About
Michael Chary, MD, PhD
I am a board-certified medical toxicologist, emergency physician, and physician-scientist. My work focuses on understanding how medications, supplements, environmental exposures, and other substances affect health.
I created Chary Medical Toxicology to provide careful, evidence-based consultation for people facing complex exposure-related health concerns. Many patients come after receiving conflicting advice: a test result looks alarming, a medication or supplement may be causing symptoms, an online source suggests danger, or a proposed treatment plan is difficult to evaluate.
My goal is to help determine whether an exposure, medication, supplement, or test result is clinically meaningful — and what diagnostic, monitoring, or treatment options may be appropriate.
My clinical and academic work spans poisoning, medication safety, supplement-related harms, toxicology informatics, decision-support systems, and the interpretation of complex exposure-related concerns.
I have authored more than fifty peer-reviewed publications, including two of the most cited articles published in the last decade in the Journal of Medical Toxicology.
I co-chair the Herbal & Dietary Supplements Section of the American Association of Clinical Toxicology and the Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group of the American College of Medical Toxicology.
Academic work
My research focuses on toxicology, medication safety, public health, supplements, substance use, and the use of data science to understand emerging health risks.
Philosophy of practice
My approach is neither reflexive reassurance nor reflexive alarm. I evaluate the exposure history, symptoms, timing, testing, and medical literature to determine what is most likely to be clinically meaningful.
Some concerns require treatment. Others require monitoring, additional evaluation, exposure reduction, medication changes, or reassurance. The goal is to identify the most appropriate course of action based on the available evidence.
What is medical toxicology?
Medical toxicology is a physician specialty focused on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of poisoning and adverse health effects related to medications, supplements, environmental exposures, occupational hazards, chemicals, and biological agents.
Medical toxicologists are physicians with specialized training in toxicology, pharmacology, poisoning, medication safety, exposure assessment, and toxicologic diagnosis and treatment.
Medical toxicologists serve as consultants to hospitals, emergency departments, poison centers, public health agencies, health systems, other physicians, attorneys, and organizations.
In outpatient consultation, medical toxicology can help clarify whether a medication, supplement, exposure, or test result is likely to be affecting health and what treatment, monitoring, testing, or prevention steps may be appropriate.
Independence
Independent consultation
Chary Toxicology is an independent consulting practice. Institutional affiliations, titles, and professional roles are listed only to describe Dr. Chary’s background and qualifications.
Chary Toxicology is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any university, hospital, poison center, professional society, or other institution.