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Lawrence S. Schieken, MD, a highly respected Maryland allergist for 27 years, and founder of the Chesapeake Asthma and Allergy Center (CAAC in Easton) and the Comprehensive Asthma and Allergy Center (CAAC in Annapolis, Columbia, and Owings Mills), is devoted to treating adults and children for a host of allergy-related problems, including hay fever, asthma, exercise- induced asthma, hives, chronic cough, food and drug allergies, bee-sting allergy, sinusitis, onchitis, and eczema.
Since his residency at the University of Maryland and his fellowship in allergy/immunology at Johns Hopkins, he has dedicated himself to treating allergy and asthma sufferers, having recognized early in his training that “the need for consistent care of chronic conditions, such as asthma, was not being adequately addressed in the inner city.”
As a solo practitioner in private practice, Dr. Schieken continues to practice with concern and compassion. He is an anomaly in today’s often impersonal health-care environment. His patients receive the kind of personalized care that reflects a commitment to treating people as individuals, not just a list of symptoms. Whatever patients need, he and his staff are there to serve them and solve their problems.
Because he and his office team have worked together for more than 25 years, CAAC offers continuity of care, a rare commodity that is especially advantageous for those requiring chronic care. CAAC patients benefit from seeing the same friendly faces who are aware of all their health issues―not just their allergies. The CAAC way enhances patients’ overall quality of care.
Dr. Schieken values his one-on-one patient relationships. Asking the right questions, listening well, and taking a detailed history helps him make a well-informed diagnosis and prescribe the best course of treatment. Patients may sometimes believe that they are experiencing certain symptoms but may actually be suffering from something quite different. For example, they may state that they “wheeze” or in other cases that their “eyes itch”. But when asked by Dr. Schieken, “When you wheeze from which part of the airway, is it coming, upper or lower? Is it during inhalation or exhalation? If your eyes itch, does the itching come from the eyeball or the skin around it?” The answers to these questions may lead to very different therapies, he says. Perhaps a patient really doesn’t need nor will benefit from an asthma inhaler or an eye drop. An alternative approach may be warranted and “just what the doctor ordered”.
Dr. Schieken wishes more people would seek medical attention early on and not wait until they are in crisis. He sees his job as “resetting the thermostat” that has gone awry in patients who have neglected symptoms. He laments that many accept as normal what is abnormal, spoiling their quality of life. Diagnostic and therapeutic methods have improved significantly over the years to the point that patients may again get to enjoy both their indoor and outdoor lives free from the burdens of asthma and allergy.
Comprehensive Asthma and Allergy Center
130 Lu ano Drive, Ste. 111 | Annapolis, MD 21401
410-974-8332
Chesapeake Asthma and Allergy Center
8695 Commerce Drive, Ste. 5 | Easton, MD 21601
410-822-5575
