Why HHOM LLC Was Founded—and Who We’re Here to Serve

4-20-2025

By Dr. Howard Friedman MD | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps | Internal Medicine | HHOM LLC

A symbolic image of compassionate care—highlighting the connection between medicine and humanity.

They asked me why I chose this road—

A path less smooth, but deeply owed.

Not for the charts or systems tight,

But for the chance to make things right.

To serve with hands unbound by gain,

And bring back care to soul and brain.

---Dr. Howard Friedman MD

People often ask me why I founded HHOM LLC. To answer that, I have to go back to the beginning of my medical journey. I became a physician with one clear goal: to help heal the world—one person at a time—by using my knowledge, training, and compassion. My first clinical role was in the U.S. Army, where I served for six years in the Medical Corps. I valued the structure, camaraderie, and deep sense of mission that came with military service. But even then, I realized that being part of a rigid chain of command came with frustrations—especially when medical decisions were influenced by hierarchy rather than healing.

After the Army, I joined a private practice with five partners. That too was a meaningful experience. I had more control over my hours and patient relationships, but coordinating with five other physicians always required compromise. This was also my first immersion in for-profit medicine, and I felt discomfort with the subtle—and sometimes not-so-subtle—shifts in priority from patient care to financial outcomes. After two years, legislative changes swept across the healthcare landscape, and like many others, we were forced to sell our practice to a hospital system.

The hospital we initially joined was generous and supportive, and for a while, we were able to continue practicing medicine with integrity. But that came to an end when the hospital declared bankruptcy. We were then absorbed by another healthcare system with a very different outlook. It became clear that their focus was profit first. We were coached on how to ask questions that would justify more procedures—not necessarily because they were medically necessary, but because they were billable. The message was unmistakable: revenue came before patient well-being. That was the moment I knew I had to find a different path.

I turned to the VA, where I found something closer to what I had originally envisioned for my career. There, profit wasn’t the primary driver. Patient care—especially for those who had served our country—was at the center. For 19 years, I worked within the VA system, caring for veterans and contributing to programs that brought healthcare directly into their homes. But even the VA began to shift. Policies and expectations gradually started to resemble the profit-driven models I had left behind. Once again, I found myself in a system that placed bureaucracy and efficiency ahead of individualized care.

So I made a decision. I stepped away from institutional systems and created something of my own—Howard’s House of Medicine, HHOM LLC. This is not a clinic or a corporation. It’s a return to first principles. Here, I get to use my 30+ years of clinical experience—including more than 26 years working with military and veteran populations—to offer what I believe to be the purest form of medicine: listening, analyzing, advising, and advocating. Through HHOM, I provide expert Nexus Letters, independent medical opinions, disability case reviews, and answers to complex medical questions—for veterans, attorneys, insurers, and anyone else in need of clarity and truth.

HHOM LLC allows me to work without interference. There’s no administrator in the background pushing metrics, no financial officer pressuring quotas. I offer my time and expertise, and in return, I receive fair remuneration—based not on billing codes, but on the value of thoughtful, ethical, and individualized care. In a world where medical decisions are too often filtered through layers of profit-seeking, HHOM stands as a place where integrity leads the way.

At its heart, this business is a calling. It’s my way of returning to the kind of doctor I always wanted to be—and the kind of medicine the world desperately needs.

—Dr. Howard Friedman MD

Board-Certified | Internal Medicine | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps

Founder of Howard’s House of Medicine (HHOM LLC)

https://www.hhomllc.com

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: What makes HHOM LLC different from other medical consulting services?

Answer: After decades in military, private, and VA medicine, Dr. Howard Friedman saw how bureaucracy and profit-driven systems often stood in the way of patient care. He founded HHOM LLC to return to a more ethical, personalized model—where listening and clinical precision come first.

Question: What makes HHOM LLC different from other medical consulting services?

Question: Who can benefit from HHOM LLC's services?