Not so long ago, native Californian Jeff Shapiro, MD, had a promising future at a Fortune 500 oil company. Yet something was missing.
“It was a great company, but I had a constant urge to find work that was more interesting – more personally meaningful,” Dr. Shapiro remembers.
His mind kept returning to conversations with a family friend, a doctor he had known since childhood. “What struck me was how much he enjoyed his job. He loved being a doctor, doing something good for the world. I wanted to help others as well, so I decided I’d become a doctor too.”
A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Dr. Shapiro majored in biology. “I was the first member of our family to attend college. My parents were so proud, my dad even framed my acceptance letter," he says.
When he left school, Dr. Shapiro became a pioneer in the field of hospital medicine, specializing in caring for hospitalized patients. “When I began, the specialty of Hospital Medicine was in its infancy. Now it’s one of the fastest-growing specialties in medicine," he explains. In fact, Vice Admiral Vivek Hallegere Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, was trained as a hospitalist.
“I’ve always liked CAP and have had nothing but really good experiences. They have a 24-hour hotline, I can call any time. They will not only offer help at the time of my call, but they will actually follow-up afterward. So when Bruce Weimer, who chairs the CAP Education Committee, asked me to chair the Hospital Education Subcommittee, I was happy to help. I’ve been doing that for about two years now and really enjoy being able to contribute to CAP and assist my colleagues."
“I love the challenge of it. I meet a patient with a problem, sometimes an acute one, and have to diagnose it quickly. I can order a test for a patient in the morning, then drop by later that same day to see how he or she is doing. That quick feedback is really valuable and does not easily happen in private practice," he notes.
Dr. Shapiro works for Southern California Hospitalist Network at Citrus Valley Health Partners, the same hospital system where he started 17 years ago. “We started with four doctors covering four hospitals and today we have more than 20 doctors in the Citrus region. As the business grew, I eventually became regional medical director," he says. In addition, Dr. Shapiro has chaired multiple departments, and just came off a two-year term where he served as chief of staff at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Shapiro has also made significant contributions to the Cooperative of American Physicians. “I’ve always liked CAP and have had nothing but really good experiences. They have a 24-hour hotline I can call any time. They will not only offer help at the time of my call, but they will actually follow-up afterward. So when Bruce Weimer, who chairs the CAP Education Committee, asked me to chair the Hospital Education Subcommittee, I was happy to help. I’ve been doing that for about two years now and really enjoy being able to contribute to CAP and assist my colleagues," Dr. Shapiro explains.
Dr. Shapiro is busy, but always ready to pioneer something new. “My partners and I saw a real problem with how patients were discharged from hospitals. When they leave, there’s a need for an efficient way to get the patient’s regular doctor all of the updated information. We couldn't find any system that could meet this need, so we consulted with some amazing technology experts and created our own solution. We invented a system called SignOutNow that works with any health system and any kind of EMR. In just three minutes, the right patient information can be safely transferred. And since there is a data trail, it is also great from a risk management point of view. You can improve patient care and ensure you've disseminated the correct information to the receiving physicians," he explains.
Dr. Shapiro’s personal life is as busy as his professional one. He is happily married, with a five-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, all thanks to some friendly hockey matchmaking. “One of my oldest friends is a guy I’ve known since I was four years old. Jim used to play on a coed roller hockey team and he kept telling me about this beautiful teammate of his who would be perfect for me," he explains. "We each told Jim we weren’t interested in getting set up, but Jim wouldn’t hear of it. He was so relentless, we finally went out on a date just to make him stop. But he was 100 percent right about us. Thank you, Jim! That was 10 years ago and my wife and I still play hockey together."
DR. JEFF SHAPIRO AT-A-GLANCE
Medical Specialty: Hospitalist
Practice Location: Glendora, CA
Years in Practice: 17
CAP Member Since: 2002
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