Top Doctors: Inside story on internists
Whether you have an annoying ache, a sniffle that won't go away or a funny-looking growth, there's a good chance that an internist will be the doctor you'll see for your medical problem.
An internist is a doctor of internal medicine -- not to be confused with an intern, who's a doctor in training.
Here's what you should know:
1. AN INTERNIST CAN TREAT YOU FOR LIFE
While family medicine physicians specialize in treating both kids and adults, their counterparts in internal medicine focus on patients from the late teen years through the end of life. "An internist is a doctor for adults," said Dr. Michael Ammazzalorso, chief medical officer at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola.
2. INTERNISTS KNOW ABOUT A HUGE VARIETY OF MEDICAL ISSUES
"There is very little that a well-trained, experienced internist cannot handle," said Dr. Bernard Nash, associate chief of medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip. However, internists will refer patients to specialists when necessary.
3. INTERNISTS OVERSEE ALL YOUR MEDICAL CARE
As Nash explains it: "We spend a tremendous amount of time on patient care after the patient leaves, arriving at a diagnosis, coordinating care with other specialties, ordering and getting authorization for specific tests, reviewing lab tests and fighting with insurance companies to get approval for medicines and tests."
4. INTERNISTS MIGHT DETECT PROBLEMS WHEN SPECIALISTS ARE INVOLVED
"When Dr. X says one thing, and Dr. Y says another, we're there to put the pieces together, since they may not both have a full picture," Ammazzalorso said.
5. IT MAY BE TOUGH TO FIND AN INTERNIST WHO TAKES NEW PATIENTS
A severe shortage of internal medicine physicians has developed, at least in part because many medical students prefer to go into higher-paying specialty fields and thus are not replacing internists who are retiring. The shortage is expected to get worse.
"One of my colleagues has an eight-month waiting list for new patients," Ammazzalorso said. "When one of her patients passed on, one of the women in the town said, 'I know so-and-so died, can I take her place?' It reminds me of someone looking for an apartment in Manhattan."
So, be prepared for a possible delay when you look for an internist, he said. Your insurance company can help identify internists in your area, as can your county's medical society.
The Nassau County Medical Society is at nacmed.org or 516-832-2300.
You can reach the Suffolk County Medical Society at scms-sam.org or 631-851-1400.
This is the fifth installment of a 26-week series in which Newsday presents Castle Connolly's list of top L.I. doctors.
This week, we're featuring internists.
Dr. Barry Balot
150 E. Sunrise Hwy.
631-225-6200
Dr. Nicholas Berbari
222 Station Plaza North
Mineola
516-663-2051
Dr. Jeffrey Berger
222 Station Plaza North
Mineola
516-663-2588
Dr. Robert Bernard
6144 Rte. 25-A, C Bldg.
Wading River
631-929-5900
Dr. Mark Corapi
222 Station Plaza North
Mineola
516-663-2051
Dr. Alexander Covey
445 Main St.
631-878-9200
Dr. Stephen Cusumano
850 Hicksville Rd.
516-735-5454
Dr. Michael Delman
301 E. Main St.
631-968-3322
Dr. Richard Federbush
175 Jericho Tpke.
516-364-9800
Dr. Steven Friedling
267 E. Main St., A Bldg.
631-724-8348
Dr. Burt Gelberg
401 Franklin Ave.
516-326-2255
Dr. Harold German
150 Main St.
631-271-8700
Dr. Steven Goldfarb
365 County Rd. 39-A
631-283-5542
Dr. Michael Goodman
2495 Newbridge Rd.
516-826-1200
Dr. Lydia Gorski
820 Jericho Tpke.
516-352-0430
Dr. Joanne Gottridge
865 Northern Blvd.
516-622-5001
Dr. Edward Hallal
180 E. Main St.
631-665-0027
Dr. Edward Hotchkiss
158 Hempstead Ave.
516-593-3541
Dr. Corradino Lalli
59 Southern Blvd.
Nesconset
631-366-0404
Dr. Pauline Leong
865 Northern Blvd.
516-622-5000
Dr. John Oppenheimer
P.O. Box 3137
Sag Harbor
631-725-4600
Dr. Harvey Pollak
2 Prohealth Plaza
516-622-6020
Dr. Frederic Rakowitz
295 Northern Blvd.
516-482-4940
Dr. Rosario Romano
5225-15 Rte. 347
631-331-1000
Dr. Jack Rubenstein
70 Glen Cove Rd.
Roslyn Heights
516-621-1502
Dr. Steve Rucker
1999 Marcus Ave.
516-775-4545
Dr. Lloyd Simon
44210C County Rd. 48,
Box 1341
631-765-4150
Dr. Lowell Taubman
206 Riverside Blvd.
516-432-5670
Dr. Leonard Timpone
1051 Adams Ave.
516-354-4858
Dr. Mark Weinstein
4045 Hempstead Tpke.
516-731-7770
How they were picked
Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a health care research and information company founded in 1991 by a former medical college board chairman and president to help guide consumers to America's top doctors and hospitals. Castle Connolly's established survey and research process, under the direction of a doctor, involves tens of thousands of doctors and the medical leadership of leading hospitals.
Castle Connolly's team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select doctors on national and regional levels. Using mail and telephone surveys, and electronic ballots, they ask physicians and the leadership of top hospitals to identify exceptional doctors. Careful screening of doctors' educational and professional experience is essential to the committee. Not every good physician makes the list. Rather, the list is a way for patients to get started on their search for the best medical professional. Newsday is not part of the selection process.
Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly Top Doctors.
To see the whole list . . .
Who else is on the list of Top Doctors? More than 6,000 listings are in the New York Metro Area edition of "Top Doctors," published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. The softcover list price is $34.95. For more information, go to castleconnolly.com, or call 800-399-DOCS.
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