Doctor's In: Vasilios Kalonaros, MD

This week, physician Vasilios Kalonaros discusses his specialty, what he likes about working in Smithtown and the challenges he faces. Check back each week to meet other Smithtown health professionals.

How long have you been practicing in Smithtown? 20 years.

What is your specialty? Internal medicine. We basically take care of all the medical needs for adults. We do cardiology, pulmonology, a little bit of everything.

What injuries do you treat? As first line physicians for primary care, we see injuries in the beginning and usually if they're serious we refer them to specialists.

What are your activities outside of your profession? Fishing, golf, hunting, skiing, water skiing, swimming.

What is your favorite thing about being a doctor in Smithtown? I like the fact that St. Catherine's is a community hospital and the people that work here are all from the community. Patients feel more at home being taken care of people that live in the community that they're from.

What is a challenging aspect in your work? Insurance, reimbursements, the fact that the malpractice insurance has gone through the roof as far as our premiums are concerned. The reimbursement really hasn't gone up in years and there's always the looming threat of reimbursement going down. Having a private practice is like running a small business. The medical part is easy, it's the business part that's hard.

What words do you have for someone entering your field? You have to love doing it because there's not a lot of glamour involved and you're not going to be rich.