"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Author: Douglas Lakin, M.D.
Born in Michigan, but raised in the Scottsdale/Paradise Valley area, Dr. Lakin earned his undergraduate degree at Arizona State University in 1983. Graduating first in his class of 6,000 as a Philosophy major in the Honor’s Program, he was the recipient of the Mouer Award for outstanding scholarship. He was the first person in the history of ASU to earn a coveted spot at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, entering in the fall of 1983.
Originally intending to become a medical research scientist, Dr. Lakin developed a greater interest in patient care. Inspired by his father, Dr. Mervyn Lakin and Sir William Osler, the founder of modern internal medicine and first Chief of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, he focused on clinical medicineAfter completing his medical school training from Hopkins in 1987, Dr. Lakin performed his Internship and Residency in Internal medicine at the University of Iowa’s Hospitals and Clinics, among the premier Internal Medicine programs in the country. Dr. Lakin excelled to the highest levels of clinical scholarship, achieving among the highest scores in the country on his Internal Medicine Board Examinations.
With his training complete, Dr. Lakin joined his father in practice in 1990. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Lakin senior retired. Dr. Douglas Lakin continues his practice in the tradition of his excellent training, and provides the quality of patient care established by his father before him.
Our office will be closed Friday, July 4, 2025, for the Independence Day Holiday. We are always available for your healthcare needs.If you have an emergency, please call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or contact our office through our answering service, 480.614.5800. We wish you a very Safe & Healthy 4th of July …
Every year Phoenix Magazine publishes a guide featuring the Valley’s best physicians. The doctors are selected through a peer-review survey. The theory is that medical professionals are the best qualified to judge medical professionals.The survey asks the doctors to nominate those doctors who, in their judgement, are the best in their fields. Once again, Dr. …
byACRE was founded in Copenhagen, Scandinavia’s design hub, with a mission to break down the stigma related to reduced mobility and to help those it serves maintain an active lifestyle without compromise. ‘We design mobility aids for people, not patients.‘
COVID CHECKLIST FOR THE DOUBLE OR TRIPLE VACCINATED: I HAVE GOTTEN 2 OR 3 VACCINES…AND HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH COVID (OMICRON LIKELY) …. NOW WHAT DO I DO????? THIS IS CHECKLIST FOR THOSE OVER 50 (THIS LIST APPLIES TO THE YOUNGER SET BUT THE LEVEL OF CONCERN IS MUCH LESS): TIME COURSE/EXPECTATIONS: COVID COURSE: THREE …
Every year Phoenix Magazine publishes a guide featuring over 685 of the Valley’s best physicians. The doctors are selected through a peer-review survey. The theory is that medical professionals are the best qualified to judge medical professionals.The survey asks the doctors to nominate those doctors who, in their judgement, are the best in their fields. …
Taking drugs from the bench to the bedside is the ultimate challenge for pharmaceutical companies. Listen to this English researcher clearly explain how the basic scientific principles he uses in his research have led to the development of an extremely effective new therapy in breast and ovarian cancer. Fascinating and well stated.
Macular Degeneration is the most common cause of vision loss as we age. The conditions runs the gamut of mild findings in the eye on examination by the ophthalmologist (called drusen of the retina), to more severe changes that include new blood vessel development. New treatments, injections into the eyeball that stall the vision …
Back in my days at University of Iowa, I was fortunate to be instructed by two preeminent neurologist who specialized in STROKE and Vascular Neurology: Dr. Harold Adams and Dr. Jose Biller. Dr. Biller is now head of the department of Neurology at Loyola Medicine in Chicago, and his clarity of thought about stroke risk …
I remember vividly the when CT scanners that were first put in The Johns Hopkins Hospital back in the 80’s. There were something like 5 scanners put in all at once. They were revolutionary and they blew our minds. The tests yielded grainy images and took an hour or more to construct via computer. Image …
Keeping up to date on immunizations is a very important part of good health care planning. Here is a list of vaccinations that Dr Lakin recommends for adults and information about each. CLICK HERE! We encourage you to review the list and welcome a discussion with Dr Lakin at your next physical to see what …
As often happens in my practice, I have patients who tell me about the latest technology that helps with their medical condition or with issues of mobility. The latest is the WHILL MOBILITY DEVICE which is the latest in wheelchair mobility. It’s benefits are many, but most importantly is the simplicity of it’s controls, its …
Now that the electronic medical record is on-line and patients share in the information doctor’s kept ‘secret’ in the past, there are a lot of people who wonder about the diagnosis and comments in their chart. Although the ideal chart would be purely a documentation of all the facts related to a patients conditions, it …
The American Cancer Society is now recommended colon cancer screening begin at age 45 for those with routine risk of colon cancer. This is based on recent evidence that colon cancer is increasing among the younger generation and that the routine of screening at age 50 is missing these patients. Options for screening include colonoscopy, …
I had several patients forward me the video on the new BUTTERFLY ULTRASOUND. This device, which attaches to an iphone, is a $2,000 attachment to the iphone that works as an inexpensive ultrasound unit. I have checked it out, having become aware of it from my daughter-in-law who is in her Emergency Medicine Residency training …
Constipation is a topic I am well-acquainted with, and it’s something we talk about a lot with patients. I have a myriad of resources for constipation issues, but when you are really constipated and seriously ‘stopped up’….there is nothing better than Milk of Magnesia to come to the rescue. Yes…it tastes bad….but it works great. …