Steven Barag, D.O.

My name is Steven Barag, Past-President of the Medical Staff. I've been a physician for 50 years now and am board certified. I've been actively practicing adult family medicine for the last 30 years. There's an element of fear on the part of just about every patient that needs to be alleviated in order for them to incorporate what you're trying to tell them to stay well. I think, ultimately, medicine has its own language and culture, which is totally foreign. Alleviating the fear of their entering into an area that they don't understand is probably the most crucial thing to getting compliance as far as treatment is concerned. I always knew that I was a caretaker from the time that I was very young. I just knew that I wanted to be able to take care of my community members and do something positive for them. The doctor-patient relationship is something that's based on trust, and one must be completely open and honest in letting them know that we are willing to take them as they are, but we really wish to help them in whatever way we can and show them that we're not being elitist about it. You know, I like to say that in family medicine, we treat everybody like family, and I really believe it.