John M. Boggs, M.D.

Dr. Boggs’ philosophy of care is working together with the patient on developing a course for their health. This could include home care visits, visits arranging home help, orchestrating ER care, or intervening sooner to prevent hospitalization. “I really enjoy that at Encina, we have the time, and can take the time, to listen, to have the chance to work together with the patient, to develop that two-way relationship, which allows for open communication.”

Board of Trustees, Channing House

Dr. Boggs is married and has two sons. He enjoys cycling, occasionally to work, reading, traveling, hiking, and tennis.

Dr. John Boggs was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. With his aptitude for science, and the example of his father who was also a doctor, practicing medicine seemed like a natural choice and the best way to contribute and improve things for those around him.

His passion for infectious diseases started in medical school where he felt infectious disease cases were often the most interesting and challenging. Then during his third year of medical school, the AIDS epidemic struck. Dr. Boggs also worked in clinical research at Gilead Services just as new effective HIV treatment was emerging. In his early days at PAMF, he helped initiate clinical studies of Tamiflu for influenza.

Dr. Boggs’ practice of internal medicine with the Encina Practice at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation allows him “the opportunity to care for patients I’ve known for over 20 years, with whom I have a long-term relationship. And in Infectious Diseases, in addition to the same old battles we have with tuberculosis and resistant organisms, there is always something new coming down the road such as HIV, Zika, and most recently coronavirus. I feel so lucky to be practicing at a place with such tremendous colleagues who also value the care of the patient as the central, core value.”

Along with his primary care practice at Encina, he is a consultant in infectious diseases responsible for outpatients at PAMF and inpatients at Stanford with problems related to infections of all kinds. He is also the head of Infectious Diseases for PAMF Palo Alto and serves on the Immunization, Infection Control, and Infectious Disease committees.