Rajasekhar Buddhavarapu, MD
I have spent more than twenty years in medicine and hold board certification in four disciplines: internal medicine, geriatric medicine, hospice and palliative medicine, and integrative medicine. Castle Connolly has named me a Top Doctor in Westchester County and the New York Metro Area.
My training took longer than most physicians', and that was a choice. I completed my internal medicine residency at NYU Downtown and Brookdale, then a fellowship in geriatrics and palliative care at Flushing Hospital, and years later a fellowship in integrative medicine at the Andrew Weil Center at the University of Arizona. Each of those returned me to patients I had been treating for years and showed me something in them I had not seen before.
I have worked in nearly every setting available to a physician: hospital wards, nursing and rehabilitation facilities, assisted living, hospice, and the consulting room. I began as Chief of the Division of Geriatrics at New York Downtown Hospital and went on to direct geriatric and palliative care at White Plains Hospital. I continue to serve as medical director for two nursing facilities and for a hospice program, and in 2016 I opened Serene Integrative HealthCare, where I see my own patients.
That office is at 69 Main Street in Tuckahoe. I schedule with some flexibility, weekday evenings and Saturdays included, since many of my patients are working or caring for someone who is. I have chosen to practice outside of insurance, which means patients pay for their care directly; that arrangement is what allows me to give a visit the time it genuinely requires. For those with out-of-network benefits, I provide the documentation needed to file a claim.
Photograph of Dr. Buddhavarapu—to be added
Matching the treatment to the problem
My philosophy is not a complicated one. Each patient receives a plan made for that patient, it usually draws on more than one form of treatment, and I give it the time and attention it requires.
The more demanding work, and the part I believe matters most, is judging which approach belongs to which problem. Ketamine has a genuine and well-defined role in intractable depression and in neuropathic pain such as complex regional pain syndrome, and relatively little role beyond those. Acupuncture and platelet-rich plasma therapy serve certain musculoskeletal conditions well. An Ayurvedic consultation can be valuable in chronic and stress-related illness. Nutrition finds its way into nearly every plan I write. Intravenous nutrient therapy has a place in selected cases, as support within a plan rather than as the treatment itself. And a conventional medication or procedure is frequently the right answer; when it is, I say so plainly.
I do not offer all of this myself, nor do I think any physician should claim to. When a plan calls for expertise beyond my own, I refer to a small network of integrative practitioners whose work I know well, and I remain involved in coordinating the care. See the practitioners I work with →
Conditions I treat
Integrative chronic pain management
Complex regional pain syndrome, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, phantom limb pain, and postherpetic neuralgia. Supervised ketamine therapy, medical cannabis where appropriate, and structured opioid tapering.
More on pain management →Care for older adults
Multiple conditions, polypharmacy, dementia support, and pain management that protects safety and independence.
More on geriatric care →Palliative and supportive care
Refractory cancer pain, chronic migraine, and symptom management, in coordination with existing specialists.
More on palliative care →Integrative medicine
Nutritional and lifestyle medicine, Ayurvedic treatment, and intravenous nutrient therapy used as additional support within a plan.
More on integrative medicine →What patients have said
"I was in terrible shape when I came to him. Dr. Buddha is one of the most caring, attentive, accessible and most intelligent doctors I have. I love his combination of Eastern and Western medicine. He gave me my independence and my quality of life back."
"We quickly built the kind of doctor–patient relationship I value: collaborative. He tailors our plan of care to my symptoms while keeping my long-term goals in sight."
The first step is a conversation.
To ask about becoming a patient, call or write. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. If the practice is not the right fit for your situation, I will suggest alternatives.