Meet Uday Nori, MD, Ohio State Transplant Nephrologist

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[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Uday Nori, MD
Transplant Nephrologist]

Uday Nori, MD: I'm Uday Nori. I'm a transplant nephrologist in the Division of Nephrology. I'm also a member of Comprehensive Transplant Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Typically, my first visit is always to get to know them well. I'm sure it sounds like a cliche, but it's important that I gain their trust. I believe that most patients do what we ask them to do, not because of the checklist that we provide them, but because they like us and they trust us.

I spend an inordinate amount of time learning about who they are, what road they had taken before they came to my clinic, as in how long had they been on dialysis, and how successful their transplant had been up until the time they met with me.

I also outline my philosophy of care so they get to know how I practice. For instance, I do not believe in a pill for every ill. I'm a minimalist by approach. I tell them that I'm big in lifestyle management. I'm big into explaining what would work without having to go through medical treatments. And it seems that most patients like that approach, because who wants to be on expensive medications that would have adverse effects?

Typically, after the first appointment, I start looking into their medical problems in more detail. And I tell them upfront, even if I am faced with five or six things that I want to intervene, I usually do one at a time so that they do not feel overwhelmed. They feel like they're able to achieve small goals so they feel good about themselves. I've seen a few times where multiple goals does just not work. They go home and they feel overwhelmed and nothing gets accomplished.

In medical practice, as it happens with most of the specialties, however much the medical center or the physicians do for the patients, it still amounts to no more than maybe 10, 15% of the effort required.

It is incumbent on the patients to be able to take care of themselves and preserve their health as best as they could. So, we play a very important part in educating the patients, making them understand the importance of the advice that we give them. We don't like the patients to go home with a checklist of things to do without really an understanding on what it all means.

So, what I meant by placing patient front and center of their care is allowing them to understand why they're doing what they're doing, and the rationale behind the treatments that have been prescribed really makes all the difference. A well-educated patient is a well-to-do patient, in my opinion, and that's what we all strive for.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]

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