WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The latest update of the Best Doctors in America® database includes 149 physicians at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Of the 169 doctors from the Winston-Salem metropolitan area included, 88 percent are at Wake Forest Baptist. The area includes Winston-Salem as well as nearby towns such as Hickory, High Point, Lenoir, Eden and Salisbury.
“We are very proud that so many of our physicians have achieved this honor,” said Richard Dean, M.D., president and CEO of Wake Forest University Health Sciences. “This is another indicator of our reputation for excellence and is significant because it is based on the opinion of some of the best physicians in the country.”
Wake Forest Baptist physicians provide hospital care at N.C. Baptist Hospital, outpatient care through Wake Forest University Physicians, as well as teach medical students and residents. In addition, many of the physicians are also researchers, working to develop and bring the latest treatments to patients.
The Best Doctors in America database contains the names and professional affiliations of about 33,000 doctors in the United States. They are chosen through a peer-review survey that asks: “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?”
The survey involves more than 35,000 doctors who have been identified in previous surveys as "the best" in their specialties. According to Best Doctors, the database includes the top 3 percent to 5 percent of specialists.
Best Doctors was founded in 1989 by renowned physicians affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Their goal was to provide greater access to dependable, high quality medical information and care for individuals with serious illness and injuries. Best Doctors currently serves more than 10 million people in 30 countries.
Wake Forest Baptist physicians included in the database are:
Anesthesiology: Robert D'Angelo, James C. Eisenach, John Charles Gerancher, Leanne Groban, Michael A. Olympio, Patricia H. Petrozza, Richard C. Prielipp, John E. Reynolds, Douglas Ririe, Raymond Clyde Roy, Roger L. Royster, Phillip E. Scuderi, Timothy E. Smith, Joseph R. Tobin, Robert S. Weller and Deborah Whelan and David A. Zvara.
Dermatology: Steven Feldman, Alan Fleischer Jr., Joseph L. Jorizzo, Amy J. McMichael, Phil Williford and Gil Yosipovitch.
Endocrinology and Metabolism: K. Patrick Ober.
Family Medicine: Frank S. Celestino, Michael L. Coates, David S. Jackson Jr., Mark P. Knudson, Richard W. Lord, Sara L. Neal and Susan J. Williams.
Gastroenterology: Kenneth L. Koch.
Geriatric Medicine: Jeff D. Williamson.
Cardiology: Paul Kirkman, William Little and Killian C. Robinson.
Cardiothoracic Surgery: John W. Hammon Jr., Neal D. Kon, Michael Hines and Timothy E. Oaks.
Infectious Diseases: Kevin High, James E. Peacock and P. Samuel Pegram Jr.
Medical Genetics: Tamison Jewett.
Medical Oncology and Hematology: David Hurd, Susan A. Melin, Bayard L. Powell and Frank M. Torti.
Nephrology: Patricia L. Adams, Anthony Bleyer, John M. Burkart, Thomas Durward DuBose Jr. and Michael V. Rocco.
Neurological Surgery: Joseph T. Alexander, Charles Branch and Steven S. Glazier. Neurology: Peter D. Donofrio, David C. Good, David S. Lefkowitz, Steve Roach and Charles H. Tegeler IV.
Obstetrics and Gynecology: Joseph McDonald Ernest, Margaret A. Harper, David C. Merrill, Brigitte E. Miller, Eberhard Mueller-Heubach, Lewis H. Nelson and Tamer M. Yalcinkaya.
Ophthalmology: J. Brent Bond, Paul Dickinson, Craig M. Greven, Timothy J. Martin, M. Madison Slusher, Keith Walter, Richard G. Weaver Jr. and R. Patrick Yeatts.
Orthopaedic Surgery: L. Andrew Koman, Gary G. Poehling, Jeffrey Shilt, William G. Ward and Lawrence X. Webb.
Otolaryngology: J. Dale Browne, Daniel Kirse, Jamie Koufman, Brian J. Matthews, John S. May, W. Frederick McGuirt Sr., and Christopher Albert Sullivan.
Pathology: Omar P. Sangueza.
Pediatric Specialist: Wesley Covitz (cardiology), Robert G. Dillard (neonatology), Laurence B. Givner (infectious diseases), Karl Karlson (pulmonary), Thomas A. Nakagawa (anesthesiology/critical care), Michael O'Shea (neonatology), Karen Raines (cardiology), Bruce K. Rubin (pulmonology), Hernan Sabio (hematology oncology), Robert Paul Schwartz (endocrinology) and Avinash K. Shetty (infectious diseases).
Pediatrics (General): Kathi J. Kemper, Michael R. Lawless, Mark A. Pashayan and Sara H. Sinal.
Plastic Surgery: Louis Charles Argenta, Lisa R. David, and Malcolm W. Marks.
Psychiatry: Deirdre M. Johnston, Stephen I. Kramer, W. Vaughn McCall and Donald W. Peters.
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine: Norman E. Adair, Eugene R. Bleecker, John Conforti and Jill A. Musika Ohar.
Radiation Oncology: A. William Blackstock, Jr., Carolyn B. Ferree, Kathryn Greven and Edward G. Shaw.
Radiology: Robert E. Bechtold, Michael A. Bettmann, Jonathan Burdette, John Jeffrey Carr, Raymond B. Dyer, Allen D. Elster, Rita Freimanis, Leon Lenchik, Nadja Maryanne Lesko, John Leyendecker, Kerry M. Link, Joseph A. Maldjian, Dixon M. Moody, Padraig Pearse Morris, Michael Oliphant, Edward V. Staab, Daniel W. Williams III and Ronald Jay Zagoria.
Surgery: David A. Albertson, Kimberly Hansen, Russell Howerton, J. Wayne Meredith, George W. Plonk, Robert J. Stratta, Charles S. Turner, Gregory S. Waters and Carl Westcott.
Urology: Dean George Assimos, Anthony Atala and David L. McCullough.
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Media Contacts: Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu; or Ann Hopkins, prtemp@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
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, and are used under license.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.