Rina Caprarella, MD, specializes in the study and treatment of peripheral neuropathy and entrapment neuropathy. As a practicing neurologist, she also focuses her time on advocating for the advancement of women to leadership positions, especially in the medical field. Dr. Caprarella has served as Chair of Neurology and Chair of Women in Medicine, along with a co-chair appointment to the Center for Neck and Back Pain at ProHEALTH, where she facilitates non-surgical treatment protocols for patients with disorders of the spine and gait difficulties.
Current Role & Duties:
She is a Neurology Specialist with over 25 years of experience. She is currently the attending neurologist at ProHEALTH Care Associates in Lake Success, NY, where she treats general neurology patients with peripheral nervous system disorders.
She performs multiple duties at ProHealth, a medical services provider that focuses on increasing healthcare access in communities and providing specialty services that allow for faster diagnosis and treatment for patients in areas such as neuroscience, heart and vascular, cancer, and orthopedics.
Her duties as Co-Chair for the Center for Neck and Back Pain at ProHealth offer Dr. Caprarella the opportunity to help design a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to health care that is patient-centered. The challenges for patients with chronic neck or back pain are many. Family quality of life, job duties, and the ability to enjoy the simplest activities in life can all be challenged by chronic pain.
Dr. Rina Caprarella, MD’s, goal is to not only provide non-surgical pain intervention but to also communicate an overall health strategy with patients that may include partnerships with other health and wellness providers. Her patient-centered approach also takes into account patient and family preferences, socioeconomic conditions, and the cultural values of the patient.
Professional Skills and Licenses:
As a ProHEALTH Care Associate, Caprarella helped the agency pivot into telemedicine during the worldwide pandemic from 2020 to 2021. As a Physician Leader for Telemedicine Development, she worked in collaboration with development team members to set the guidelines for usage and other protocols that would facilitate the delivery of healthcare services when distance is a critical factor.
Rina has been licensed in New York and has been Board Certified by American Board Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) since 2004. Patients treated by ABPN-certified specialists are assured that they have the specialized skills and knowledge to diagnose and treat medical conditions associated with trauma or illness of the brain.
Every 10 years, Dr. Caprarella has maintained her certification by continuing to pass these stringent exams to maintain her unrestricted medical license status.
Dr. Rina Caprarella, is associated with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), an organization that advocates on behalf of physicians and their patients for access to treatment, research funding, and legislation supporting the medical advancement of brain injuries and disease treatment.
As a member of the American Association of Neuromuscular Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), Dr. Caprarella joins with other physicians to increase patient access to specialty, neuromuscular equipment that can help diagnose and treat impairments due to neurologic, neuromuscular, and muscular system damage or disease. These range from mor common injuries such as carpel tunnel syndrome to less common neuromuscular junction disorders like Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.
Charitable Involvement:
Rina and her family have been long-time donors to and volunteers of many local and national charitable organizations. She is also proud of her work with the Women in Medicine Committee from 2018 to 2021. This group provides leadership and mentorship to future and newly hired female healthcare providers to aid in their continued growth and success in the industry.
While there is a lack of female-to-female sponsorship in almost all professions, the medical industry is experiencing new and unprecedented challenges in the advancement of women to directorial and executive management levels.
Dr. Rina Caprarella and other committee members constantly brainstorm on ways to overcome the challenges that women face as medical physicians. These include salary disparities and a lack of a more inclusive work and home-life balance.
Personal Accomplishments and Interests:
Caprarella is a contributing author, adding a highly-technical chapter on “Causes and Treatment of Myopathy” in a well-respected and published medical text. Myopathy is a disease of the muscle tissue that presents symptoms of muscle weakness, muscle cramps or stiffness in patients.
In her extended spare time, Dr. Caprarella enjoys traveling as a way to stay both mentally and physically healthy. When traveling, she finds that vacationers tend to walk more, breathe in more fresh air, and get healthy doses of vitamin D from the sun. Traveling is also a way to reverse burnout from working too many hours, a problem that has only increased for medical professionals in recent years.
Mentally, the benefits of traveling are enormous. When you disconnect from everyday life, you gain a chance to recharge your mind and rejuvenate your spirit. And, as you experience the creativity of different cultures and the beauty of new landscapes, Dr. Caprarella believes we tend to become happier and more grateful.