Los Altos MD
Dr. John Madej is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician who has provided highly personalized medical care in San Francisco Bay Area for more than 26 years.
Born and educated in Poland, Dr. Madej attended medical school in Warsaw and subsequently served as a faculty member there. His postgraduate education included training in London and Oxford, England. He was awarded a World Health Organization scholarship for additional training in the United States and later received a scholarship through the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1992, Dr. Madej joined the University of California as a scientist involved in HIV/AIDS research, at a time when HIV was one of medicine’s greatest challenges. He later completed his Internal Medicine residency at Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine and returned to Northern California, establishing his private practice in 2000.
Dr. Madej’s practice is designed for patients who are looking for something increasingly difficult to find in modern medicine: a physician who knows them personally, has time to understand their medical history, and remains actively involved when their healthcare becomes complicated.
Preventive medicine is an important part of this philosophy. Whenever possible, the goal is not simply to treat illness after it develops, but to identify risks early and prevent serious medical problems before they occur. This may include comprehensive preventive evaluations, advanced imaging and diagnostic testing, cardiovascular and cancer risk assessment, genetic testing when appropriate, and coordination with specialists.
When illness does occur, Dr. Madej’s involvement often extends well beyond a traditional office visit. Depending on the patient’s needs and level of service, he may provide care in the office, at home, in the hospital, and during important consultations with specialists.
For certain patients and extraordinary circumstances, this commitment can extend even further. Dr. Madej may travel with patients when their medical condition requires physician support and has undertaken medical rescue trips to assist his patients who became seriously ill in other countries.
The philosophy is simple: care for each patient with the attention and concern you would want for a member of your own family.
Throughout his career, Dr. Madej has been particularly interested in complex and unusual medical problems—the medical mysteries for which there may not be an immediate or obvious answer.
Some patients come to the practice after seeing numerous physicians and specialists. They may have extensive medical records, abnormalities involving several organ systems, or significant symptoms that cannot be explained by routine testing.
Dr. Madej does not practice alternative medicine. He does, however, believe strongly in keeping an open and scientifically curious mind. He takes time to review previous investigations, reconsider diagnoses, search for connections between seemingly unrelated findings, and collaborate with specialists when additional expertise is needed.
Over the years, he has developed relationships with physicians at leading medical institutions throughout the country, including Stanford Medicine, UCSF, Cedars-Sinai and other major academic centers.
An important part of Dr. Madej’s practice is caring for patients with ME/CFS, Long COVID, POTS, dysautonomia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, autoimmune disorders and other complex chronic conditions.
ME/CFS and Long COVID present a particular challenge because they can affect many systems simultaneously and remain incompletely understood. Patients may experience profound fatigue, post-exertional malaise, cognitive difficulties, autonomic dysfunction and numerous other symptoms that can dramatically alter their lives.
Dr. Madej recognizes that many of these patients have already endured a long and frustrating medical journey. Their symptoms deserve to be heard and taken seriously.
There is currently no single treatment or cure that can be promised for ME/CFS or Long COVID. Dr. Madej’s approach is to look carefully for treatable contributors, manage symptoms, coordinate appropriate specialty care, and remain attentive to emerging scientific research and new therapeutic possibilities.
His background in HIV/AIDS research has strongly influenced this philosophy. He experienced firsthand how medicine can evolve when physicians and scientists persist in investigating a previously poorly understood disease. Today, he brings that same curiosity and determination to patients affected by Long COVID and ME/CFS.
He is proud to collaborate with physicians experienced in these conditions, including Dr. Ilene Ruhoy and Dr. Jose Montoya, as well as specialists from major academic medical centers.
Dr. Madej practices alongside his daughter, Dr. Jessica Madej, who is also board-certified in Internal Medicine.
Their concierge model is intentionally personal. When medically appropriate, they may continue caring for their patients during hospitalization, communicate directly with hospital physicians, and attend particularly important specialist consultations with their patients.
For Dr. Madej, concierge medicine is not simply about convenience or easier access to a physician. It is about continuity, availability, prevention, advocacy and having a physician who remains personally involved when you need medical care the most.
Because this level of care requires considerable time, the practice maintains a limited number of patients. New concierge patients are accepted depending upon availability, including selected patients with ME/CFS, Long COVID and other complex medical conditions.
Los Altos MD