emailrjnov@yahoo.com
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Dr. Richard Novak, an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology at Stanford University Medical Center, is available for anesthesia expert witness consultation.
Dr. Novak is a clinician who administers anesthesia and directs perioperative medical care at Stanford University Hospital and multiple outpatient surgery centers in and around Palo Alto, California. Dr. Novak has personally performed more than 25,000 anesthetics since 1984, and is uniquely qualified because he works in an academic medical center but is also a community private practice anesthesiologist. In addition to providing clinical care, Dr. Novak is available for experienced medical-legal expert witness consultation, case review, or testimony in the specialties of anesthesiology and perioperative internal medicine.
Dr. Novak is board certified by both the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
CONTACT EMAIL: RJNOV@yahoo.com
Curriculum Vitae
Richard John Novak, M.D.
Place of Birth: Hibbing, Minnesota
email rjnov@yahoo.com
Office Address: Associated Anesthesiologists Medical Group
885 Oak Grove Avenue, Suite 207
Menlo Park, CA 94025-4441
telephone (650) 323-0617
fax (650) 323-4229
Education:
1972-76 B.A., Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude, Carleton College
1976-80 M.D., University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Postgraduate Education:
1980-81 Internship in Internal Medicine, Stanford University Hospital
1981-83 Residency in Internal Medicine, Stanford University Hospital
1984-86 Residency in Anesthesiology, Stanford University Hospital
Awards and Honors:
Phi Beta Kappa, Carleton College
AOA, University of Chicago School of Medicine
Professional Experience:
1983-84 Emergency Room Attending, Stanford University School of Medicine
1986 Attending Anesthesiologist, Santa Teresa Kaiser Hospital, San Jose,
California
1986-88 Attending Anesthesiologist, Washington Hospital, Fremont, California
1989 to Present Attending Anesthesiologist, Stanford University Hospital, Associated Anesthesiologists Medical Group, Inc., Palo Alto, California
2002 to Present Medical Director, Waverley Surgery Center, Palo Alto, California
2002 to Present Preoperative Medical Clearance Clinician, Waverley Surgery Center
Medical Licensure: California (G045299)
Medical Staff Privileges:
Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, California
Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford
Plastic Surgery Center, Palo Alto, California
Waverley Surgery Center, Palo Alto, California
California Ear Institute, Palo Alto, California
CCRM, Menlo Park, California
Kasey Li, MD DDS, oral surgery/ENT surgery office
Board Certification:
1981 Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners
1983 Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine
1987 Diplomate, American Board of Anesthesiology
Academic Appointments:
1983-1984 Physician Specialist, Department of Internal Medicine, Stanford University Emergency Room
1988-1993 Clinical Instructor, Stanford University Department of Anesthesiology
1993-2000 Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine.
2000 – August 2018 Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine.
September 2018 – Adjunct Clinical Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine.
Teaching Experience/Presentations:
1983 Instructor, Advanced Trauma Life Support
Instructor, Advanced Cardiac Life Support
1984 Lecturer, Emergency Management of Overdose, Stanford Hospital
Pharmacy Symposium
1988 to Present Examiner, Practice Oral Board Exams, Department of Anesthesia,
Stanford University Hospital
1992 Lecturer, Preoperative Assessment of Internal Medicine Patients,
Internal Medicine Resident Conference, Stanford University Hospital
1993 Lecturer, Anaphylaxis on Induction of General Anesthesia, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
1995 Lecturer, Electrolyte Disturbance during Hysteroscopy, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
Teaching Experience (continued):
2001 Lecturer, Anaphylaxis during Liposuction, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2001 to 2010 Author, Deputy Chief Column, Anesthesia Gas Pipeline, Department of Anesthesia, Stanford, CA.
2002 to Present Lecturer, Mock Code, Waverley Surgery Center, Palo Alto, CA. Yearly lecture.
2002 to Present Lecturer, Malignant Hyperthermia, Waverley Surgery Center, Palo Alto, CA. Yearly lecture.
2003 Lecturer, Hypovolemic Shock in Gynecologic Laparoscopy, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2004 Lecturer, Neurologic Complications following Total Joint Replacement, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2005 Lecturer, Preoperative Screening at a Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2007 Lecturer, Awareness During General Anesthesia, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2009 Lecturer, Medical Director Management of a Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2011 Lecturer, Pulmonary Edema in a 3-Year-Old Following Tonsillectomy, and 75 Cases of 10-Hour Outpatient General Anesthetics for Atresia/Microtia Pediatric Surgery, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2015 Lecturer, Pediatric Anesthesia at Freestanding Ambulatory Facilities, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2016 Invited Lecturer, The Transition From Anesthesia Residency to Community Practice, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 14, 2016
2016 Invited Lecturer, Pediatric Anesthesia at Freestanding Ambulatory Facilities, University of New Mexico Anesthesia Grand Rounds, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 15, 2016
2017 Lecturer, Expert Witness Testimony in Anesthesia, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2017 Exhibit, an audio recording of The Metronome, a poem by Richard Novak MD, at the Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital regarding perspectives on anesthesia, at Boston’s City Hall Plaza as part of HUBweek, Boston’s festival of innovation, October 2017.
2019 to Present Stanford Anesthesia Student Clerkship 308A director/coordinator
2019 Lecturer, Artificial Intelligence in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Enterprise Development Group, Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford, CA, May 13, 2019
2019 Lecturer, Five Minutes to Avoid Anoxic Brain Damage, Stanford Anesthesia Grand Rounds
2020 Lecturer, Anesthesiology in the Time of COVID, InternetMedicine.com, via Zoom, April 17, 2020.
2020 Lecturer, Why You Should Become an Anesthesiologist, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, Pleven, Bulgaria, via Zoom, May 7, 2020.
2020 Invited presentation via Zoom to the American Sleep Apnea Association, Sleep Apnea and Anesthesia, November 3, 2020.
2022 Invited presentation via Zoom, PeriopMan 2022Conference, Robotics in Anesthesia, The Manchester Perioperative Medicine Society, Manchester University, Manchester, England, March 18, 2022.
2022 Lecturer, Preoperative Assessment in Private Practice, Stanford Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Lecture to Anesthesia Residents, June 7, 2022.
2022 Lecturer, The Basics of Anesthesia Billing in Private Practice, Stanford Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Lecture to Anesthesia Residents, June 22, 2022.
2023 Invited presentation via Zoom, Anesthesia for Nonobstetric Surgery in a Pregnant Patient, Modern School of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Medical University – Pleven, Bulgaria, April 23, 2023.
Offices Held:
1991 to Present Vice President, Associated Anesthesiologists Medical Group, Inc.
1995 to 1998 Alternate Delegate, District 4, California Society of Anesthesiologists
1996 to 2000 Medical Advisory Board, Palo Alto Surgecenter
2001-2015 Deputy Chief of Anesthesia, Stanford University Medical Center
2002-Present Medical Director, Waverley Surgery Center, Palo Alto, California
2005-2014 Delegate, District 4, California Society of Anesthesiologists
2006-Present Expert Reviewer, Medical Board of California
2019-2021 Deputy Chief of Anesthesia, Stanford University Medical Center
Medical Committees:
1997 to 2009 Care Improvement Committee, Stanford University Hospital
1997 to Present Quality Assurance Committee, Associated Anesthesiologists Medical Group
1996 to 2000 Medical Advisory Board, Palo Alto Surgecenter
2001 to 2015 Medical Executive Committee, Stanford University Hospital
2002 to 2009 Stanford University Hospital Anesthesia QA Committee
2002 to Present Chairman, Waverley Surgery Center QA Committee
2006 to 2015 Medical Executive Committee, Stanford University Hospital
2017 to Present Stanford Anesthesia Adjunct Clinical Faculty Committee
2019 to 2021 Medical Executive Committee, Stanford University Hospital
Publications: Novak RJ, Gaeke R, Kirsner JB. Chronic Daily Narcotic Use in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: Gastroenterology May 1980; 78(5): Part 2, p 1331.
Novak RJ, Hill BB, Schubart PJ, Fogarty TJ, Zarins CK. Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair in a Patient with Prohibitive Cardiopulmonary Risk: Anesthesiology 1999; 91: 1542 – 45.
Novak RJ, Dental Anesthesia for Autistic Children, letter to the editor: Autism Research Review International 2000, Vol 14, No. 4, page 7.
Novak RJ, The Metronome, Anesthesiology, Mind to Mind Section 2012: 117:417.
Novak RJ, Vascular Access Made Easy, Outpatient Surgery Magazine Manager’s Guide to Ambulatory Anesthesia, July 2013, pages 10-19.
Novak RJ, Lessons in Medication Labeling, Outpatient Surgery Magazine Manager’s Guide to Ambulatory Anesthesia, October 2013, pages 22-25.
Author, Deputy Chief Column, Private Practice Anesthesia, January 2001 – present, Anesthesia publication Gas Pipeline, circulated internationally by the Department of Anesthesia, Stanford, CA.
Author, The Anesthesia Consultant, at http://theanesthesiaconsultant.com
Author, The Doctor and Mr. Dylan, a novel, published by Pegasus Books, September 2014.
Novak, RJ, Best Practices in Drug Safety, Manager’s Guide to Staff and Patient Safety Supplement to Outpatient Surgery Magazine, October 2015, pages 34-40.
Novak RJ, Book Chapter, Disorders of Potassium Balance, in Complications in Anesthesia, 3rd Edition, 2017, edited by Lee Fleisher and Stanley Rosenbaum, Elsevier Press, Philadelphia.
Novak RJ, Book Chapter: Insulin Overdose; in Advanced Perioperative Crisis Management, 2017, edited by Matthew McEvoy and Cory Furse, Oxford Press.
Novak RJ, Book Chapter, Anesthesia Considerations in Ear Reconstruction, in Modern Microtia Reconstruction: Art, Science, and New Clinical Techniques, edited by Reinisch J and Tahiri Y, Springer Press, New York, 2019.
Novak RJ, Ideas That Work: Anesthesiologists Start Their Own IVs to Build Rapport With Patients, Outpatient Surgery Magazine, April 2017.
Author, Doctor Vita, a novel, published by All Things That Matter Press, March 2019.
Author, Call From the Jailhouse, published by Extasy Books, Vancouver, CA, September 2023.
Volunteer Activities:
1992 to 2000 Internal Medicine Physician, RotaCare Clinic of East Palo Alto
2007 to 2015 Internal Medicine Physician, Samaritan House Clinic, Redwood City
Professional Societies:
American Society of Anesthesiologists
California Society of Anesthesiologists
California Medical Association
Santa Clara County Medical Association
All expert witness testimony follows the Guidelines For ExpertWitness Qualifications and Testimony, as set forth by American Society of Anesthesiologists:
GUIDELINES FOR EXPERT WITNESS QUALIFICATIONS AND TESTIMONY (Approved by the ASA House of Delegates on October 15, 2003, and last amended on October 22, 2008) PREAMBLE The integrity of the litigation process in the United States depends in part on the honest, unbiased, responsible testimony of expert witnesses. Such testimony serves to clarify and explain technical concepts and to articulate professional standards of care. The ASA supports the concept that such expert testimony by anesthesiologists should be readily available, objective and unbiased. To limit uninformed and possibly misleading testimony, experts should be qualified for their role and should follow a clear and consistent set of ethical guidelines. A. EXPERT WITNESS QUALIFICATIONS 1. The physician (expert witness) should have a current, valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine. 2. The physician should be board certified in anesthesiology or hold an equivalent specialist qualification. 3. The physician should have been actively involved in the clinical practice of anesthesiology at the time of the event. B. EXPERT WITNESS ETHICAL GUIDELINES 1. The physician’s review of the medical facts should be truthful, thorough and impartial and should not exclude any relevant information to create a view favoring either the plaintiff or the defendant. The ultimate test for accuracy and impartiality is a willingness to prepare testimony that could be presented unchanged for use by either the plaintiff or defendant. 2. The physician’s testimony should reflect an evaluation of performance in light of generally accepted standards, reflected in relevant literature, neither condemning performance that clearly falls within generally accepted practice standards nor endorsing or condoning performance that clearly falls outside accepted medical practice. 3. The physician should make a clear distinction between medical malpractice and adverse outcomes not necessarily related to negligent practice. 4. The physician should make every effort to assess the relationship of the alleged substandard practice to the patient’s outcome. Deviation from a practice standard is not always causally related to a poor outcome. 5. The physician’s fee for expert testimony should relate to the time spent and in no circumstances should be contingent upon outcome of the claim. 6. The physician should be willing to submit such testimony for peer review.
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