Yesterday afternoon I did my last telehealth visit with a SLU patient.

I’ve been able to notify the vast majority of my patients of this change and have been working diligently to make sure they are transitioned to the best cardiologist for their particular personality and case. 

For patients that either live in California or are appropriate for 100% virtual medical care I have offered a transition to my new practice.

United Medical Doctors

UMD currently offers over 35 medical & surgical specialties with over 175 providers in four Southern California counties: Riverside, Orange, San Diego & Los Angeles.

I’ve been impressed with how this physician-led company allows its physicians to practice high-quality medicine and cardiology without the constraints and rigidness of a corporate administration.

My biographical information can be found here along with a telephone number for patients that want to schedule a consult with the skeptical cardiologist.

This screenshot of that bio encapsulates what I’m striving for in this practice.

scholar.google.com

Peripatetically Yours,

-ACP

*Encinitas is a small but wonderful beach town about 25 miles north of downtown San Diego. The Mediterranean climate here is hard to beat. That climate makes it a joy to be outdoors almost 365 days (and nights) a year. Although I don’t surf, this town draws surfers to many of its gorgeous beaches and we love the vibe they bring. I’ve started sneaking pictures of the local scenery into my blog posts.

**In a post about our move to California, I wrote in detail about the tiresome and annoying need to have an individual state medical license:

“Medical licensing in America is a state-based, tiresome and expensive process. Although I have been fully licensed in Missouri (and before that in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky) and have practiced medicine for 30 years without any issues, a patient from Belleville, Illinois, which is across the Mississippi, just east of St. Louis would not be allowed to do a telehealth visit with me.

There was some relaxing of this mandate at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed me to see patients who had sought my consultation who lived in states other than Missouri, including New Jersey, Washington, and Louisiana. However, over time, individual states changed or eliminated the COVID-19 waivers and determining whether it was OK for me to see a patient from a state in which I did not have a license became more and more difficult.”