What is a Specialist Physician or Internal Medicine Specialist?
A general physician is a highly trained specialist who provides a range of non-surgical healthcare to adult patients. He cares for difficult, serious or unusual medical problems, when the diagnosis may be difficult. The general physician's broad training provides expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of problems affecting different body systems, and in a variety of medical procedures essential for the diagnosis and management of severe and complex illness. Much of a general physician’s work takes place with outpatients in clinics and with hospitalised patients, both private and public. A general physician is frequently asked to review patients before surgery. He advises a surgeon of a patient's risk status, and can recommend appropriate management to minimise the risk of any operation. The physician can also assist with the management of ongoing medical problems or complications following surgery. A general physician usually sees patients who have been referred to him by other doctors, usually the patients' general practitioners or other specialists.
As a Specialist Physician, Dr Kennedy sees patients with a range of cardiology, respiratory/chest, gastroenterology, neurology, endocrinology, haematology, nephrology and rheumatology conditions. He has a broad range of interests including ischaemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiac rhythm disturbances, syncope, difficult hypertension, heart failure and cardiomyopathy, dyslipidaemia, gastro-oesophageal reflux, peptic ulcer and coeliac disease. He is experienced in the management of chest diseases including asthma, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, COPD, respiratory failure, lung cancer, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, DVT, pulmonary embolism and disordered breathing. He also cares for patients with cerebrovascular disease, thyroid and liver disease, haemochromatosis, polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, gout, inflammatory arthritis, fibromyalgia, haematological conditions, osteoporosis, and chronic fatigue.
He offers the following procedures through his practice:
- ECG
- Exercise ECG
- Echocardiography (Echo)
- Exercise Stress Echocardiography
- Dobutamine Stress Echo
- Holter Monitor
- Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
- Electrical Cardioversion
- Gastroscopy (Southern Cross Affiliated Provider for gastroscopy)
- Liver Biopsy
- Bronchoscopy
- Lung Function and Spirometry
- Pleural Procedures
Dr Kennedy has been a Northland DHB Specialist General Physician since 1991, and has worked in private practice as a specialist in Internal Medicine since 1996. He is New Zealand trained, and qualified as MBChB (Otago) in 1981, and attained the FRACP in 1987. He is also a member of the Ascot Cardiology Group and is also a consultant in the General Medicine and Respiratory Departments at Northland District Health Board. He has been involved in the care of patients in the Wards, Coronary Care and Intensive Care Units at Whangarei Hospital and at Northland's Private Kensington Hospital.
Dr Kennedy offers the broadest range of investigative procedures of any of the physicians in Northland.
Dr Kennedy works closely with a small team of highly experienced specialist nurses; Cherie at the rooms and Wendy with exercise testing.
Dr Kennedy is a Southern Cross Affiliated Provider for gastroscopy.
Our team aims to have a patient-focused approach to care.