Prabha Bhatnagar, MD

Dr. Bhatnagar is a whirlwind. She is definitely old fashioned and a little bit like controlled chaos but don’t let that dissuade you. She is caring, concerned with your holistic health picture. When I saw her the first time she seemed to really connect with me, like she read who I was in a glance, and somehow I left her office feeling totally better, even though she did not do anything besides talk to me, and I went in for a stubborn back-​ache!
Her office is small, and a bit worn, but it is clean, the reception staff is friendly and helpful, and her patient base has been coming to her for years. She is like the down-​to-​earth town doctor that doesn’t seem to exist anymore.

I am reviewing Dr. Bhatnagar as a person, not as a doctor. If her petty personality is any reflection on her as a medical professional, I want absolutely no part of it.
I live in the apartments within the complex & was being dropped off on a Thurs at 5pm after attending a daylong family funeral. My friend drove into the back parking lot where the Dr was just leaving. Since it was a single car driveway, my friend had to turn into the Dr’s parking spot, so the Dr’s car could drive out. Since she was already parked, I got out, said my quick goodbye & before I was even able to close the car door, the Dr had jumped out of her car & immediately attacked us saying we cannot park here (this really was just in a matter of seconds!). I apologized & told her that my friend was just about to leave. The Dr refused to listen & gave us this spiel saying that NO ONE can park here except her & approved doctors, not even for a few seconds. By the way, this is a narrow driveway — the ONLY way to get out IS to pull into a parking spot to back out.
She got back in her car & started to drive away only to park at the entrance to block my friend as she started getting things out of her office. We asked if she could just pull forward, so my friend could leave. She said a few unpleasant things saying how it’s our fault & how she should call the cops on us for parking in her spot! (Wow — way to take advantage of taxpayers money).
From the few minutes of interaction we’ve had with this doctor — we have learned that she’s petty, abrupt, vindictive, self-​centered & lacks compassion — all the makings of a terrible doctor.
If you are looking for a doctor, I highly suggest you steer clear of Dr. Bhatnagar & her beloved parking spot.

Although Dr Bhatnagar herself is not terrible (she is not good either, she is all over the place and talks about all sorts of her personal –and her family– matters making each consult last about 30 mins longer than necessary…), what really made it impossible for me to keep seeing her was her horrible receptionist. Things move SLOWLY there, you have to wait about two weeks for a phone call, it’s almost impossible to understand her… and she can have an attitude! Also, VERY hard to set an appointment, as Dr Bhatnagar only seems to be available two or three days a week, and usually during the mornings, when most of us work… it’s really hard to get an appointment sometimes… and even when you do, you might get a call back from the doctor asking to change it if they realize that you are their only patient that day… (they wouldn’t need to open that day otherwise… ugh) I do not recommend her. At all.

Rude! I called to make an appointment and explained to the receptionist that I needed to be seen right away because I was in pain. She communicated this to the doctor without putting me on hold and I heard the doctor reply: doesn’t matter, she can wait till next week.

The best part is that she will see you right away. She took care of me when I had strep throat.
Her offices is very dark, messy and dirty as explained by others. It is hard to get her to stop talking enough for you to tell her what is wrong and she goes on about her patients. I finally had to tell he to «please do not share that with me, its too personal».
Her hand written orders for tests and such are messy and unprofessional looking. I didn’t see a computer, so all records are by hand. Pham, her receptionist is a bit hard to understand, but is pleasant. She does expain the rules, and they seemed overly concerned with getting paid verses why you are there.
I have been twice and sitting in her exam room starring at old walls and the phone cord thumb tacked to the wall, dirty desk is not impressive.
She is funny and quirkey and made me laugh though.

Dr. B is no-​nonsense, and she is concerned about your health on a personal level. She is a good general doctor, someone to go to when you have the flu or strep. She does a full exam anytime I come in, she knows people only go to the doctor if something is wrong but not to get annual check-​ups. She is quick with the exams, and doesn’t waste your time.
Others have said the receptionist is hard to understand and the forms are over-​photocopied, which is true.
I appreciate that when I am sick, they make every effort to get me in same-​day. I’ve never been able to do that with another doctor. I pay my co-​pay and have never been charged for anything else.

I would give her zero if i could!
After i told her that i don’t feel like urinating in a cup her answer was: Don’t worry, we don’t test for drugs! And i was in business attire with pearls in my ears!

I agree with some of my fellow Unilocalers. I could barely understand the receptionist and she obviously couldn’t understand me
because I had to repeat myself many times. The doctor on the other hand was
a peice of work. I tried to explain to her
I was in MY attic at MY office and I might have touched some fiberglass or something that made my skin irritated. The doctor immediately said she wouldn’t see me and I should hang up, call my employer and file a workers comp claim. If she would have shut her mouth and
let me talk she would know it was my
office and I am the employer. I am self employed. She has a crappy way of talking to people, like we are stupid. If I had a cat I wouldn’t let het treat it.

If you want to listen to an old school preach/​lecture which annoy you the most, go to Dr. Bhatnagar.
I speak English as second language so I wanted to be kind to the receptionist who has a very thick accent. But unfortunately her accent is impossible to understand. She called my insurance company to verify my eligibility. The automated phone system did not understand her, so she was disconnected a couple of times. My appointment was 10 a.m., but it’s 10:20 a.m. already. Dr. was not there yet. The receptionist told me that my insurance company hung up on her twice, and she would try to call them again. I felt sympathy for her because I struggle with the automated phone system, too. BUT I was starting to get frustrated. It’s not my insurance company, it’s her accent. She couldn’t verify my eligibility, and Dr. wasn’t even there to see me. Why did the receptionist made my appointment when Dr. did not even show up on time?
Finally, Dr. showed up. The receptionist hadn’t even verified my eligibility. The receptionist told Dr. that my insurance company hung up on her twice. Dr.‘s lecture started right there with her. «If they hung up on you twice, you do not call them back. They are not right people to talk to. We have the procedures to follow, remember?» Then Dr. took me to a room while she was still lecturing with the receptionist and me, and told me to call my insurance company later to have them talk to the receptionist. Dr. said there was no way to hang up on her receptionist twice, and it’s not worth for her to call them back so I must call. Dr. was obviously upset, and wouldn’t stop complaining about the rudeness of my insurance company — It was an automated system for god’s sake. At that time, I picked up my insurance card and forms I filled out and was going to tell Dr. that I was leaving. But Dr. immediately said «Fine, GO! If you don’t want to be seen, there is no reason for you to stay. There is a BACK DOOR over there.» I could not believe she wanted me to leave from the back door! I ignored what she was yanking behind me. I grabbed the door knob to the front door. Then Dr. came in front of me to open 2 doors to escort me out. Remind you that she was preaching the whole time saying that it’s not worth seeing a patient who wants to leave anyway and wasting her time. Dr. shut the door behind me loud. I was furious and felt very insulted.
No parking around the office, and street sweeping on Tuesdays (today) in front of the office. I was lucky to find a spot 2 blocks away from the office. The office smelled weird, and flowers were put in a spaghetti jar in the waiting room. I didn’t think the room was clean. Some forms are handwritten and some are messy copies. Nothing can be recommended to anyone. But if you want an old school lecture and preach, it’s the best place to go.
By the way, I decided to come to Dr. Bhatnagar because I had very BAD experiences with Alameda Family Physicians. They are terrible, too. So I now have an afternoon appointment with a Hayward doctor. Are there not any good doctors (female) in Alameda??? My insurance company is a major company (BCBS). I just can’t believe what happened to me today. My day off was totally wasted.

ARGH. My experiences with Dr. Bhatnagar have NOT impressed me positively. The offices are shabby, the receptionist impossible to understand, and apparently she doesn’t communicate with the Dr well, either. Forms for outside lab tests were extremely messy & include so many hand-​scrawled notes from the Dr that they’re nearly incomprehensible. After 3 tries, I *still* haven’t been able to get the office to bill my insurance properly for a routine physical! ! ! As I said before, ARGH.
UPDATE: Wow, this isn’t gonna get resolved — the doctor will listen to neither me nor my insurance company as to how to bill this properly. Hmmm… Listening: isn’t that a pretty critical skill in a doctor? Argh, indeed!

Dr. Bhatnagar Prabha is old school, no-​nonsense and ready to help you.
I was waiting in a patient room on a Tuesday morning for Dr. B when I heard a little commotion outside and peered through the blinds. An Alameda cop was about to ticket my car and Dr. B was busy arguing with him not to do so (yes, Alameda has actual police officers – not just city employees – dole out parking tickets). Apparently I had missed a street-​cleaning sign.
Hoping to rectify the situation, I grabbed my bag and dashed outside. Dr. B saw me and her face went aghast. Before I could say anything, she ran up to me and whispered «I told him you were extremely ill and that you wouldn’t be able to move your car!» She then looped her arm around mine and loudly proclaimed «I WILL HELP YOU!» I tried not to laugh or look at the officer as she walked me over to my car. As we made our way across the lawn, Dr. B explained to the officer that I had just enough strength to repark my car in the driveway of the building. The cop recognized the incredulity of the situation, but Dr. B kept insisting until he gave up, «fine, fine, fine. Okay.»
My doctor, my hero.

I was turned off by the brusque manner of the receptionist (the first minute of the phone conversation was her listing the rules), but didnt have too many problems with the accent, as I am used to accents. The doctor got on the phone herself to speak with me and work out an appointment because I needed one right away. She also listed the rules again to me, but was very gentle and kind. She changed around her schedule when I called in (even though I was a new patient). She also told me that I could bring my two year old daughter, and that younger people could come in on less busy days. They also let me park in the driveway due to my foot injury.

If i could give half a star, i would. The ONLY thing that i appreciated was that they fit me in for an emergency right away. I went, but had a gut feeling that told me that this was NOT the place for me to be. I arrived, and the nurse/​receptionist was so very difficult to understand. She was more focused on checking that I had insurance than she was my condition. She handed me forms to fill out and they were terrible photocopies that were partly typed, partly handwritten and VERY messy and hard to read. After i filled them out to the best of my ability (did i note that they were hard to read/​understand) she then said «you have to pay $ 50 deductible now and no co-​pay.» I paid in cash and had to ASK for a receipt. As i was escorted into the exam room, she went to hand me a cup to pee into. WHAT??? I was there for a BACK problem! WHY would a urine sample be needed for that??? I told her no, and kept walking. I was not going to pee into a cup for no reason. After taking my weight, which i don’t even think that was accurate (her method was fast and the weights never stopped moving– how can that be right?) I was told to wait, and i was the only person there. After sitting there for almost 10 mins, i grabbed my bag, opened the door, and saw the Dr. just standing there. She said «I’ll be with you in a minute.» I said «no need, I’m not staying. sorry to waste your time, but i will be seeing a different doctor. can i please have my $ 50 back?» The doctor told the nurse/​receptionist to give me ALL of my info, my money, AND my entire chart. All i wanted was my money and ID. I thought that as odd, but whatever. I was obviously an inconvenience for them both and was relieved to walk out of there!

Such a great doctor. My girlfriend and I had an issue just this morning and was looking for a doctor with in the Blues Cross/​Blue Shield network, my girlfriend is new to the area and hadn’t really looked around for a doctor yet. Well we called around and couldn’t get an appointment for today until I called «Dr. B» as she likes to called. She was so nice on the phone and told us to come in right away. The visit was just an hour long, which included filling out paper work. Dr. B called the pharmacy to make sure the prescription would be ready when we got to the pharmacy and it was. Dr. Bhatnagar. is awesome.

WORST DOCTOR I have ever been to!
I was assigned Dr. Bhatnagar as my primary care physician by my health insurance company. I knew things might be bad when I first called to make an appointment and I could not understand a word the receptionist said! She had a very thick accent and when I asked her to repeat herself she seemed to get angry, raising her voice each time she spoke. I was going for a routine check-​up so I could get referrals for other doctors that I needed to see and because I had come down with a sinus infection.
The place was an old house converted into offices like many doctor offices in Alameda, but this one was very messy and run-​down inside. The receptionist actually turned out to be the only nurse as well, instructing me to pee into a cup and then leave it on the side of the sink in the bathroom. Yes, on the sink right next to the handsoap! Disgusting and not very sanitory! She then led me into the only patient room where there was nothing that signaled I was at a doctor’s office: a table for me to sit on and a bookcase with office supplies and a hand-​held blood pressure pump. Nothing else!
After making me wait for about 10 min, even though I was the only patient in the office, Dr Bhatnagar finally came in. She asked why I was there, but everytime I tried to talk she would talk right over me! She didn’t barely even look at me so I have no clue how she could be diagnosing me or even helping to determine what my problem was. I told her about the cold but she said she didn’t like to perscribe antibiotics since they «do not help». I begged her for a Z-​pack and she finally relented, saying she would call it in as a «patient’s request». I didn’t care what she called it in as just as long as I got some relief from all the sinus symptons!
Next we started to go over all of the referals I needed… I needed to see a gyno, a dermatologist, an ENT (ear, nose and throat), and an orthopedic doctor for my back since I have scoliosis. I had recently relocated from another state and needed a whole new set of doctors. She was very vauge on everything and only wanted to talk to me about her daughter and how she cured her acne. She was not concerned about me or anything that I was trying to explain to her about my medical history.
On the way out of the office she stopped me and ran her hand down my neck asking me if I had always had a lump there. I was rather alarmed because I never had and had not noticied it on my own either. She dismissed it saying it was not on my thyroid since it didn’t move when I swallowed and was probably nothing, maybe just a lump of fat tissue. OK?! Many months down the road, after spending my time and money to see the ENT she referred me to and not getting any answers, I traveled home to see my family who paid out-​of-​pocket for me to see some real doctors and learned that I have a tumor in my right thyroid. Lots of good Dr. Bhatnagar did me! She has no idea what she is talking about, no real professional knowledge, and doesn’t listen to patient concerns. By far, the worst doctor I have ever been to in my life!
On a side note, I called the doctor a couple of weeks after seeing her the first time and asked why she didn’t write all of the referrals to the other docs. She said I would need to come back into the office for her to write the rest of them, and I refused saying I would like it done right then. She ended up hanging up on me mid-​sentence and saying that «she doesn’t have time to deal with patients over the phone» before slamming down the receiver.
This doctor is not in practice because she cares about helping people. She was very unprofessional, did not listen to my concerns or needs, and ended up being very wrong about a serious medical condition. I have since changed primary care doctors and gotten surgery to remove the tumor in my thyroid. Going to Dr. Bhatnagar could potentially cost you your life!

This place is awful! TERRIBLE! For starters, when I called to schedule an appointment, the receptionist put me on hold for about 15 minutes. I finally hung up and called again, and the same receptionist picked up. She had completely forgotten that she had put me on hold! So she asks me a few questions, and puts me on hold again. After another 10 mintues, we are able to schedule a same day appointment. They ask me to be there in 20 – 30 mintues, and if i show up after 30 minutes, the doctor will leave. SO, I rushed over there. But guess what?! I had to wait a good hour before i could see the doctor. So i’m sitting in the waiting room, looking around. The place looks very messy, unorganized, dark, and i’m the only patient there! At this point, I’m very conflicted about whether I should stay or leave. I wanted to give the doctor the benefit of the doubt, so I stayed. So like I said, I waited an hour and the doctor finally came in. She asks me why I am here and turns her back towards me while she is writing all this info on her paper. That is so weird to me. I asked her a few questions about my condition and she never really gave me a straight answer. I wanted to know if my eye infection was contagious and whether or not she would recommend for me to go to work. She just kept saying, if you want to work, you can work. If you don’t, don’t. (I’m not being lazy here, i just don’t want to spread what I have). I look at her confused. So, I ask her again. Am I contagious? And for how long? And she goes, well of course you are contagious but doesn’t tell me for how long. I don’t think she knows what she is talking about at all. She wrote me a sick note for 2 days. When I went to get the meds from the pharmacy, I asked the pharmacist and he said I’m contagious for a good week (even while I take meds). So, here you have it. Don’t go here, go somewhere else! P. S. This place seemed like an illegal abortion clinic!