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Philadelphia
Magazine's 1996 Best Doctor List
Gerald
J. Marks, M.D.
Philadelphia Magazine - May 1996
By Carol Saline
Say one thing about Philadelphia, it's a great place to get sick. The health industry accounts for almost 15 percent of all private-sector jobs in the region and a payroll of more then $6 billion. The five-county area has roughly 80 hospitals, some 70 manufacturers of medical instruments, 60 or so biomedical research firms, over 40 pharmaceutical companies and more than 10,000 physicians. If you've got to pick one of them, why not the best?
Finding the best doctor has never been easy. You can ask a friend, ask a doctor or hazard a surf through the classifieds---or you can use Philadelphia Magazine's list of doctors that other doctors have recommended. Since we started publishing our choices back in the mid '80s, this list has become one of the area's most trusted consumer resources. Doctors admit that even they use it for referrals.
Our methodology is fairly simple. This year we mailed 5,000 surveys to randomly selected area physicians---and nearly 1,000 sent them back. We asked doctors to tell us whom they'd send a family member to for everything from arthritis to a urinary tract infection. Their answers created a working list we honed through more than 100 personal interviews with outstanding specialists we'd cited in previous years.
Is it perfect? No. Are there excellent docs quietly working in the smaller suburban hospitals who aren't on it? Without a doubt. The list has always had a preponderance of doctors in academic centers because such places attract more cutting-edge practitioners. Should you change doctors if yours isn't listed? Only if you aren't satisfied. Most medical problems don't need the attention of a top doc. In fact, often you may be better off with a skilled and caring general practitioner than a superb and overworked specialist.
This year you'll notice the absence of some old names and the addition of some new ones. Some great doctors who've reduced their patient care hours or moved into administrative positions -- for example, psychiatrists Aaron Beck, Peter Whybrow and Charles O'Brien -- have been deleted. We wanted people whose primary focus is seeing patients in a clinical setting, which automatically removed many outstanding researchers like Karl Rickels. We've also added "Rising Stars," a new category citing doctors under 40 considered well on their way to becoming major figures in medicine.
Don't be surprised if a
doctor has moved to another hospital by the time you read this. Seismic shifts
are occurring in the medical field - to keep abreast, we'd have to list the
doctors' hospital affiliations on Velcro. Please use the following as a resource,
not a bible. If there's a physician here who nearly killed your mother, we're
sorry. That's what malpractice suits are for. And if your beloved doctor's name
is missing, consider yourself lucky. It will be easier to book your next appointment.
SURGICAL SPECIALISTS
Colon/Rectal
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