Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center - Houston, Texas

78 Houston VA Docs Listed as "Best Doctors" in the Nation
November 25, 2009

Only 5% of the doctors in the country are selected.

MEDVAMC boasts 37 staff physicians on Best Doctors list plus 41 consultants and attending physicians.

HOUSTON – The medical knowledge company, Best Doctors, Inc. has included 78 physicians who provide patient care at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) in the latest compilation of The Best Doctors in America® database.

“I am very pleased with this recognition of our physicians’ clinical excellence by Best Doctors,” said J. Kalavar, M.D., MEDVAMC chief of staff. “This is yet another indicator the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center continually strives to offer the highest quality health care possible for veterans living in southeast Texas.”

The MEDVAMC, located in Houston, boasts 37 staff physicians on the Best Doctors in America® 2009-2010 list, along with 41 physician consultants and attending physicians. A list of the MEDVAMC staff physicians selected as the best in their field is below.

According to its Web site, Best Doctors, Inc. is the global leader in providing information about, and access to, the best medical care in the U.S. and around the world. Founded in 1989 by doctors affiliated with the renowned Harvard University School of Medicine, the company uses continuous peer-to-peer surveys to identify specialists in more than 400 subspecialties of medicine who are considered by fellow physicians to be the most skilled in their fields and most qualified for reviewing and treating complex medical conditions. Their polling process is anonymous and confidential, qualitative, and quantitative. It provides detailed profiles of each physician, including his or her practice, research programs, and diagnostic and treatment procedures. 

Best Doctors is completely independent. Doctors do not pay to be included in the database, nor does the company pay them to participate in the survey. The judgment of peers is the determining factor. Surveyors contact all currently elected physicians, including many department heads at major teaching hospitals, and ask them to rate specialists outside their own facilities. The process of peer review requires every listed physician be re-evaluated with each new survey. With person-to-person telephone interviews and proprietary polling and balloting software, more than 1.5 million evaluations are collected annually. Only five percent of the doctors in the country are actually selected to become “Best Doctors.” --- portions of this article are courtesy Best Doctors, Inc., www.bestdoctors.com *

Daniel Albo, M.D., Ph.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Surgical Oncology

Kimberly A. Arlinghaus, M.D.
Mental Health Care Line 
Specialty: Psychiatry

Samir S. Awad, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Critical Care Medicine

Elizabeth F. Baze, M.D.
Eye Care Line
Specialty: Ophthalmology

David H. Berger, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Surgical Oncology

Carol Bodenheimer, M.D.
Spinal Cord Care Line
Specialty: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Timothy Boone, M.D.
Operative and Spinal Cord Care Lines
Specialty: Urology

Blase A. Carabello, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Cardiovascular Disease

Petros E. Carvounis, M.D.
Eye Care Line
Specialty: Ophthalmology

Maria Dajoyag-Mejia, M.D.
Spinal Cord Injury Care Line
Specialty:  Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Rabih Darouiche, M.D.
Medical and Spinal Cord Care Lines
Specialty: Infectious Disease & Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Charles S. DeJohn, M.D.
Mental Health Care Line
Specialty: Psychiatry

Donald T. Donovan, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Otolaryngology

Bruce L. Ehni, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Neurological Surgery

Hashem B. El-Serag, M.D.
Research Care Line
Specialty: Gastroenterology

Praharaju G. Shankar Giri, M.D.
Diagnostic & Therapeutic Care Line
Specialty: Radiation Oncology

John A. Goss, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Surgery

David Y. Graham, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Gastroenterology

Richard J. Hamill, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Infectious Disease

Michael H. Heggeness, M.D., Ph.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery

Helene K. Henson, M.D.
Rehabilitation Care Line
Specialty: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Sally Ann Holmes, M.D.
Spinal Cord Injury Care Line
Specialty:  Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Joseph Huh, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Surgical Oncology

Daniel Hwan Kim, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Neurological Surgery

Thomas R. Kosten, M.D.
Mental Health Care Line
Specialty: Psychiatry

Mark E. Kunik, M.D.
Mental Health Care Line
Specialty: Psychiatry

Daniel M. Musher, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Infectious Disease

David T. Netscher, M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Hand Surgery & Plastic Surgery

Thomas F. Newton, M.D.
Research Care Line
Specialty: Psychiatry

Ida F. Orengo, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Dermatology

Silvia D. Orengo-Nania, M.D.
Eye Care Line
Specialty: Ophthalmology

Robert B. Parke, Jr., M.D.
Operative Care Line
Specialty: Otolaryngology

Maria C. Rodriguez-Barradas, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Infectious Disease

Theodore Rosen, M.D.
Medical Care Line
Specialty: Dermatology

George E. Taffet, M.D.
Extended Care Line
Specialty:  Geriatric Medicine

Robert S. Tan, M.D. 
Extended Care Line
Specialty: Family Medicine

Mitchell P. Weikert, M.D.
Eye Care Line
Specialty: Ophthalmology

Best Doctors®, Best Doctors in America® and the star-in-cross logo are registered trademarks of Best Doctors, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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