The White House Physician

Since the early days of George Washington’s presidency, physicians have played a significant role in the health and well-being of American presidents. This text delves into the history of American medicine as it intersects with the specialized treatment and care provided to presidents. It also focuses on the changes that have occurred over time to the doctor-patient relationship. This new edition updates the original 2007 publication through the presidency of Joe Biden.
The book covers presidential physicians’ education, background, accomplishments, successes and failures of their professional care, as well as social relationships with their president-patients. Also highlighted are the new developments in the White House Medical Unit (WHMU), the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution, and post White House careers of featured physicians. The book is enhanced by interviews with every presidential physician from Ronald Reagan’s last to Joe Biden’s, illuminating the contrasts and similarities between American medical and political history. By reviewing the progression of presidential medical care, this book shows the interplay between medicine, politics, and the well-being of our nation’s leaders.

Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D., is a professor emeritus of pathology, Northeast Ohio Medical University. A native of New York, he lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 255
Bibliographic Info: 40 photos, notes, bibliography,index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8700-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5476-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
Foreword by Connie Mariano, M.D. 1
Preface 3
Introduction 5
1. Samuel Bard: The First Presidential Physician 9
2. The Pillars of the Profession: Presidential Physicians, 1812–1865 20
3. The Military Steps In, Part I: The Early Days, 1823–1865 29
4. The Military Steps In, Part II: Conflicts and Cooperation, 1865–1898 37
5. Admiral Presley Rixey: The First Authentic White House Physician 54
6. Captain Joel Boone and the Institutionalization of the Office of the White House Physician 64
7. The Military Keepers of the Stethoscope: Doctors Cary Grayson, Ross McIntire and Howard Snyder 73
8. Physician Anecdotes: The Returnee, the Academic, the Consultant and the Defendant, 1953–1981 92
9. Civilian Interlude, Part I: Medical Chaos in Camelot 102
10. Civilian Interlude, Part II: The Specialist Physicians of Presidents Reagan and George H. Bush 115
11. Twenty First Century Presidential: The Doctors Who Treated George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden 123
12. The White House Medical Unit Continues to Evolve 134
13. The ­Twenty-fifth Amendment and Its Impact on the White House Medical Unit 143
14. Psychiatry and the Presidency 151
15. The Medical Care of Vice Presidents 161
16. Presidential Physicians After Their Tenures 172
17. Final Thoughts 181
Chapter Notes 187
Bibliography 220
Index 233

Reviews from the previous edition:

• “Impressively researched…fascinating”—Arizona Daily Star

• “Very well researched…a significant contribution to the understanding of presidential health care”—Journal of the History of Medicine

• “An essential-read for any Navy medical recruiter”—Navy Medicine

• “Deppisch has done his homework”—Bulletin of the History of Medicine