Internal medicine specialist David Wetherhold, MD, believes the most important aspect of excellent patient care is the ability to listen to his patients. He also enjoys caring for the whole family and watching the evolution of his patients’ lives.
As an internist, he not only provides front line care to his patients but acts as an advocate and a coordinator of care, including organizing medical tests and collaborating with specialists when needed. In addition to providing comprehensive primary care, he has a special focus on preventative care, which he believes is extremely important. Dr. Wetherhold’s goal is to address potential problems before they become more serious. For this reason he has a clinical interest in the treatment and management of diabetes, since this can lead to many more medical problems.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Wetherhold is invested in the development and implementation of technology to improve communication in the health care setting. As the medical director involved in the implementation of ambulatory electronic health records (AEHR) and the patient portal he seeks to increase the accessibility of health information for patients and physicians, in turn opening the lines of communication for more effective patient care.
Dr. Wetherhold has been the recipient of multiple honors and awards throughout his career including the Gordon Schultz Award for Clinical Research. Dr. Wetherhold is also an avid educator and has been involved with the Scripps Clinic Graduate Medical Education Committee, the Scripps Clinic Continuity Clinic, assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and a clinical instructor at Pacific University.
When he is not caring for patients, he enjoys keeping up with the latest technology advances, photography and spending time with his family.