Ricardo Delgado, MD

 

My background, training and experiences have led me on a continual and evolving search for the proper assimilation of all the factors that entail the delivery of quality medical care.  Health care is a complex and varied interplay of many facets-trust, the ability to listen, clinical skills, clear communication, experience, compassion and the formulation of a strong doctor-patient relationship when developing a treatment plan.  Trust, generated over time, is the primary goal in that a patient can literally put their life in the hands of a physician when their health is a concern and they are most vulnerable. The formulation of that trust has always been a mainstay of how I approach patient care.

 

After graduating from the University of Michigan with honors, I returned home and attended the University of Kansas Medical School.  My goal was to become an orthopedic surgeon and follow in my father’s footsteps, but I soon found that Internal Medicine and primary care was to be my path. It allowed me to not only address medical issues in all their complexity, but also encompass prevention, wellness and education with the actual treatment.  Most importantly, I began my journey in learning to not only treat the patient, but the person also.  My residency led me to St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago where I was able to train under Stuart Levin, MD. and learn the “process” of what becoming a doctor entails.  I had the fortune of spending many months at Cook County Hospital in Chicago during my training being exposed to the pathology of many disease states that many physicians only read about.

 

After completing my residency, I entered private practice and spent two years practicing in Los Angeles.  I had privileges at Cedars Sinai Hospital and also St. Johns Medical Center in Santa Monica.  I was able to work in conjunction with many world renowned specialist in fields such as infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, etc.  Subsequently, I was recruited to join an Internal Medicine practice in Newport Beach, California at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and chose to relocate.  During my fifteen years at Hoag, I served on the board of a newly formed physician owned IPA which was at the forefront in developing new strategies in establishing parameters to measure quality and cost efficient delivery of care. 

 

Over time and as my practice grew, I became frustrated with the diminishing insurance reimbursements forcing physicians to focus on volume more than quality and how this compromised the time and ability to “know” my patients.  I subsequently became one of the first doctors in Newport Beach to begin a comprehensive care/concierge program. This fundamental change in approach to patient care allowed my practice to become smaller and spend more time face to face with patients.  By focusing on the interaction and my relationship with each patient, it allowed the trust and time that quality care necessitates.  It certainly made me a better doctor.

 

After 18 years in California and having three children, my wife and I sought a more simple life style and chose to relocate to the Sun Valley area.  Leaving patients I had known for up to 16 years was more difficult than I expected.  The relationships I had formed were impactful in so many ways.  

 

Working for St. Luke's in Ketchum as an internist my first three years was a privilege, but during this period I realized that what had always brought me the most satisfaction professionally was the relationships I had formed through the years.  The time to get to know my patients, their stories, their families and for me to share mine with them.  The bond and trust formed in knowing each other.  I decided that if the opportunity to return to that model of care arose, I would avail myself to that opportunity. That desire has led me to the next chapter. As of November 2017, I have returned to comprehensive type/concierge care as a solo practitioner here in Ketchum.

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-Ricardo Delgado, MD