I am an FRACP qualified nephrologist, also called renal physician. The FRACP qualification is referring to the fact that I am a fully registered and qualified medical doctor in New Zealand and Australia. I also hold a current licence to practice in the Netherlands and New Zealand. My clinical experience is now over 31 years.
My practice in the Hollywood Medical Centre or in Canning Vale and the new concept of the 'Interactive Clinic'
A little bit about myself
My primary workplace is in the public health sector as a Renal Physician (Specialist for Kidney Diseases and High Bloodpressure) at Royal Perth Hospital. I do my medical student teaching and research into kidney diseases and high bloodpressure at Curtin University.
I have 2 private practice locations in Nedlands and in Canning Vale. Both are top quality premises that offer all conveniences during your clinic visit, that will be efficient as my waiting time never exceeds 15 minutes.
I did most of my medical training in Europe, initially in my home country, The Netherlands. After that I specialised in nephrology (kidney diseases) and hypertension in prestigious centres in Germany and Switzerland. I had several leading positions in academic institutions as well as in secondary hospitals in several countries in Europe.
I have a list of over 130 publications of research in my interest areas in leading scientific journals.
I was very privileged to work with Professor Donker in Amsterdam and Professor Ritz in Heidelberg and was able to do groundbreaking research in the field of delaying the progression of chronic renal disease.
I have 5 children, and in 2002 I moved from The Netherlands to Coatesville, New Zealand, with my wife and my three youngest daughters. Since 2012 we now live in Perth.
My primary field is kidney disease, be it acute or chronic, renal stones, diabetes, inherited diseases like polycystic disease, etc. During my whole career I have been active in Dialysis and in Kidney tTansplantation.
From the time of my fellowship at the University Hospital Clinic for Hypertension in Berne, Switzerland, I developed a keen interest in difficult-to-treat hypertension. Diagnosing the reasons for severe hypertension is a major challenge and adequate treatment of that condition requires much more than some tablets. Sometimes less conventional ways of treatment are required. There is a place for complementary (alternative) medicine in some of these cases. I am very open to alternative medicine in addition to the classic medicine as I have seen many excellent results through the years.
What I believe in
Doctors should give a more patient-focused form of care. What I mean with this often abused phrase is that I think doctors should be more readily approchable for their patients. In the case of my patients, they can always contact me by email and many of them I will give my mobile phone number.
Patients have their own responsibility. Too often patient see their health care provider and assume that he/she is going to solve their problem. This is in reality not how it works. We can only help by establishing the right diagnosis (very important) and then show you the way and support you with medication if necessary. Often the treatment includes changes in your lifestyle. If without that your problem can not be solved and you are not willing to make these changes, then seeing a healthcare professional is probably a waste of your money and their time.
There is more to treatment than just tablets. Apart from the support with medication and changes in lifestyles, you need to accept that it is not always possible to make your problem go away. We are always so proud of our medical achievements, but really, in the greater scheme of things, we are just starting to understand a few of the issues. So, if the problem can not be made go away, we will together look for the next best option that gives you the best quality of life. This may include alternative medicine, or other healing techniques.
Hypertension is not just a disease of the bloodvessels. Your whole body and personality play a role in the abnormailities we find in people that have hoigh bloodpressure. The best example is stress and a personality that is prone to stress. Whereas some people respond to stress with stomach complaints, others will get high blood pressure.
Hypertension treatment is only succesful is patient and doctor work together closely. Our bloodpressure fluctuates during the day and this is why I do not believe in the 24 hour bloodpressure devices. These are used frequently and the patient carries this device for 24 hours. At unpredictable moments the cuff will inflate and a blood pressure reading will be made. Usually the patient gets a little freight the very moment the humming sound of the machine comes in and this in itself will increase your blood pressure. Also, the machine can not think for you what would be a good moment to take the measurement and may do it, for example when you climb a stairs. This leads to overestimation of the severity of hypertension and hence to overtreatment with medication. Overtreatment is dangerous to the patient and costly to the system.
My philisophy. You and I work closely together to get your bloodpressure sorted with the minimal amount of medication as possible. We will do this after a throrough assessment of your bloodpressure and if necessary do supplemental diagnistic tests to find out what is causing it. We will see each other on a regular basis, but in order to keep costs down for you or your insurance, we will communicate mostly over email or over the phone and you will keep me updated with the blood pressures you measure at home and where appropriate in your work situation. For further details of this novel approach to diagnsotics and treatment of hypertension, please see below.
My service: The’ Interactive Hypertension Clinic’:saving you time and money, at the same time achieving top results in weeks instead of months
I bring this service to perth, as I was very succesful with this fast and economic way of treatment in Auckland, New Zealand.
As a new concept for Australia, i use my ‘Interactive Hypertension Clinic’ concept. I offer this special service in my clinic in my Hollywood Medical Centre in Nedlands, as well as in cannington, Perth. It saves you time and money, at the same time delivering adeqaute healthcare and results often within weeks weeks instead of in months, preventing dragging from appointment to appointment.
Hypertension is not a disease that can be treated with a one off visit to your GP or a specialized clinic. Although the best person to treat hypertension is without doubt your GP, difficult to treat hypertension is common and often warrants referral to a specialist clinic. The treatment required is often complex and the use of medication is very different from person to person. The aim is to have an optimal blood pressure with as little tablets as possible. Often treatment of hypertension leads to the trial of one drug after the other and patients find themselves on a large number of tablets with only minimal success. This again creates reluctance in people to follow the advise and once more the hypertension gets worse and the life threatening consequences become visible.
To find the right drug in the right dose, or the right combination of drugs often weekly visits are required, which is problematic for you, but also for me with a busy clinic schedule. Hence we work with the convept of the ‘Interactive Clinic’ where we communicate the results over email, phone or an Iphone/IPAD app. I can also use Skype if you prefer a face to face contact. I charge a low niminal fee for these consultations that can take place at a moment convenient for you. This prevents you from walking around with a high blood pressure, waiting for an appointment that may be weeks away, or on the other hand, suffering weeks of side effects before you can see me again. Your ‘Hypertension Doctor’ is always just a phone call or a mouse click away !
If you are reluctant to have the communication per email, for example because you do not work with computers, then we will have a weekly telephone contact at a time at your convenience where we discuss the reults and adjust the medication.
Often, treatment with medication will just be a part of the package. Recent developments have shown that there is a good place for complementary medicine. Completely depending on the basis of your hypertension problem this may include homeopathy, meditation, Reiki, acupuncture, or bio-feedback medicine. These were once thought to be vague, esoteric treatments. We now know better and are aware that a healthy body can not exist without a healthy mind and soul. What many cultures have understood for ages, only recently was accepted by classical medicine: Do not just treat someone’s body.
I think this service is unique in Australia and the close contact warrants a treatment of your blood pressure that is the safest, cheapest and most efficient way to keep your health optimal with the minimal of medication.
It is my hope that with this specialist clinic I can contribute to a healthier lifestyle and less complications of a severe disease, as hypertension is, in Western Australia. I expect that it will be as successful as it was in New Zealand.
Where to find my Clinic
My practice is located in the Hollywood Hospital Medical Centre, Suite 53 at 86 Monash Ave in Nedlands and in the ‘Queensgate Medical Centre’, 2, Queensgate Drive in Canning Vale. Both locations have the same phone/fax numbers:
Phone: 0450 012 997
Fax: (08) 9463 6222