Meet the Board: Douglas H. Jones, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI
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Douglas H. Jones, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, said his favorite aspect of being an allergist is the opportunity he has to make a significant impact on somebody’s quality of life.
“The research is booming in this area, and so there is a lot of promise,” Jones, who is cofounder of Global Food Therapy, Food Allergy Support Team and OITConnect, and the director at Rocky Mountain Allergy at Tanner Clinic, told Healio. “I love to be able to offer some hope to patients based on those developments and to make an impact on their quality of life.”
Healio spoke with Jones, who also serves as a Healio Allergy/Asthma Peer Perspective Board Member, about his favorite aspects of being an allergist, what he does outside work, and where he sees the most promise in the field today and in the future.
Healio: How did you come to pursue allergy as your specialty?
Jones: I went to medical school with the intention of pursuing a different specialty. In my first year, I shadowed that kind of physician, but it became apparent quickly that the specialty wasn’t a good fit for me. I panicked at first because that was why I came to medical school, but that specialty wasn’t resonating with me. Because I’m a planner, I immediately started looking into all different kinds of specialties. At that time, the allergist/immunologist at my medical school was giving some lectures that I found really intriguing. I approached him and asked if I could shadow him in clinic and he agreed. I instantly knew this specialty was a fit for me, and since that day I haven’t wavered from it, because it really fits with my personality and style.
Healio: Do you have a particular area of allergy/immunology that you enjoy the most?
Jones: We’ve become well known for our food allergy program, and we treat people from all over the United States and the world who come to our center for treatment. But I actually treat everything related to allergy and immunology, from severe eczema to asthma to immune deficiencies. We’re also treating long COVID now, and I like to keep on the forefront of the more severe types of conditions that allergists treat.
Still, food allergy has been a major part of our practice, and we’ve attracted a lot of patients that way. We’ve been part of a pioneering effort for oral immunotherapy, and I’ve been able to co-found a few organizations to help train doctors and allergists from across the world. I’ve been grateful to be heavily involved not only on the patient side, but also in training allergists and the development of oral immunotherapy. So, although I see a variety of patients, this is definitely a love of mine.
Healio: What challenges do you face regularly in practice that keep you up at night?
Jones: Being a doctor and the relationship I have with my patients is the best part of my day. Challenging cases, although they can keep me up at night, are something that I enjoy trying to figure out. Trying to help that person who hasn’t yet been helped is one of my passions.
However, dealing with insurance companies can be a huge challenge. Often, you can’t do what you want to do to help a patient because the insurance companies won’t let you. The political aspect of dealing with insurance companies can be an enormous waste of time.
Healio: What do you like to do outside of clinical practice?
Jones: I enjoy hiking and skiing and doing really anything outdoors. I also love to travel.
Healio: What would you say has been the most exciting development in allergy and asthma treatment over the last decade?
Jones: Two things: Oral immunotherapy has been groundbreaking for our specialty, as has been the emergence of biologics for patients with severe asthma or eczema. Biological treatments have specific targets, so they provide benefit with fewer side effects. Many of these patients have been steroid dependent, and we’ve been able to get them off of steroids, which makes a huge change in their life.
Healio: What advances are you most looking forward to over the next 10 years?
Jones: Potentially gene therapy. I also treat a number of rare genetic disorders, and being able to take treatment one step further to correct the underlying cause with gene therapy would be absolutely groundbreaking in every way.
For more information:
Douglas H. Jones, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, can be reached at jonesallergy@gmail.com.