Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021 - 38

mEdiCal rECord FEaturE
Welcome New Member
Tapan P. Patel, MD, PhD
T
he Berks County Medical Society is
delighted to welcome Dr. Patel as a
member of the society, and to the
community he is now helping to care for.
Tapan P. Patel, MD, PhD, is a board-certified
ophthalmologist, specializing in medical and
surgical diseases of the retina and vitreous at
the Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania. Dr. Patel
joined the Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania after
completing a two-year fellowship in vitreoretinal
surgery from the Wilmer Eye Institute at the
Johns Hopkins University. He completed
his undergraduate degree summa cum laude
from the University of Delaware in 2007 and
subsequently obtained his medical degree and
Ph.D. (Bioengineering) from the University
of Pennsylvania. Dr. Patel then completed his
internship in Internal Medicine at the Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital and his residency in
Ophthalmology at the Kellogg Eye Center of the
University of Michigan.
Dr. Patel has an extensive publication record,
both in basic science and clinical research
related to bioengineering, neuroscience, and
ophthalmology. He has received some of the most
selective and prestigious honors including the
Goldwater Scholarship, the Beckman Scholarship,
the Knights Templar Eye Foundation Award, and
the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship.
Dr. Patel is an expert in management of a wide
range of medical and surgical diseases of the
retina including macular degeneration, diabetic
retinopathy, and retinal detachment repair.
To get to know Dr. Patel a little better, we
asked him to respond to some questions:
Describe the focus of your practice
and any areas of special interest/
expertise.
I am an ophthalmologist specializing in the
medical and surgical treatment of vitreoretinal
diseases. I treat a wide range of conditions
affecting the posterior segment of the eye,
including age-related macular degeneration,
diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, retinal
detachment, macular hole, macular pucker, and
uveitis. I strive to provide safe, effective, and
evidence-based therapy to my patients. I am a
strong believer in educating my patients about
their diagnosis and prognosis and I empower them
to make shared decisions regarding their treatment
plan. I am truly excited to meet and serve the
patients of Berks County!
What has brought you to Berks
County?
I grew up in Newark, Delaware but I consider
Philadelphia as my second home. When I finished
my fellowship at Johns Hopkins, I wanted to move
closer to Philadelphia to be near my wife and her
family. The Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania, with
offices in Wyomissing and Pottstown, was the
perfect fit me as it allowed me to build a clinical
and surgical practice within a large multi-specialty
ophthalmology group, while being close to my
family.
What do you like best about
practicing medicine?
Ophthalmology is a very rewarding field, and
retina is even more rewarding since many of the
conditions that we treat are sight-threatening if
they are not diagnosed and appropriately treated
in a timely manner. In addition, patients with wet
macular degeneration or diabetic macular edema
often require treatment frequently (monthly in
some cases). One of the best parts about my job is
building long-term relationships with the patients.
If you could change one thing about
the current practice environment,
what would it be?
Age-related macular degeneration and diabetic
retinopathy are the two most common causes of
vision impairment in my practice. Early detection
and treatment are paramount to decrease the
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Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021

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