Background: The law is in Dr. Baraf’s blood. His father, two brothers, one of his daughters—even her spouse—have all been successful attorneys. And yet medicine is where Dr. Baraf has made his mark.
“One of the beauties of rheumatology practice is that it offers very collaborative, long-term and gratifying relationships with patients. We get to see the benefits of our work,” he says. “There are moments every week when you kind of hit yourself in the head and say, ‘Wow, this is great. I’ve really made a difference in someone’s life.’”
He earned his MD from the State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Medical Center, and completed his internal medicine residency at The George Washington University and rheumatology fellowship at Duke University. Three years after joining ARA, he founded its Center for Rheumatology and Bone Research in 1981, and he has been a principal investigator on more than 350 research projects.
As a member of the ACR Annual Meeting Committee, he helped develop a recurring set of programs relevant to the office practice of rheumatology, and was influential in the ACR’s decision to adopt musculoskeletal ultrasound courses for its membership. He was elevated to Master by the College in 2012.
Dr. Baraf’s work life took a surprisingly pleasant turn several years ago. Invited to give a talk about practice management at the 2001 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, he parlayed that chat into a “new mini-career,” as a speaker across the country. “It gave me a chance to present the lessons I’ve learned about how to manage a practice, how to negotiate with insurance companies, the advantages of private practice, what makes for a strong private practice, how to keep it strong, and so on,” he says, noting his penchant for building consensus, the power of compromise, and working for the common good. “Speaking to rheumatologists, young and old, gives me great joy.”
Q: Your award is for outstanding service to patients, community and the practice of medicine. What does that mean to you?
A: It means giving each patient what he or she needs. It means listening to the nature of their problems, responding with the best possible advice, and then adjusting that advice as the situation plays itself out. In the wider community, it means being active in patient-focused, disease-focused and specialty-focused organizations in order to influence the quality and accessibility of care. I am extremely honored to receive this award.
