Ranjana Gokhale, MD
Ranjana Gokhale, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Program
Specialties
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Pediatric Hepatology (Liver Diseases)
Locations
- Chicago - Comer Children's Hospital
- Naperville
- Orland Park
- More
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- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
Hi. I'm Ranjana Gokhale. I'm one of the pediatric gastroenterologists at the University of Chicago. I've always wanted to be a pediatrician. I find working with children, especially teens, very interesting. And I've always been fascinated by the GI tract. And so I wanted to be a pediatric gastroenterologist.
My area of interest and expertise is caring for children with pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases. These include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and unspecified colitis. And I'm really interested in how these diseases affect the growth and development of children over time.
This is a disease that impacts not only the child, but also the child's family and siblings. So taking all of that into consideration and providing appropriate medical, as well as compassionate care for the entire family is very important to me.
So inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic diseases which affect the child, not only in terms of their medical condition, but also their growth and development in the long term. So during outpatient visits, I usually focus not only on medications to help them with their disease, but other aspects of their life, including diet, exercise, regular vitamin supplementations, regular school attendance, all of which are important for the long-term health of our patients.
Also, it is important to acknowledge parents' role in supporting their kids, because bringing children to their visits also requires taking time off from work and other aspects which the parents might be very involved in too.
The most rewarding aspects are the really close relationships that you develop over time with patients, as well as with their families. And often when they are transitioning over to the adult side, I will get hugs and tears as they make the transition to an adult gastroenterologist. And seeing a healthy child go to college, attain all of their dreams, travel abroad, and then become successful adult patients with IBD, I think, to me, is the most rewarding of my career, or what I do on a daily basis.
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Ranjana Gokhale, MD, is a skilled pediatric gastroenterologist with a keen interest in the clinical aspects and pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In particular, Dr. Gokhale has conducted extensive research on the effects of IBD on bone mineral density in children.
An expert in pediatric digestive and nutritional disorders, Dr. Gokhale has published numerous articles on topics such as IBD, Crohn's disease, and celiac disease. In addition, she reviews manuscripts for several medical journals, including Journal of Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
Areas of Expertise
- Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Chronic Abdominal Pain
- Nutrition Education
- Celiac Disease in Children
- Crohn's Disease
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Practicing Since
- 1996
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- King Edward Memorial Hospital Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College
Internship
- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Residency
- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County; King Edward Memorial Hospital
Fellowship
- University of Chicago Medicine
Memberships & Medical Societies
- American Gastroenterological Association
- North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
News & Research
Insurance
- Aetna Better Health *see insurance page
- Aetna HMO (specialists only)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO
- BCBS Blue Precision HMO (specialists only)
- BCBS HMO (HMOI) (specialists only)
- BCBS Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- BCBS PPO
- Cigna HMO
- Cigna POS
- Cigna PPO
- CountyCare *see insurance page
- Humana Medicare Advantage Choice PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Choice PFFS
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Plus HMO
- Medicare
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
- United Choice Plus POS/PPO
- United Choice HMO (specialists only)
- United Options (PPO)
- United Select (HMO & EPO) (specialists only)
- United W500 Emergent Wrap
- University of Chicago Health Plan (UCHP)
Our list of accepted insurance providers is subject to change at any time. You should contact your insurance company to confirm UChicago Medicine participates in their network before scheduling your appointment. If you have questions regarding your insurance benefits at UChicago Medicine, please contact our financial counseling team at OPSFinancialCounseling@uchospitals.edu.
Some of our physicians and health professionals collaborate with external pharmaceutical, medical device, or other medical related entities to develop new treatments and products to improve clinical outcomes for patients. In some instances, the physician has ownership interests in the external entity and/or is compensated for advising or speaking about the entity’s products or treatments. These payments may include compensation for consulting and speaking engagements, equity, and/or royalties for products invented by our physicians. To assure objectivity and integrity in patient care, UChicago Medicine requires all physicians and health professionals to report their relationships and financial interests with external entities on an annual basis. This information is used to review relationships and transactions that might give rise to potential financial conflicts of interest, and when considered to be significant a management plan to mitigate any biases is created.
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