ABOUT

Dr. Bettencourt is a board certified Family Physician and is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine.

He was born and raised in Paso Robles, California and is a Paso Robles High School graduate. After primary school, he went on to do his undergraduate training at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. Before starting medical school, he spent one additional year in Santa Barbara, California studying/investigating the diabetic mouse model at the Sansum Medical Research Foundation.

Dr. Bettencourt began his medical school career at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he completed two years of basic science. He then transferred to the University of Southern California School of Medicine for his last two clinical years, where he earned a Doctorate in Medicine in 1996. 

After finishing medical school, Dr. Bettencourt completed a 3-year residency in Family Medicine at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California. Although the breadth of training in residency was varied, he received concentrated education in Dermatology and the "No-Scalpel Vasectomy" Procedure. 

CREDENTIALS

Dr. Bettencourt is trained to care for the entire family. Although his training includes Pediatrics and Obstetrics, Dr. Bettencourt has limited his practice to non-obstetrics and patients 6-years and older. Dr. Bettencourt’s practice is ambulatory based and procedurally oriented.

 His special interests in medicine include Skin Care (i.e. Dermatology), Adult Preventative Medicine, and the “No-Scalpel Vasectomy” Procedure.

Dr. Bettencourt has acquired extensive experience in esthetics as a past owner of a medical spa he co-owned in Paso Robles, California. Many of these services are offered as part of his primary practice on designated days. If you are interested in procedures such as Botox®, Dysport® or Restylane® dermal fillers, please call 805-434-2240 for an appointment or free consultation.

PHILOSOPHY

Dr. Bettencourt approaches each patient as a unique individual, directing his efforts to meet their specific health care needs in an evidence-based fashion. The goal in his practice is to always do what is in the best interest of the patient, whether that involves him or not.

As a husband, father and physician, he makes every effort to treat each person as if they were part of his immediate family. If someone needs a referral for a “second opinion” or needs an urgent diagnostic test, he makes it a priority to arrange this using resources that he would utilize for his own family. To that end, he actively works with insurance providers and referral sources who share these same values.

In contrast to the “old days,” he practices medicine with the least amount of paternalism as possible. He prides himself on being “down to earth” and communicating in a simple yet informative manner. Patients are presented with treatment options, advice and recommendations relating to their health care which invites their input– there is a conscious effort made to always involve patients in their own healthcare delivery. Dr. Bettencourt believes that approaching patient care with this perspective makes for the most rewarding patient-physician relationship.

Married with 4 extraordinary children, Dr. Bettencourt spends a lot of time outside of medicine with his family, and enjoys most anything outdoors (e.g. golf, hiking, snow skiing, and off-road electric mountain biking). Both natives of the area, Dr. Bettencourt and his wife are proud to call Paso Robles, California their home.