Who is Dr. Doug Farrago, MD?

Besides being the brainchild behind the Placebo Journal, Dr. Farrago is still a full-time practicing family doc in Auburn, Maine. He regularly sees patients in his Federally Qualified Health Center. Currently he is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice.

STUDENT  
Dr. Farrago received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, for some reason, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. The faculty there regretted that decision for quite a long time.

Prior to becoming the King of Medicine, Dr. Farrago was involved in sports medicine training of professional boxers in the late 1980s. Under the tutelage of fitness guru, Mackie Shilstone, he worked with countless fighters including five different world champions. His biggest highlight was being in a ring set inside a bull-fighting stadium whereupon Calvin Grove lost his title to Jorge Paez. He fondly remembers ducking the urine filled bottles of beer thrown at his head as they tried to exit the arena.

INVENTOR  
Soon thereafter, he began working on a product called the Knee Saver. He received the patent in 1991 and after years of persistence (and even more rejections), Dr. Farrago was able to make this product a staple of the game.

The original Knee Saver is currrently in the Baseball Hall of Fame's traveling exhibit (Baseball As America) under its Ingenuity and Innovation section. The Knee Saver, and its knock-offs, are worn by many major league baseball catchers including Mike Piazza of the Padres, Sandy Alomar of the Dodgers and Mike Leiberthal of the Phillies and many others.

DOT-COM VICTIM  
Douglas Farrago also created MedLecture.com, which was bought by a public company and subsequently became another casualty of the "dot gone" era. The company was designed to show video-streamed medical lectures through the Internet so that continuing medical education could be accomplished by a physician at his or her desktop. The company was poised to capitalize on the broadband revolution that was ready to explode (2000). Unfortunately, poor timing and even worse management caused the company to dissolve. Dr. Farrago never made a dime off his concept. His portfolio at one time was worth over $22 million with just six months left to cash out. It never happened. It has been rumored that Dr. Farrago cried for quite a while after that and has never been the same.

FAMILY MAN  
Dr. Farrago has been married for 17 years and has three children. After six knee surgeries, he has been very limited in his ability to play sports anymore. His hobbies include snowboarding, playing computer games and popping Viagra (not necessarily in that order).