UCSD Stroke Center Director Patrick Lyden Hailed in San Diego Magazine Survey

Director Patrick Lyden, M.D. with patient

10.01.03 - In a survey of the region's medical doctors conducted by San Diego Magazine, UCSD Stroke Center director Patrick Lyden, M.D., was selected as one of the "best" doctors culled from 30 specialties. Dr. Lyden and fifteen other physicians were cited in the Neurology category. More than 90 physicians from the UCSD faculty made the 2003 list of best doctors.

Dr. Lyden is the Principal Investigator on a $5 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS). Called the Specialized Program Of Translational Research In Acute Stroke (SPOTRIAS), it is a collaboration among Calit², the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering, and the UCSD Stroke Center. In June, Dr. Lyden and his colleagues demonstrated the ability to evaluate potential stroke victims remotely, using high-speed wireless telecommunications. He was also one of the first neurologists in the country to offer clinical trials of the drug tPA for stroke.

Operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the UCSD Stroke Center is built on three main programs: clinical treatment, education and research. The Center includes five physicians, four nurses and two administrators.

The monthly magazine's survey turned up 270 medical practitioners, chosen from more than 4,000 doctors in the San Diego region. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Best Doctors, Inc. of South Carolina, as part of a national survey of more than a million doctors. Each physician must be certified or sub-certified through the American Board of Medical Specialties. According to the magazine, the polling process was "expanded this year to include more doctors affiliated with a wider range of the region's hospitals and medical groups. These are the physicians the physicians would choose for themselves and their families."

For more on the nationwide survey, go to www.bestdoctors.com.