Dr. Helen Shen Yee, MD

Welcome to My Doctor Online, a web site that my colleagues and I developed to make it easier for you to take care of your healthcare needs. On this site you will find answers to many of your questions about my clinical practice. Also included are several online features that will allow you to e-mail me, check your laboratory results and refill prescriptions. I hope you find its content informative and useful. Background

Born and raised in Southern California, I attended UCLA and completed a B.S. degree in Physiological Science. I stayed on at UCLA to complete an M.P.H. in Community Health Sciences with a focus on Sociocultural Aspects of Health.

I moved to Houston, Texas for my medical education and residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center, home of hospitals including TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research), The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s …Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. It was a great honor to be presented with my medical degree by Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, world-renowned heart surgeon, medical pioneer, and recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.

Prior to moving to Houston, I was an avid volleyball player and experienced many of the associated injuries (i.e., muscle strains, joint sprains) and was introduced to physiatry as a patient myself. Later, during my first physiatry rotation in medical school, I knew this field was the right fit for me. I chose to be a physiatrist because of our focus on improving and maintaining a person’s function to maximize his or her quality of life. As a physiatrist, I see patients of diverse backgrounds with a variety of ailments that often result in decreased levels of function. My colleagues and I work with patients and often with physical and occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists to guide patients in how to improve and maintain function. The rehabilitation process usually requires patients to be highly involved and motivated in carrying out the rehabilitation plan to experience improvement in their functional abilities. Sometimes treatment plans involve more invasive procedures, such as joint or spine injections, and sometimes patients need to be referred onto surgical specialists or other medical specialists.