For the past 34 years, I have practiced medicine in Key West. During this time, it has been a privilege to care for many of you and your families.

Today, we are quite fortunate that our American system of medicine has become one of the most technologically advanced and sophisticated in the world.  As a result, we are in a position to diagnose and treat disease at an earlier time in its development, with the potential to improve not only length of life, but also – and more importantly – the quality of life for the individual.

Our system has also become extremely complex and quite expensive. Care is often fragmented, delivered by a number of health providers in various health facilities, with no single physician always aware of the multiple medications and other treatments given to a patient, with the increasing potential for adverse interactions and harmful effects.

Our medical technology is not always applied in the most effective way, nor necessarily in the best interest of the patient. A recent study cites the overuse of CAT scans on visits to emergency rooms, adding significant unnecessary expense to the visit and unnecessary risk to the patient. For instance, this study cites the projected probability of increased cancer development over the next 10 to 20 years among patients who have received repeated CAT scans over multiple emergency room visits (often for the same problem with the same result).

Increasingly, a visit to an emergency room results in “the million dollar work-up” for what often is a routine problem that can be handled more directly, and less expensively, by a visit to a doctor’s office – and particularly if that doctor is already familiar with your medical and personal history.

Over the years I have practiced in Key West, I have always worked to provide an integrated approach to medicine, coordinating a patient’s care with other specialists when needed, ordering appropriate tests but only when needed to impact the plan of care for a given patient.

As our medical system becomes more complex, it becomes more important to have a personal health care advocate familiar with the system, one who keeps abreast of its changing nature, and the ramifications of this change on your individual case. Such an advocate can guide you through the system, to get the most benefit with the least chance of harm.

It is becoming more and more difficult for me to continue to provide this kind of integrated medical care for a large number of patients. To provide this level of care, however, is for what  I have been trained, and what I whole-heartedly believe must not be lost in today’s medical delivery system. However, to practice this level of whole-person, preventive medicine is very time-intensive. To continue to do so, I find that I must limit my practice to 400 patients at this time.

Not everyone needs this degree of personalized care, but many of you do. When multiple disease states exist, there is increasing possibility that the treatment for one condition may worsen another. The optimum management of such cases requires a careful balance between the effects of the various medications and treatments on the one hand, and the specific characteristics of the patient on the other.

Even if now your disease conditions are not so complex, it is likely that, with the passing of time, your medical status will so evolve. The best way to minimize the adverse impact of those future health changes would be to remain proactive, engaging in a comprehensive preventive health program, tailored to your individual status according to family and personal history.

Some of you live in the Keys only part of the year, and may wonder if such a program can benefit you. Let me say that the Signature MD program is about establishing and maintaining a close patient-doctor relationship; it is not a fee-for-service program. As such, the relationship remains intact – I am still your physician, 24/7, no matter where you are.

Of course, it still is important to have an established relationship with a physician wherever you spend extended time. Should you develop a medical problem and need to see a physician while away from the Keys, I am still available, by telephone or by e-mail, to discuss your case and review test results with that physician and with you personally, as well.  I remain your medical advocate and guide wherever you are.

If you would like to continue to receive this kind of highly personalized care, I urge you to review your options with our Signature MD program.

Finally, let me state that I am proceeding in this direction because I firmly believe that this is in the best interest of all my patients. If I do not change in this direction, soon it may no longer be possible for me to provide care for any of you.

- John F. Calleja, MD

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Presentations will be at
4:00 and 7:00 PM
DoubleTree Grand Key Resort
3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd
Key West, FL 33040
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Dr. John Calleja’s roots are deep in Key West:  his great-grandparents, originating from Spain, settled on this island in the late 1800’s. His grandfather, and later his father, owned and ran a grocery store near what is now the Conch Farm waterfront. John always enjoyed working in the family business, but also always had an interest in medicine. In the 1950’s, shrimp were discovered in the waters off Key West, and the “Pink Gold” industry quickly mushroomed, causing the Calleja business to prosper as well, since the store served as one of the principal suppliers of provisions for the shrimp boats.

The change in family fortune allowed young John to “go north,” all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana, for undergraduate studies at Tulane University, where he received his BS cum laude and was inducted into the university chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. There, along with the pre-medical curriculum, he majored in French and spent his junior year abroad studying at the University of Grenoble, France. He is fluent in French and Spanish.

John stayed in New Orleans to complete his medical school training at Tulane University School of Medicine, where he received his MD degree in 1970. He then stayed in New Orleans an additional year for his medical internship at Charity Hospital.

After internship, he served in the U.S. Naval Active Reserves as a general medical officer, in Sasebo, Japan. At mid-tour, he married his New Orleans sweetheart, Alice Westbury, and took her to Japan, where they spent their first year of marriage.

Returning to the United States in 1973, Dr. Calleja began his residency in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. On completion of this received his certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He also was offered a position to stay at Georgetown to study pulmonary medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Sol Katz, one of the icons and founders of pulmonology.

He completed his pulmonology fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital in 1977, and returned to Key West, to begin medical practice in his beloved home town. He and his wife have raised their three children in Key West.

In the ensuing 34 years, Dr. Calleja has dedicated himself to the diligent care of those who elected to become his patients, and has served the community in civic and religious organizations as well. He has been on the board of the then-incipient Hospice of the Florida Keys, serving as one of the charter board members.

With his continuing passion for medicine and the wellbeing of his patients, Dr. Calleja now plans to direct his medical practice to the next level, focusing on delivering comprehensive and non-fragmented care in an age and in an evolving health system in which this is increasingly difficult to accomplish.

To this end, he has partnered with Signature MD, a firm which has become expert in helping physicians manage business matters associated with creating a personalized health program for motivated patients.