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Dr. Lekshmi Santhosh is a pulmonary medicine and critical care specialist who sees patients with a broad range of conditions related to the lungs. She is also the physician faculty lead of the specialized OPTIMAL Clinic for patients who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 or who have persistent pulmonary symptoms.

In addition to working in the clinic, she cares for patients in the medical and neurological intensive care units, as well as those admitted to the hospital through the general inpatient medical service.

Santhosh believes that medical care must begin with hearing a patient's story. Although she specializes in pulmonary medicine, she thinks carefully about the entire body. Her work in the ICU and the hospital's general medicine wards informs her consideration of interactions among all the organ systems.

Santhosh's research focuses on medical education. She has particular interests in developing women in leadership roles, clinical reasoning (decision-making in health care), and subspecialty education and career choice. She also studies the process of transitioning patients out of intensive care.

After earning a bachelor's degree in psychology/behavioral neuroscience at Yale University, Santhosh completed her medical degree at Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in internal medicine at UCSF, serving as chief resident for an additional year. She also completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UCSF and a master's degree in health professions education at the University of California, Berkeley.

Santhosh is a member of the American Thoracic Society. She serves as associate program director for UCSF's fellowship program in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

In her free time, Santhosh enjoys cooking and baking, dining out, traveling, hiking and spending time with her two daughters.

  • Board Certifications

    American Board of Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, 2018

    American Board of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, 2017

    American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine, 2014

  • Fellowships

    UCSF, Pulmonary Disease, 2018

  • Residencies

    UCSF, Internal Medicine, 2015

  • Internship

    UCSF, Internal Medicine, 2012

  • Education

    Harvard Medical School, 2011

  • Languages

    English

I believe strongly that great patient care starts with listening to the patient's story.

Where I see patients (1)

    My reviews

    5.0

    Overall Experience
    68 Ratings
    About our process
    Jan 10, 2025
    Dr. Santhosh is the finest physician who ever cared for me, and her team is exemplary in every respect. I'm so grateful to be under her care and will miss her very much now that my condition is so much improved.
    Jan 08, 2025
    The Doctor was excellent and I believe exceptional in her knowledge and understanding of my situation.
    Dec 07, 2024
    I found the Doctor to be very compassionate and caring and helpful.
    Oct 26, 2024
    Dr. Santosh is a remarkable physician! She is caring, compassionate, extremely knowledgeable and I am grateful to have her as my Pulmonologist.
    Sep 15, 2024
    Every one has been giving me the best care
    Aug 28, 2024
    Although a very large organization, Dr Santosh made me feel as if I were being treated in a family practice. She had spent a lot of time familiarizing herself with my extensive medical history and was very knowledgeable and easy to understand
    Aug 24, 2024
    I am extremely grateful for the care, compassion and expertise of Dr. Santosh.
    Jul 04, 2024
    I would absolutely recommend/refer Dr. Santosh.
    Jun 09, 2024
    Dr. Santosh is an exemplary human who should be observed by medical providers to learn how to practice medicine with compassion, competency, thoroughness and sincere concern for the human being under her care.
    Apr 24, 2024
    I felt more at ease with the proposed care and treatments necessary for my health and medical care.
    Dec 20, 2023
    Im looking forward to see what kind of service they can provide
    Dec 03, 2023
    Dr Santhosh is a VERY careful listener and a great communicator!
    Oct 07, 2023
    Dr. Santhosh is absolutely wonderful the ideal doctor; thoughtful; caring; extremely knowledgeable. She inspires confidence and I feel I am in very good hands under her care.
    Sep 04, 2023
    Dr. Santhosh is wonderful
    Sep 02, 2023
    I was impressed with the degree Dr Santosh had familiarized herself with my case. She read through all my previous tests & shared insights & how that informed her decision on next steps. She was very pleasant and thorough. She has the best "bedside manner" of any dr I have encountered in years.
    Jun 24, 2023
    The doctor was excellent. She listened. She definitely has experience. She understood the symptoms gave us some new ideas about how to treat his chronic cough was very understanding. Very nice. She explained what was going on. It was very easy for us to understand. She actually cares about her patience and is very good at her job. She left us feeling wonderful, hopeful, and that we were in good hands. We felt like we've known her forever and this was our first visit with her. In addition to her all the help we have received at UCSF has been top notch. Thank you we appreciate it.
    Jun 17, 2023
    He was very friendly

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