When President George Washington fell ill six weeks after his inauguration in 1789, he summoned the prominent New York City physician Samuel Bard. When residing at his presidential home in Manhattan, Washington relied on Bard for his medical care thereafter. Bard thus became the first in a long line of presidential physicians.

From George Washington to George W. Bush, The White House Physician examines 217 years of White House health care and analyzes the relationships – sometimes fruitful, sometimes disastrous – of the presidents with their physicians. Biographical and educational sketches of each physician are included but the main focus is the especially complex physician-patient relationship and its changes over time.

The White House Physician also discusses major developments in American medicine – the education of physicians, hospital care, women in medicine, the conflict between organized medicine and homeopathy – as these relate to the evolution of presidential care.