Doctors returning to practice face challenges

In 1991, after six years of practicing family medicine in St. Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Bob Elson hung up his stethoscope to pursue a career in medical informatics. For the next 18 years, Elson successfully navigated that growing field while occasionally seeing patients as a part-time hospital doctor. Elson and his wife Jane Joseph moved to Shaker Heights in 2001 to be closer to her family—and to raise their own. When they moved, Elson, a native New Yorker, completely stopped seeing patients. But recently, the 55-year-old concluded it would be best to dig out his white jacket from the closet.