HUP docs among best best in Philadelphia

The September Philadelphia magazine cover story "Doctor, Doctor" contains the results of a survey that tried to determine which local doctors are most respected by their peers. The magazine surveyed 3000 doctors and nurses throughout the Delaware Valley to select the 344 doctors worthy of the title "Top Doctors." Overall, there are 15,700 physicians in the Delaware Valley. The participants in the survey were each asked the following question: "If a member of your family had a medical or surgical problem, to whom would you send him for the best care and treatment?" Although there are over three dozen health care institutions in the Delaware Valley, approximately 20 percent of the physicians recognized are attending physicians at HUP. The article separates the 344 physicians into 33 specialties ranging from Allergy and Immunology to Vascular Surgery. HUP has at least one representative in virtually all of the listed specialties. David Goldmann, an internist at HUP and an associate professor at the Medical School, said he was surprised by his selection. "I came back from vacation and my neighbor drove up and said, 'Congratulations,' " Goldmann said. "I didn't know what he was talking about. No one had interviewed me or talked to me about it." Since his selection, Goldmann said he has received a lot of phone calls and notes from patients and colleagues offering congratulations. Recently, he received an invitation to tea at the Bellevue Hotel. "It's been a nice experience, even though it doesn't have much in the way of academic meaning," he said. Goldmann, who has been at the University for 20 years, said he hopes the attention will be good publicity for the University. "Penn is working to make a good impression as a medical center, and if this helps, I think it's great," said Goldmann. Gerald Lazarus, a professor and chairman of the Dermatology Department, said he was pleased that of the 12 dermatologists cited by the magazine, six are attending physicians at HUP. "One of the reasons so many physicians at HUP are recognized is because they are working on cutting edge kind of things," he said. Lazarus said that the physicians selected generally were good choices. "I think that there probably is some relevance to reality. Almost all of the physicians on the list are very good physicians," he said. Associate Dermatology Professor Edward Bondi, who has been at the University since 1975, said that his honor is to be shared with the rest of the Medical Center. "I'm honored, certainly. Recognition by fellow physicians is always nice," said Bondi, who does clinical work in dermatology with an emphasis in treating skin cancer and pigmented lesions. "The recognition is good for the University, the hospital and my department, but at the same time we have to keep it in perspective." Associate Medicine Professor Seth Braunstein, a specialist in diabetology at HUP, was proud of the recognition. "It makes me pleased to see that my name is recognized in the Philadelphia community," he said. John Haddad, an endocrinologist and associate medicine professor, was excited that he and two other members of his department were on the list. The three HUP doctors make up one third of the nine doctors cited in endocrinology. "I'm not sure that it means anything at all, but it's always nice to be recognized by your peers," he said.

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