ACP Fellow:
Ruchir P. Patel, MD, FACP
Current Occupation:
Medical Director/Founder at The Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona
Residency:
Henry Ford Hospital
Fellowship:
Rush University Medical Center
Medical School:
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Sometimes, a physician experiences a medical condition from a patient鈥檚 perspective and gains insight into how that condition could be treated more effectively.
This was the situation that sleep specialist Ruchir Patel, MD, FACP found himself in while undergoing a residency in internal medicine at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
鈥淚 was having a lot of insomnia issues and I was prescribed sleep medication at the time, and that ended up prompting my interest,鈥 Dr. Patel said.
Fortunately, he was able to successfully resolve his insomnia and has been off sleep medication for over six years. His three year battle with the disorder inspired him to open his own clinic to help others who suffer from chronic sleep issues.
鈥淪o many people are on sleep medications that would like to be able to come off them, but they have a hard time doing so because psychologically, they鈥檙e so dependent. A big thing that has helped me in terms of managing patients is the fact that I鈥檝e been there and suffered through that mental battle and experienced it, I can walk people through it slowly and encourage them that it will get better.鈥
From Surgery to Internal Medicine
As the oldest child born to two generations of physicians, Dr. Patel was exposed to medicine at an early age, often visiting the hospital where his father was rounding while growing up in Tennessee.
鈥淔rom a very young age I used to go the hospital with my dad on the weekends, primarily to sell chocolates鈥攇rowing up as kids we鈥檇 sell chocolates for fundraising鈥攕o I鈥檇 always go to the hospital and sell out an entire box in one Saturday morning. It was just through my regular exposure and seeing him and what he did, that鈥檚 where my interest in medicine sparked鈥攅ver since I was a little kid, that鈥檚 what I was going to do,鈥 he said.
Although he knew he was destined to be a doctor, the decision to pursue internal medicine came much later.
鈥淚 had actually started medical school wanting to do surgery, but then the more that I started going to my clinical rotations, I started realizing that internal medicine had a lot more to offer and there鈥檚 more pieces to the puzzle. With internal medicine, there鈥檚 more of a thought process that goes into a patient and evaluating the individual to figure out what鈥檚 going on, and you have to use multiple 鈥榟ats鈥 rather than just one, so it was that and the mental challenge that really got me into internal medicine.鈥
When the time came to apply for a residency, Dr. Patel changed his specialty to internal medicine. His father was pleased with the decision, and the young medical student benefitted from the paternal guidance he offered. While studying in Dublin, Ireland, Dr. Patel would often make long-distance calls to ask his father for advice, and he once demonstrated how to read an EKG while visiting from overseas.
鈥淲hen I became a resident, my first month was scary as all heck. Even on call, I would call my dad鈥斺楬ey Dad, what should I do in this situation?鈥 Then slowly as I got more confidence, I would less rely upon him,鈥 he said.
The guidance didn鈥檛 end after medical school鈥攊nspired by his father鈥檚 private practice, Dr. Patel decided to forego continuing to work at an employed position and chose instead to open his own practice.
鈥淗e helped me dramatically in terms of designing the business model, various different things to look into, how to make sure the private practice model works and how to be successful. He guided me through all of that鈥擨鈥檓 a successful physician today because of him.鈥
The Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona
After completing a yearlong sleep medicine fellowship at Rush University in Chicago and working in an employed position for only 10 months, Dr. Patel opened the Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona in Scottsdale, Arizona. The clinic provides adults and children with evaluation, diagnoses, treatment and study of over 80 documented sleep disorders.
鈥淚鈥檓 constantly doing consultations on new patients to evaluate for various different sleep disorders and then also follow-up patients for management of chronic sleep issues. We have a full sleep lab as well, we鈥檙e open six nights a week and we study about 100 patients per month, evaluating for various different sleep disorders,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 feel that educating the patient is extremely important because if a person can鈥檛 understand why there鈥檚 consideration for a particular medical diagnosis, why a test may help, why treating the diagnosis is important for long-term care鈥he patient鈥檚 going to be less likely to want to accept the diagnosis or accept moving forward.鈥
And, he said, it鈥檚 important for physicians to stay educated, too. The knowledge Dr. Patel receives from his ACP membership keeps him informed of the latest developments in internal medicine, which directly benefits his patients through better care.
鈥淚t helps to keep us all on the forefront of medicine in helping to advance scientific knowledge鈥o better diagnose and treat patients. Without being part of an organization like the 麻豆直播app, you know鈥攕taying on top by reading the ACP journal, going to ACP meetings鈥攊n my opinion, it would be very difficult to stay current in the new advancements that are occurring.鈥
In the field of sleep medicine itself, he said, recent advances in treatment and research have brought sleep to the forefront of medicine.
鈥淣ow, there鈥檚 an association with poor sleep and dementia, an association with poor sleep and weight gain, an association with poor sleep and heart attack, stroke, increased risk for diabetes鈥攁ll sorts of things that we didn鈥檛 realize there was a connection between. Physicians in general are taking us more seriously than they were even four or five years ago as a result of there being more data, and the literature鈥檚 showing that sleep and improving quality of sleep is extremely important for long-term health.鈥
A Strong Acumen for Business
With internal medicine鈥檚 recent emphasis on sleep and new research detailing better ways to treat insomnia, The Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona should have no shortage of patients in the coming years. The challenge suits Dr. Patel, who has always had a passion for entrepreneurship.
鈥淚鈥檓 very business oriented, so that鈥檚 a very large passion of mine. Whether it is health care driven or non-health care driven, I feel I have a strong acumen for business itself, which is something that a lot of physicians don鈥檛 have and that can make it challenging to have a successful practice in a private setting,鈥 he said.
He鈥檚 looking forward to the future in his home life as well, with a recent marriage and plans to start a family in the next year or two. But in spite of the milestones he鈥檚 been experiencing lately, Dr. Patel remains professionally focused on the goals that drew him to medicine in the first place: providing patients with the best care possible and improving the quality of life for people with chronic conditions.
鈥淚鈥檒l be open three years in nine days, and we鈥檝e been fortunate enough to see about 4000 people already in less than three years. People are sleeping better, feeling better, they鈥檙e healthier, so I can鈥檛 ask for anything more than that.鈥