The Hotel Doctor

“Could you please turn down the television?” “Huh…?” I repeated the question – not because the guest didn’t hear but because the...

If you receive an antibiotic for a respiratory infection, it’s probably a placebo because almost all respiratory infections are viruses....

A caller in Huntington Beach was having a panic attack. He had had them before, and he needed a doctor to come and make sure he wasn’t d...

The son of two Viceroy guests was suffering a severe sore throat and fever. I drove off in a good mood because it sounded like an ea...

An insurance service informed me that two sick children awaited in Orange. It’s a rule that if one child is sick, there’s a small chance...

Uber is driving taxi companies out of business. Air Bnb is putting stress on hotels. A stream of retail chains are declaring bankruptcy ...

Melrose Avenue is hip and upscale as it passes through West Hollywood. Further east, toward downtown, businesses tend toward pawnbrokers...

As I entered the room, half a dozen family members stood and bowed. When Japanese bow, it means no one speaks English, so I phoned the J...

A diamond dealer from Israel, a guest at the L.A. Marriott, fell violently ill with a stomach virus. He went to an emergency room, remain...

Walking toward the entrance of the Viceroy, a luxury Santa Monica hotel, I noticed half a dozen parking valets gathered around their sup...

Every five years or so, the Los Angeles Times discovers the housecall and publishes an enthusiastic article that doesn’t mention me,...

In 1975 I and a friend were fresh out of internship. He had a job at a Los Angeles clinic that remained open during the weekend. Few pat...

In the Pasadena Sheraton last Sunday, my phone rang for a visit in Irvine. Pasadena is twenty miles from home, Irvine fifty miles. I wou...

A lady with a cold phoned for a doctor at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday. From my home to hers in the Hollywood Hills required a thirteen mile ...

A young woman at the Georgian Hotel felt a cold coming on, so she inspected her throat and discovered a dozen bumps on the far end of he...

Her child’s nose was bleeding, explained the mother. Could I come? I was tempted. Once in the hotel room, I would ask questions. I wou...

Stepping out of the shower, a Doubletree guest stumbled and nicked his leg. He had paid little attention, but now, two days later, the wo...