Nalin G Patel MD PC

If I could give negative stars, I could. I can’t believe I never Unilocaled about my experience with this doc. I guess it was because I was so traumatized by my experience that I just blocked it out of my mind.
I got married and got fancy schmancy insurance through my husband’s federal government plan. I went to the trusty Unilocal to find competent and caring PCP’s, and I settled on Dr. Z. Chris who is in this practice with Dr. Patel. I’m sure you’re wondering why I am writing this review for Dr. Patel if my appointment was with Dr. Chris — well, that would be because I got the old bait and switch from INOVA.
The offices are very nice on the inside — at least they were 4 years ago when this originally happened. I paid my copay and waited to be called back. Went back, got in the room and waited for a few brief minutes. In walks Dr. Patel. I’m like «You’re not Dr. Chris» and he very brusquely informed me that he had been given some of Dr. Chris’s patient load since Dr. Chris had become director of the clinic and they had merged with INOVA. I should have gotten up and walked out based on the way he spoke to me but it was my yearly physical and I needed my maintenance meds refilled so I had to stay.
I have some chronic issues that require supplementary meds: hormone replacement from a hysterectomy I had in 2003 at the age of 29 (I have bone density issues because of it) and chronic B12/​vitamin D deficiency because of gastric bypass surgery in 2009 (this exacerbates my bone density loss to the point of osteoporosis — at the time I was only 37, and had several fractures prior to the appointment) so I need B12 shots monthly which I give to myself. I also have migraines since the age of 12, so I needed abortive meds and Zofran to help with nausea.
I provided Dr. Patel with a list of my meds, my surgeries, and my ongoing issues with labwork and radiology reports supporting them. He took one look at them and point blank says to me «I am not going to write you prescriptions for anything today except for your migraine meds, and I will only do a one month prescription until you find another doc. You have had too much surgery and you are too young to be on this many meds.»
Wait wait wait — what?! I mean really — you’re going to refuse to provide me commonly used medications for documented issues with recent results stating I need them because I am «too young» and «had too much surgery»? WTF, Jeff?
After I got my wits together, I asked him how he could ignore test results performed a week earlier saying I need these meds all because he was passing judgement on me when he was not the physicians who were there for the surgeries. He got infuriated then and said «We’re done here, get out!» and opened the door and waited for me to leave.
To boot, upon checking out, I had to get my parking validated. I asked for the name/​phone/​email of the patient liaison because I was going to email them with a demand for recourse for this doc’s actions. I also wanted to know why I hadn’t been informed that my physician had been switched. I then had to pay $ 10 for parking after the validation. I sat in the car and cried when I spoke to my husband about it because I was so infuriated I couldn’t drive.
To the credit of the patient navigator, she was extremely empathetic and she called me to express how appalled she was that this had happened. Her incredulity seemed genuine. She refunded my copay and also the amount I paid for parking. She said she would also make Dr. Chris aware of the situation. I don’t know if that ever happened but I haven’t been back.
Needless to say I am not surprised that others have had similar experiences.
TL;DR version: Avoid this asshat at all costs.

Between the rude front desk who act as though you are interrupting them to the rushed, unprofessional Dr. Patel, this place is to be avoided. Doctors work for me — I pay for their services, but here they act as though they’re doing you a favor. And there’s also an air of arrogance that permeates your conversation. I came here because it was close to my home. I will gladly drive farther to find a better doctor. Better yet, I switched to another doctor in the same building. What a difference to be seen by a professional.

I have been going to this doctor for about a year and I have noticed a decline in his patient service going down each time. This last visit was the worst. He was rude and rushed my entire visit. He told me I have 15 minutes and he will do what he can only in that time frame, he is too busy, he told me! I just traveled 30 minutes for this appointment, plus paid my $ 25 insurance co-​pay to be rushed and treated in a rude manner. In addition, i requested a workout clearance from him (required by my work to take advantage of the 3 hr of workout time they allow you) because i went through Open Gallbladder removal surgery 90 days prior, he said no! Workout on your off time! Rude man! If you want genuine patient care and a doctor who truly cares about their patients, avoid Dr. Nalinbhai Patel with the Inova Internal Medicine-​Mark Center!

Moron who wants to be in control rather than refer you to a doctor who can help. Avoid at all costs.

Don’t trust Dr. Patel, he’s an amateur and incapable of understanding simple blood test results. He misread my blood test results and misdiagnosed me with hepatitis B. He sounded very confident about it.
I took the results to another dr who came highly recommended and he said the results came back negative. I got 2 additional blood tests with seperate Drs, one being a liver specialist, and both came back negative.
Dr. Patel never returned my phone calls or the second Drs calls to discuss the results. I assume because he didn’t want to be confronted over his incompetence. I’m very disappointed that he was my dr for so many years.
Do not trust him. He’s sloppy.

I recently moved to Virginia and needed to find a new primary-​care doctor. I got sick and had a cold and bronchitis and made an appointment here. I’ve had bronchitis several times in the past and pretty much know which medicines work. The doctor refused to prescribe the medicine that I know works for me because he said he didn’t think it was indicated for this purpose. He was wrong but what can I do.
I also listed the other medicines that I’ve been taking every month for my entire life and he said I shouldn’t be taking any of them, because, uh, because.
I ended up suffering through severe bronchitis so bad that I couldn’t sleep for several nights and had to go to an urgent care facility to get the medicines I need.
I have an allergy medicine that I’ve taken every day for the past 15 years that needs to be renewed every year. I called the doctor on Monday of this week and asked for a paper prescription to be sent to me (I use a mail-​order pharmacy).
He ignored my instructions and instead called it in to my local pharmacy, and for only one month with no refills. I explained to his nurse that this isn’t what I asked for and she said «well you asked us to call it in to your pharmacy». I know that I did no such thing. I asked again for a paper prescription and the nurse said she’d mail it to me.
It’s now Friday and I got no prescription in the mail. I called to ask when I should expect to receive the prescription and they told me that the doctor will call it in to your pharmacy but only for one month with no refills. Ridiculous!
I ended up making an appointment with a doctor in a different practice. I figured it’s better to start over with a different doctor than continue to struggle with this guy. I don’t know what his problem is.
This is not the normal practice of medicine that I’ve ever encountered.