Ian Joel, MD

About Ian

Clinical Expertise

Dr. Joel believes that teamwork with his patients and his colleagues is the root of all good things in medicine, and that optimal treatment requires a collaborative integration of his knowledge in the treatment of lung and systemic diseases with all the other professionals, including nurses, medical assistants, respiratory therapists, interventional pulmonologists, and physicians that are participating in the care of each patient. He maintains an up-to-date knowledge of the evidence base in a broad range of pulmonary diagnostic, treatment, and procedural paradigms that encompass: chronic cough; pulmonary blood vessel diseases such as blood clots in the lung and pulmonary hypertension; diseases of obstructed large and small airways (e.g. asthma, bronchiectasis, tracheobronchomalacia, COPD); diseases that stiffen the lung such as pulmonary fibrosis and auto-immune inflammatory lung diseases (sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis); occupational lung diseases (e.g. asbestosis, wood smoke pneumoconiosis); multi-system diseases that affect the lung such as hematologic malignancy and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS); both sudden and gradually appearing infectious diseases of the lung including bacterial or viral pneumonias and other atypical infections (e.g. mycobacterium avium complex, endemic fungal infection); lung disease related to obesity and sleep apneas; allergic diseases affecting the lung including fungal hypersensitivity and chronic allergic rhinosinusitis; personalizing the treatment of each asthma and COPD phenotype based on specialized testing; personal review and interpretation of arterial blood gases, imaging studies, and pulmonary function testing; and pulmonary nodules/masses and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the chest including surveillance and bronchoscopic sampling of concerning areas when the benefits are determined to outweigh the risks after engaging in shared decision-making with each patient. Dr. Joel utilizes his extensive experience in both academic and concierge pulmonology to treat the whole patient, as diseases of the lung interact significantly with the other systems in our bodies including feedback loops into anxiety and other neuronal imbalances that often profoundly affect the way we view ourselves and the world around us. He has published articles and extensive experience in both teaching and the clinical application of cutting-edge ultrasound technology for evaluation of the lungs, the pleural space, and the heart in both the clinic and hospital setting, and leverages these skills to minimize radiation exposure for his patients when possible and/or to identify when additional formal testing with echocardiogram, thoracic ultrasound, and/or CT scans is indicated.

Prior to joining the Jupiter Medical Center lung team, Dr. Joel served as Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee for the Department of Internal Medicine Residency Program at HCA Los Robles Regional Medical Center (LRRMC) in Thousand Oaks, California, and held several other leadership roles as Core Faculty there including Subspecialty Education Coordinator for Pulmonary and Critical Care and Director of Simulation and Ultrasound Education as Core Faculty for the Internal and Transitional Medicine Residency Programs. He spearheaded several successful quality improvement initiatives during his time at LRRMC and implemented several new pharmacologic treatment protocols as one of the two physicians serving on the multidisciplinary pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and gave recurring lectures on optimizing medication reconciliation, ECMO, and numerous pulmonary topics. When he was not seeing patients with complex critical illness and lung disease or teaching in the hospital, Dr. Joel also worked as an outpatient concierge pulmonologist providing compassionate, individualized care (as well as his handheld ultrasound) to patients in their homes from Montecito to Los Angeles, California. He has published multiple peer-reviewed research manuscripts in widely-read medical journals and presented at national conferences including at ATS (American Thoracic Society).

Philosophy of Care

Dr. Joel believes that the most meaningful therapeutic benefit is found in forming honest, open, and unconditionally supportive relationships with his patients. He finds the most gratification in this special bond and believes his most important role is to advocate for his patients and always ensure the most evidence-based diagnostic and treatment modalities are applied in alignment with his patients’ values and goals. He takes pride in forming relationships in which he fully understands those values and goals.