Obnoxious and loud-mouthed. These two words have been used to describe Zubin Damania, M.D., a Las Vegas-based internal medicine doctor, who's known online as "ZDoggMD."
Donning black skinny pants, a dreadlocked wig and a leather jacket during a recent video called "I Can't Feel My Face" about stroke symptoms, Damania has attracted criticism for mocking stroke victims. But his goal is to educate--whether it's about stroke symptoms, the annoyances caused by the electronic health record or addiction to pain medications, STAT reports.
"You're always, always going to make someone mad," Damania told STAT. "But you have to rest comfortably and embrace that, or you won't engage patients and providers."
No doubt, he's attracting eyeballs. Damania's videos garner thousands of comments from patients and doctors alike--some praise his lighthearted, entertaining approach, while others are offended by it.
A former academic at Stanford University, he now helps run Turntable Health, a Las Vegas clinic that provides unlimited access to primary care doctors for a monthly fee. Because Damania's usually on the road giving speeches about his vision for healthcare, he doesn't get to see or educate a lot of patients one-on-one, according to the news site. But when he does treat patients, Damania said he tones down the stage persona and acts more like a straight-laced physician.
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