Bharat Kothakota, MD, MPH, an Aesthetic Physician with Self Care LA, Beyond Harmony Med Spa & Emergency Medicine Physician with Sollis Health

Get to know Emergency Physician Dr. Bharat Kothakota, who serves patients throughout the State of California.

Serving the Los Angeles community, Dr. Kothakota (fondly referred to as “Dr. K” by many of his patients and colleagues) is a board-certified emergency physician specializing in aesthetic injections and procedures. 

Having developed and honed his skill set in aesthetic medicine, he is the Owner & Medical Director of Self Care LA, a boutique aesthetics medical spa in the heart of Santa Monica. 

Helping individuals feel empowered and confident, Dr. K and his team at Self Care LA specialize in using the latest energy-based treatments to produce exceptional improvements for the skin and body. They offer options like Clear + Brilliant® fractional treatments, EvolveX body contouring, Morpheus8 RF Microneedling, and CoolSculpting®. Additionally, Self Care LA is the only practice on Montana Avenue to exclusively offer Lumecca IPL treatments for pigmentation issues and wrinkles. 

A man of many titles, Dr. K is also the Medical Director of Beyond Harmony Med Spa in Valencia, California, and an emergency medicine provider in a concierge/membership-based emergency clinic, Sollis Health, located in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Combining advances in medical technology and expertise, the highly trained team of talented medical professionals at Beyond Harmony Med Spa provide a variety of aesthetic procedures including: Botox and fillers, PDO thread lift, body contouring, laser Lipo, CoolSculpting ®, laser hair removal, laser skin resurfacing, tattoo removal, and more. Their purpose is to enhance each individual’s natural beauty and to give them the confidence that they need and deserve. 

A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. K graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in Finance and a minor in Economics from the Washington University in St. Louis in 2001. He then went on to complete a Post Baccalaureate program in Pre-Medicine at the University of Maryland in 2004, after which he earned his Master’s degree in International Public Health from George Washington University in 2005.

Furthering his education, Dr. K obtained his medical degree from the Howard University College of Medicine in 2009, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class. He then completed his internship in general surgery at Howard University Hospital in 2010, followed by his residency in emergency medicine at NYC Health and Hospitals-Lincoln in 2014 before moving to Los Angeles.

A member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the doctor is board-certified in emergency medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM). The ABEM certifies emergency physicians who meet its educational, professional, and examination standards.

Prior to becoming the Medical Director at Self Care LA, Dr. K worked at Olympia Medical Center from August 2014 – March 2021, providing care and stabilizing the sickest of patients that came through his doors. He served as the assistant medical director from October 2015 – July 2020, where his responsibilities included developing strategies with Quality Council to optimize patient satisfaction hospital wide, reviewing and rating Emergency Department cases chosen by Quality Review Council, developing strategies to prevent future fallouts in patient care, creating Emergency Department protocols to comply with annual DNV survey, ensuring physician compliance to patient call-back program to improve patient satisfaction, as well as researching patient cases that exceed the average turnaround time to admit improving process flows and ensure prompt evaluation and admission of patients.

Thereafter, from July 2020 – March 2021, Dr. K served as the medical director of the Emergency Room, where his responsibilities included developing new COVID-19 treatment protocols for the ED and inpatient based on current guidelines, optimizing revenue opportunities while decreasing costs during this low patient volume period, assisting in acquiring Rapid COVID-19 testing to assist in hospital bed resource allocation, managing physician and physician assistant recruiting for the site, overseeing structural updates to the Emergency Room in preparation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming Influenza season, and developing strategies with nursing to improve patient flow metrics in the ED to minimize closure and patient boarding.

As a balance to the fast pace of the ER, Dr. K decided to start a career in medical aesthetics because his wife said to him one day, “Can you do my Botox for me?” Subsequently, she became his first patient, and that kicked off his aesthetics career. 

Since then, Dr. K has performed hundreds of procedures and has spent countless hours perfecting his craft in medical aesthetics.

Emergency medicine, also known as trauma and emergency medicine, is the medical specialty concerned with the care of life threatening medical conditions or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians are trained to care for a wide range of problems that require emergent medical help. These problems are often serious and may be life-threatening. 

From July 2003 until June 2004, Dr. K served as a volunteer emergency medical technology with the Cabin John Park Fire Department in Potomac Maryland, which is the only department in the area that focused on river rescue.

In February of 2014, in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, he published a case report and literature review of a dissecting thoracic aneurysm in a 16-year-old boy presenting to the emergency department.

Working tirelessly to bring the best standards of care to his patients, Dr. K attributes his success to thinking outside the box and earning best practices from others. His research experience includes: Vasey M, Josephson EB, Kothakota B, “The value of an Emergency Medicine Residency Program Web Site in Enhancing Candidate Recruitment” Ann Em Med, Volume 60, issue 5, November 2012, P S165; Kothakota B, Ford J, “Case Report and Literature Review of a Dissecting Thoracic Aneurysm in a 16-year-old male presenting to the Emergency Department” Accepted for publication in JEM, Sept 2013; and Kothakota B, Josephson E, “A 33-year old female presenting with 2 months of constipation diagnosed with Gastric Carcinoma with Carcinomatosis”.  

A few interesting facts about Dr. K are that he is a watch, sneaker, and car enthusiast; prior to going to medical school, he was a business analyst for Accenture and worked at the Pentagon; during his studies, he spent a semester in Kenya working on a vaccination program; his favorite places to vacation are Paris, Hong Kong, and Istanbul; and his hobbies include running, playing tennis, boxing, and hiking. 

In his spare time, he likes to spend time with family and friends, travel, and spend time at Leo Carillo Beach with his dog, Baxter. One can also find him at many of the restaurants on Montana Avenue. 

Learn More about Dr. Bharat Kothakota:

Through his findatopdoc profile, https://www.findatopdoc.com/doctor/3342468-Bharat-Kothakota-Emergency-Physician, through Self Care LA, https://selfcarela.com/about/providers/, through Beyond Harmony Med Spa, https://www.beyondharmony.com/meet-our-team or through Sollis Health, https://sollishealth.com/medical-team/ 

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