Capsule Interview: Pamela Hops
The NYC integrative family medicine doctor on why she keeps an open mind when it comes to treating patients and how virtual care has helped her support them during the pandemic.
As the co-founder of Flatiron Family Medical, Dr. Pamela Hops believes in treating her patients the way she’d want her family members to be treated. Dr. Hops and her partner Dr. Sapna Chaudhary started their practice to offer whole-body, integrative, and evidenced-based primary care. Read on to learn more about her journey to discovering integrative medicine and how she’s adapted her care model to support patients during the pandemic.
How did you get started in medicine and what inspired you to choose your specialty?
Though I was interested in medicine from a young age, I took a bit of a circuitous route to my career in medicine — I didn’t enter medical school until I was 30 years old.
By the time I started medical school, I thought I’d be a pediatrician or a geriatrician. But during my rotations, I found every specialty interesting and had difficulty deciding which I wanted to do. For example, I liked emergency medicine, but I always wondered what would happen to the patients after they went home. Finally, when I went to do a family medicine rotation in Berkeley, California, I realized that it offered the exact continuity of care that I was looking for.
After residency, you joined Beth Israel Medical Center’s Center for Health and Healing, where you completed fellowships in Integrative Medicine and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, as well as earning your certification in Acupuncture. How did this shape your approach to care, and how often do you use these modalities in your current practice?
While in rotation in Berkeley, I worked with a physician who would often refer patients to acupuncturists and herbalists just down the road from his office. His integrative approach was unlike any other I’d ever experienced, and it opened up a whole new world of care to me. I took it upon myself to learn more about these integrative modalities, and I soon discovered that a lot of patients were already using them but not telling their doctors for fear of being ostracized or shamed.
I decided that being knowledgeable about these modalities — even if I never used them in my practice — would help me better understand and bond with my patients. I also committed myself to knowing about their potential benefits and harms — since just because something is labeled as “natural” doesn’t always mean it’s safe — in order to offer informative care to all of my patients.
Though I know the basics when it comes to herbs, I mostly refer my patients to integrative practitioners, like herbalists, acupuncturists, or hypnotherapists, when appropriate. I find it helps to be more open-minded to what patients want, and that patients are appreciative when you’re able to show them that there are treatment options available in addition to medication.
What moved you to co-found your practice, Flatiron Family Medical?
While at the Center for Health and Healing — the largest integrative center in North America at the time — we had carte blanche on how to run our practices (within reason, of course). When it was taken over by another hospital and we were asked to vacate the premises, my business partner and I had the opportunity to either go our separate ways or start our own practice together. Our patients really gave us the impetus to open up our own place, so we took the leap and, so far, it’s been going very well.
As practitioners, we didn’t like the corporate structure of churning patients in and out of the office, and we wanted to use our practice to invest in our relationships with patients. Ultimately, we wanted to open a place where we could treat our patients the way we’d want our family members to be treated. We’re thankful to have very loyal patients and to have developed strong relationships with newer patients over the last three years.
Can you tell us more about your transition to virtual care during the outbreak of Covid-19? What have been the biggest challenges and benefits of this new approach?
We’ve always had virtual care in our office, but never fully used it before this year. To be honest, I was skeptical: I mean, how good could it really be? Over the course of the pandemic, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was, in fact, very good.
During the early stages of lockdown, people were afraid to come out of their apartments, or they were hiding out upstate too far to travel to us, so virtual care helped our patients keep their access to care. Early on, we were taking telehealth calls seven days a week, until 10 o’clock at night on most days, especially to help those battling Covid from home. We immediately saw the benefits of telehealth in helping to reassure these patients whose symptoms were improving day-to-day. We were able to recommend breathing exercises and other forms of support through virtual care.
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to monitor vitals virtually. But for patients battling Covid, we told them to get a pulse oximeter, which helped us to keep tabs on their oxygenation levels. We’ve been very lucky in that all of our patients who had Covid have safely recovered.
How has your practice’s focus on integrative, whole person health changed or intensified in light of Covid-19?
If anything, it’s solidified for us that we were taking the right approach. Now, we have further proof of how important it is to look at the whole person, including mental health and environmental conditions, particularly during a pandemic. We’ve always looked at the complete picture of our patients’ health, but this experience has definitely confirmed that it’s the right approach.
Is there anything that you’re doing differently?
When the pandemic began, we started receiving a lot of panicked emails from our patients. So we decided to send out a regular newsletter to keep our patients informed on Covid updates, changes in treatments, and safety protocols. We did the work of weeding through the noise—especially in the beginning of the pandemic—and reiterating the important information in layman’s terms. We’ve received great feedback from patients that said it has helped them feel a lot less scared and less alone during these turbulent months.
What advice would you give other private practice practitioners navigating this uncertain time?
Reach out to your patients: they truly appreciate your honesty when it comes to discussing Covid safety and risks. For example, we’ve had older people with underlying conditions who wanted to come in to see us in-person, so I asked about how they were going to get here and went over all of the logistics ahead of time. We’d have detailed conversations about whether they’d be safe in the back of a cab with a mask on and the windows open, etc.
I’ve also reached out to less vulnerable patients to remind them that they still need to continue their basic care, even during a pandemic. We’ve helped many patients prioritize what’s important and what can wait. Regardless, it’s important to reach out to your patients and let them know that you’re still here for them.
Vital Signs
What are you doing to stay safe and sane right now? I’m a pretty level headed person to begin with, and I also compartmentalize well, which definitely helps me to balance work and family life. On the weekends, I like to go hiking with my family and I try to be present without worrying too much about Covid or any other challenges.
Any supplements or natural remedies you’d recommend for supporting healthy lungs? For starters, smoking and vaping are big no-nos — I think vaping is one of the worst things ever invented. While I don’t know of any supplements that can strengthen the lungs, there are some activities that can help. Playing wind instruments, like the harmonica or flute, can help strengthen your lungs, as can swimming. Yoga, meditation, or breathwork can also make a difference.
What’s your favorite place in New York for a day-trip or getaway? A couple of years ago my family and I moved out of the city to Westchester. There’s nothing like a pandemic to make you appreciate being outside and in nature. I don’t venture too far from my home or my family, but I like to go driving and discover places nearby.
Favorite book or podcast of the moment? I just finished watching Schitt’s Creek, which was fun and a great escape — plus it’s Canadian, as am I. So I definitely had a special affinity for it. Otherwise, I’m usually a news junkie.
What’s one healthful habit you’d love to see patients adopt? Try to be present and in the moment when you’re lucky enough to spend time with family and friends.
