Patchen Family Practice

I’ve been seeing Dr. Patchen for over three years. When I sought a quality doctor, I wanted one who considered not just traditional medicine but alternative treatments. I am one who avoids medications and aims to be as natural as possible. I regularly get a well exam and yearly routine bloodwork done. Dr. Patchen is an excellent listener, always asks questions, and listens to my questions and thoughts about my health. His office staff, nurses, billing specialist and those who’ve communicated timely about results of my bloodwork have always been extremely caring and responsive, often within 24 hours. Dr. Patchen has respected my views, has often suggested a variety of health options for me, but he is always friendly and kind and remembers my philosophy and individual wishes. I find this rare now when physicians see so many patients quickly and must deal with so much paperwork.
Two years ago, I had bloodwork done that showed I had leukopenia. Dr. Patchen referred me quickly to two specialists who were able to figure out that I was extremely anemic. We solved the problem before I was thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Recently, I was rear-​ended and my car was totaled. Dr. Patchen saw me the same day and was willing to work with my busy schedule and see me through the past three months of recovery. He trusted my own opinion of what I thought was best yet he still gave his professional opinion. His staff made it possible for me to just focus on my treatment and not worry about all the logistics.
I highly recommend Dr. Patchen to anyone seeking a respectful and attentive, knowledgeable and kind general practitioner.

SUMMARY:
Patchen Family Practice receives a star because the ladies working in the front office are friendly, kind, helpful, and sincere. Unfortunately Dr. Patchen is not a doctor we’d see again.
DETAILS:
My fiancé and I visited Dr. Patchen’s because my fiancé was in need of his annual physical (aka wellness exam). Having recently moved to the Phoenix area, I sought out the ‘Best Doctors’ magazine and happened across his advertised bio which sounded good, so I gave it to my fiancé who made his appointment.
Upon arrival and confirmation of my fiancé’s routine wellness exam, I noticed the practice has a spacious, clean, welcoming waiting area with comfortable chairs, but bring your own reading material because there aren’t any magazines or newspapers set out. The wait was less than 15 minutes.
DR. PATCHEN
My fiancé’s experience with Dr. Patchen was awkward, uncomfortable, alarming, and possibly discriminating (fiancé is half African American and was asked if he might be more comfortable seeing a doctor of his own race… maybe just a considerate inquiry?).
Initial impression is that he’s quiet and personable. However his bedside manner and inability to listen are disappointing qualities (my fiancé had to ask questions numerous times to receive coherent answers).
For a routine physical, we thought it strange that Dr. Patchen didn’t listen to my fiancé’s heart, nor perform a testicular screening. But he did order full panel blood work.
On the followup visit — which we and the ladies at the front thought was strange since usually test results are phoned — Dr. Patchen immediately inquired if my fiancé was at risk for AIDS! Very startled and concerned, my fiancé replied with a ‘no’ and then was notified that the doc had had an AIDS test ran (which came back clear) because of a low white blood cell count.
BILLING & CONCLUSION
We spent a couple months ironing out the charge from Dr. Patchen’s and our insurance company; apparently they tried billing multiple visits and a consultation, NOT the routine physical /​wellness exam. Recognizing that we did in fact make an appointment for ONLY a physical, the ladies in the office re-​billed and got it all straightened out.
There may have been misunderstandings and maybe just poor bedside manner but ultimately our experience ensured that we will not be seeing Dr. Patchen again.