Best Practices: Nick Bottaro, DO, MPH
The Florida based ophthalmologist on improving the patient experience and the importance of eye health.
Dr. Nick Bottaro is an ophthalmologist who specializes in cataract and LASIK surgery. He’s passionate about connecting with his patients and using his knowledge and expertise to better their lives. In addition to his training and residency in ophthalmology and his doctorate in osteopathic medicine, he also holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration and business administration from Duke University and a master’s degree in public health from Georgetown University.
Read on to learn how Dr. Bottaro got his start in medicine, how he approaches patient care, and how prioritizing eye health can help patients to take better care of their overall physical health.
How did you get started in medicine and what inspired you to choose your specialty?
I’ve always wanted to be in medicine. It started with my grandmother, the matriarch of our family, who had a massive heart attack when I was in the first grade. The surgeon who helped her recover completely changed all of our lives. I remember thinking what an important impact a person in medicine can have on the lives of so many people, and I fell in love with the field soon after that.
During my training, I wanted to find a specialty that would enable me to have an impact on people’s lives. When I found ophthalmology, I realized that I could help to cure peoples’ blindness through fairly quick surgeries. While doing this work, I saw how grateful the patients were and how I was able to help transform their lives for the better. Since then, I knew that ophthalmology was the right specialty for me.
Can you tell us about your approach to improving the patient experience?
I approach my patients with a servant’s heart. Ultimately, I use our sessions to help patients in their time of need.
In my experience, creating a positive experience for the patient means ensuring that I have an empathetic bedside manner that enables me to build trusting relationships with them and treat the whole person. Managing an eye condition can be very stressful and scary for the patient, especially when surgery is required. Which is why I do what I can to make sure that they feel that I’m treating them exactly how I would treat a family member. I want them to feel that all of their questions have been answered, that they’re never rushed, and that they’ve been properly educated on their condition. In addition to being an expert in my field and in the top 1% of surgeons in the country, this is one of the most important parts of my job.
Tell us more about your approach to health literacy and health education.
In addition to being a surgeon and clinician, I’m also a professor and teach a master’s program. I love education, and I particularly enjoy using analogies to help convey more complicated and complex conditions, especially with my patients. I use my expertise as a physician and as a professor to translate knowledge in a way that my patients can easily understand and that makes them feel comfortable with what I’m saying and doing.
In addition to being a doctorate of osteopathic medicine, you also have master’s degrees in public health, healthcare administration, and business administration. How does your education and expertise influence how you run your practice?
It’s true that there are a lot of letters at the end of my name, but the reason I pursued these additional degrees is because I realized that when I’m able to better understand the processes that guide our health care system, I’m also able to better understand the complexities of many factors that affect my patients every day. Understanding these complexities on a very deep level also helps me to educate my patients and establish a good rapport with them.
Pursuing a master’s degree in business administration has also helped guide me on how to run a successful business in this unique health care environment where the government is constantly reducing reimbursements. And my degree in public health has helped me to understand what people need and how to treat different demographics according to their needs. In general, my educational experience has been crafted with the goal of making sure that I’m always prepared and able to provide the absolute best care for my patients.
What do you wish patients knew about eye health and eye care in general?
I think people underestimate the importance of their eye health, often until it’s a bit too late. The science of ophthalmology is very complex and the eye itself can tell an entire story about a patient’s health. When I look into somebody’s eyes, I can tell whether or not they struggle with cardiovascular disease, neurological problems, or autoimmune disease. The eyes truly are a window into a person’s overall health.
Visiting your primary care physician is great, but if people better understood how important their eye health is, they may not put off visits to their ophthalmologist. Importantly, ophthalmologists can clinically see and diagnose systemic issues that can have a big impact on a patient’s life. For instance, I commonly diagnose diabetes, hypertension, and autoimmune diseases that patients never knew that they had, often because these conditions show up in the eye first.
I’ve also seen how patients hold off on cataract surgery, usually because they’re afraid to have someone work on their eyes. Although that fear is completely understandable for someone who has never experienced this surgery before, the truth is that cataract surgery is one of the most common procedures performed worldwide. It is also one of the safest performed surgeries in the world and considered among the most successful treatments in all of medicine. In just five minutes, we can really help to change a patient’s life with cataract surgery.
LASIK surgery is another example of a safe, quick, and commonly performed procedure that can improve a patient’s quality of life when performed on a patient between the ages of 25 and 45.
Finally, I wish more people know about a condition called demodex blepharitis. About 80% of my patients suffer from it but they don’t know they have it because most other ophthalmologists and providers don’t know to look for it. It’s one of the most common causes of dry, red, irritated eyes, but because many people don’t know that they have it, they use products like Visine or Clear Eyes that aren’t good for their eyes. But once a provider is able to diagnose the condition, there’s an effective and fairly quick fix that will help to resolve symptoms in most people.
Overall, understanding the importance of visiting your ophthalmologist and the safety and impact of some of these common procedures could really help many patients to improve their health and well-being.
Vital Signs
How do you de-stress? Spending time with my kids helps me to de-stress after a tough day. I love coming home, throwing them in the pool, and getting to be a kid myself while spending time with them.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten recently? I grew up in New England, and after 10 years in Florida I’ve finally found a place that makes authentic New England-style lobster rolls! I’m so happy to have found The Great Catch and to have a place to get my fix of New England-style lobster.
Favorite TV show, book, or podcast of late? I love Rick and Morty and the stand-up comedy specials on Netflix.
What’s one healthful habit you’d love to see patients adopt? Mindfulness is an incredible tool that I wish everybody could learn. Taking 10 or 15 minutes out of your day to check-in with yourself and focus on what you need emotionally, spiritually, and physically can really have a lasting impact on your physical and mental health.
