Here's a good summary if you want a decent review regarding use of the title Dr:

[URL unfurl="true"]https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2020/12/13/should-ph-d-s-call-themselves-doctor-in-everyday-life/[/URL]

Excerpts...

I’m pretty much on board with both her and her father here, though I’d take issue with saying my refusal to call myself “Doctor. Coyne” is reverse snobbery. Rather, it’s part of my lifelong desire not to be seen as better than other people just because I got a fancy education. I remember that when I got my first job at the University of Maryland, I was given an empty lab on the second floor of the Zoology Building. But it was in a box containing all the application folders for everyone who had applied for the job I got. After a few days of resisting, I peeked into my own folder to see my letters of recommendation. And I’ll always remember Dick Lewontin’s letter, which, though highly positive, added something like this, “If Jerry has any faults, is that he is too self-denigrating, always underselling himself.”  Well, that may be true, but it’s better to undersell yourself than oversell yourself! I’ve always detested the pomposity of accomplished academics. Other academics think it lends cachet to their books (even “trade books”) by using “Dr.” in the title. More power to them, but I could never bring myself to do that.

One other interesting point: the AP Style Manual agrees with Epstein about the use of “Dr.”  According to the Newsweek piece:

So you could say Epstein was adhering to that rule, but the tone of his piece is snarky and condescending. The opprobrium he’s earned for it is largely deserved.

END Excerpt.

I was trying to add a little humor to the thread.

Good luck with your consult!  It's commendable you are doing your research, and ask Scott if he agrees with the blanket statement that elevating Hct is harmless.