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Recognizing excellence in patient experience: FY26 Q4 Diamond Docs

(SACRAMENTO)

UC Davis Health is proud to recognize 155 physicians as recipients of the Diamond Doc Award for the fourth quarter of FY26. This distinguished honor celebrates providers who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to patient-centered care, earning scores in the 90th percentile or higher on patient experience surveys.

The Diamond Doc Award recognizes physicians who consistently create meaningful patient experiences through attentive listening, clear communication, empathy, and respectful partnerships in care. Because the award is based entirely on patient feedback, it serves as a powerful reflection of the trust, confidence, and appreciation patients have for their physicians.

A positive patient experience is a vital component of high-quality health care. When patients feel heard, respected, and informed, they are more likely to be engaged in their care, follow treatment plans, and experience greater satisfaction with their overall health care journey. Diamond Docs exemplify these qualities every day, helping advance UC Davis Health's commitment to delivering exceptional care and improving the lives of the patients and communities we serve.

Among the 155 physicians recognized this quarter, 24 achieved a perfect score of 100%, and 36 physicians earned the Diamond Doc Award during all four quarters of FY26, an extraordinary accomplishment that reflects sustained excellence in patient care.

This year also marks an exciting milestone, with 84 physicians earning recognition as new Diamond Docs. Their achievements demonstrate a growing culture of patient-centered excellence across UC Davis Health.

All FY26 Diamond Doc recipients will be honored at an annual celebration on the evening of Tuesday, October 20, 2026. So, Diamond Docs, mark your calendars. We can't wait to celebrate your accomplishments this fall. Additional event details will be coming soon.

Congratulations to all Diamond Docs. We thank you for your unwavering dedication to excellence, compassion, and the remarkable patient experiences that make a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve.

To view all Diamond Doc recipient lists by quarter, as well as the complete FY26 Diamond Doc roster, visit the Experience Design Site.

Diamond Doc Spotlight:

Melissa Pham, MD

“Dr. Pham was wonderful. She explained everything she was going to do before doing it so there were no surprises or shocks. She gave me a very thorough explanation of what she saw and thought. It was a very pleasant experience considering why I was there.” 

Katerina Christiansen, MD

“Dr. C is wonderful! She always listens and makes good suggestions, shows concern and is friendly. I feel very comfortable with her and trust her knowledge and judgement.”

Daniel Eisen, MD

“My doctor explained why he was doing the cut the way he was and the reason for the stitch pattern. Very complete. I felt part of the process.” 

Congratulations to our FY26 Q4 Diamond Doc Award Winners

**Providers who received awards for all FY26
*Provider who received 100% in FY26 Q4

Full Name

Title

Primary Department

Marianne Abouyared

MD

Otolaryngology

Boya Abudu

MD

Dermatology

Ajjya Acharya*

MD

Pediatrics

Emily Andrada-Brown

MD

Emergency Medicine

Mili Arora

MD

Internal Medicine

Surabhi Atreja

MD

Internal Medicine

Victor Baquero***

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Erin Baroni**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Anthony Bhe

MD

Internal Medicine

Andrew Birkeland

MD

Otolaryngology

Nicolas Bouey

MD

Internal Medicine

Alain Brassard

MD

Dermatology

Hilary Brodie

MD

Otolaryngology

Lisa Brown

MD

Surgery

Ian Brown

MD

Surgery

Danielle Brown

MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Radhika Bukkapatnam**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Rachael Callcut*

MD

Surgery

Jeffrey Caspar

MD

Ophthalmology

Jorge Catrip Torres**

MD

Surgery

Adam Cerise

MD

Surgery

Jonathan Chan

MD

Emergency Medicine

Jason Chang**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Helen Chow**

MD

Internal Medicine

Scott Christensen

MD

Internal Medicine

Katerina Christiansen**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Daniel Colby*

MD

Emergency Medicine

Ignacio Cortina Petrasic

MD

Internal Medicine

Brianna Crawley

MD

Otolaryngology

Jacob Dima**

DO

Community Physicians Family Practice

Jennifer Draper**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Daniel Eisen**

MD

Dermatology

Naseem Esteghamat

MD

Internal Medicine

Dali Fan

MD

Internal Medicine

Marcia Faustin**

MD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Sheila Firoozan

MD

Internal Medicine

Sean Flynn

MD

Surgery

Mehul Gandhi

MD

Internal Medicine

Afshine Ghaemi**

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Megan Gilchrist

MD

Surgery

Mauro Giordani*

MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Luis Godoy

MD

Surgery

Lindsey Goetz

MD

Internal Medicine

Susan Gorman

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Vinay Goswamy

MD

Internal Medicine

Eric Gross

MD

Emergency Medicine

Molly Hallweaver

MD

Emergency Medicine

Elise Harris**

MD

Internal Medicine

Kristina Hart

DO

Neurology

Mehnoor Haseeb***

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Lisa Ho

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Adrienne Hoyt-Austin

DO

Pediatrics

Philip Hsiao**

MD

Urology

Apeet Hundal

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Kendra Hutchinson***

MD

Internal Medicine

Angela Jarman

MD

Emergency Medicine

Jayne Joo**

MD

Dermatology

Paul Kaesberg

MD

Internal Medicine

Nandakishor Kapa

MD

Internal Medicine

Chrishanthie Karalakulasingam

MD

Community Physicians Pediatrics

Yvonne Kelly*

MD

Surgery

Manoj Kesarwani

MD

Internal Medicine

Eunice Kim

MD

Pediatrics

Nathalie Kolandjian

MD

Internal Medicine

Brooks Kuhn

MD

Internal Medicine

John Landefeld

MD

Internal Medicine

Daniel Linfesty

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Santiago Lombo Luque

MD

Internal Medicine

Sarah Louie

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Thomas Luh

MD

Internal Medicine

John Luke

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Gagan Mahajan

MD

Anesthesiology

Mathew Margolis

MD

Ophthalmology

Alejandra Marquez Loza*

MD

Neurology

Allan Martin

MD

Neurological Surgery

Kristy Mathes

MD

Internal Medicine

Jenny Mccormick

MD

Emergency Medicine

Sharon Mcintyre

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Heather Mcknight*

MD

Pediatrics

Sarah Medeiros

MD

Emergency Medicine

Miquell Miller

MD

Surgery

Karen Mo**

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Mark Moriwaki**

MD

Internal Medicine

Aimee Moulin*

MD

Emergency Medicine

Jean Muller

MD

Internal Medicine

Muhammad Munir

MD

Internal Medicine

Aseel Naser

DO

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Kathryn Newell

MD

Internal Medicine

Erik Noren*

MD

Surgery

Emilia Norlin*

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Peter O'Malley

MD

Community Physicians Pediatrics

Mychall Pagulayan-Sy

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Avita Pahwa**

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Himani Pandya*

MD

Internal Medicine

Aman Parikh

MD

Emergency Medicine

Gayatri Patel

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Sanyukta Pawar

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Kristen Pellegrino

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Caitlin Peterman

MD

Dermatology

Melissa Pham***

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Manh Pham

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Richard Price

MD

Neurological Surgery

Scott Pritzlaff**

MD

Anesthesiology

Sahar Rahiem

MD

Pediatrics

Jasmeen Randhawa**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Ben Rasmussen**

DO

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Mikeala Rice

MD

Family and Community Medicine

John Richards

MD

Emergency Medicine

Sravani Sagireddy

DO

Community Physicians Family Practice

Edgardo Salcedo*

MD

Surgery

Maha Sami

MD

Internal Medicine

Meena Sandhu

DO

Emergency Medicine

James Saxton***

MD

Pediatrics

Renata Segal

DO

Community Physicians Family Practice

Ellen Shank

MD

Emergency Medicine

Narges Shariati Varnosfaderani

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Shivani Sharma

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Lucy Shi

MD

Internal Medicine

Kelly Siemens

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Marc Silverstein

MD

Dermatology

Aseem Singh

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Francisco Socola Cuzco*

MD

Internal Medicine

Jeffrey Southard**

MD

Internal Medicine

Toby Steele

MD

Otolaryngology

Miranda Stiewig-Rapp

DO

Internal Medicine

Benjamin Stripe**

MD

Internal Medicine

Elena Sudjian

MD

Internal Medicine

Debra Swanson

MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Danielle Tartar**

MD

Dermatology

Polly Teng**

MD

Internal Medicine

Cecilia Terrado

MD

Internal Medicine

Susana Torres

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Joseph Tuscano**

MD

Internal Medicine

Leah Tzimenatos**

MD

Emergency Medicine

Arash Velayati

MD

Internal Medicine

Anastasia Waechter**

MD

Internal Medicine

Cecily Wait

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Jared Whitson

MD

Urology

Jessica Witkowski*

MD

Pediatrics

Adi Wollstein

MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Linda Woo

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Carla Wood*

DO

Neurology

Peggy Wu

MD

Dermatology

Jin Xu

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine

Gilbert Xue

DO

Ophthalmology

Stella Yala

MD

Internal Medicine

Alan Yee

DO

Neurology

Tisha Yeh*

MD

Pediatrics

Kaicheng Yen

MD

Otolaryngology

Amy Yip**

DO

Community Physicians Family Practice

Christopher Young**

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

John Youngblood

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Shawn Youngs

MD

Community Physicians Family Practice

Danielle Zezoff

MD

Internal Medicine

Yunli Zheng**

MD

Community Physicians Internal Medicine