PMA Medical Specialists – Gastroenterology Center

If I could give negative stars, I would. I was a new patient and will never return. Sick as a dog on a Tuesday, and the doctor would not treat me. Instead did a throat culture for strep & sent me for blood work to see if I had mono. Sent home with no meds in sickness limbo. Was there for 2 hrs & 1 hr at lab for blood work. Unable to return to work (mono & strep highly contagious) I was forced to stay home. After leaving numerous messages for doctor on Thursday, the assistant returned my call and called in a RX to my pharmacy. Why couldn’t I have gotten this RX on Tuesday?! Told to call back Friday for my test results if no one contacted me by midday. Well, no one called. At 4:00 pm Friday after getting nowhere with the automated phone line, I drove my sick butt over there demanding for my test results and a doctors note stating ok to return to work. Some staff was helpful, but overall my 1^st time experience there was awful and I was forced to miss almost a full week of work for tests I did not even need. Needless to say, I will not be returning. Do yourself a favor & stay away.

Find another practice! Staff is rude, lazy, and ignorant. My prescription was sent to the wrong pharmacy, and town, THREE TIMES! My insurance denied the refills due to Dr. Ali and her staff’s mistake. The office manager is rude & obviously doesn’t train staff properly. Dr. Ali refused to run a blood test I requested. She is rude & unprofessional.

Sucharitha Shanmugam, M.D. — Tells her clients that they are druggies and will abuse any meds she gives them.

I have gone to three of the doctors at PMA. I really liked two of them. That seems good. The medical staff in general are attentive and polite and effective. That’s good too. If I were ever to go in search of a different doctor I would attribute it to the office staff. On the phone– in person– it doesn’t matter. These are some of the rudest people I have ever encountered. To give them their due– there are one or two who have been basically decent. BUT the greater portion of my interactions have been with a person who routinely ignored me and/​or made me feel that I had done something wrong! Generally the more advanced the age of the staff person — the more shabbily I was treated.

I am constantly disappointed by the staff at PMA. The front desk staff ignores you when you walk in the door. I stood there and stared at them on the computers for 5 minutes before I said something to them. Mind you they are facing you. Do not pretend you don’t see me or didn’t here the door slam when I walked in. After saying something to the girls the said, I’ll be right with you. Then when she finally waited on me she was RUDE.
I have called the nurses line as a patient and as healthcare professional needing to leave messages for different doctors. I have been treated the same way on the phone. The office manager was even rude when I spoke to her. It’s a shame the staff reflects soooo poorly on the great doctors.
If I ever treated my patients the way they treat theirs I would NOT have a job.

OK, for those of us who have to pay for health insurance and deal with an HMO you really learn to appreciate the little things. Like not having to jump through a ring of fire and battle with a cerebus to get a referral, or retreive the golden fleece to schedule an appointment. PMA is my go to place for almost all of my medical needs (which, are many since I’m a very needy individual).
My primary care doctor is there and he’s a blast. He actually takes the time to talk with me about what my current health issue is and review some things I’ve come in for in the past. When I have questions, he takes the time to answer them vs being annoyed with them like a few others have in the past. Excellent bedside manners, which is becoming more and more rare in the era of HMO’s and cost effective care.
Need a prescription refilled? Call the easy to use automated line. Need a referral for another doctor? Call the automated line or go online. Need an appointment? Ditto. And, when you schedule your time, you don’t sit in a waiting room for hours on end counting ceiling tiles. The longest I’ve ever waited was 10 minutes.
Locals to the Royersford/​Phoenixville burbs check your health plan and see if they are on the list. If they are, and you’re not happy with your current Primary Care doctor, I would strongly suggest you switch over.