Powell Thomas, MD

This doctor came recommended by my primary. I’ve been going to him about a year now. Dr. Powell is always on time, which is nice. He and his staff can come off as a bit uncaring at first but you need to give them time. The more you go the more friendly they become. His offfice is nice too and is located in St. Joseph’s Medical Center so convenient to hospital and CHOC Hospital as well. My review of him at this point is basically about 3.5 stars and increasing in the positive direction. He started off in my books as someone I really wouldn’t want to return to. At first he seemed uninterested in listening to me and my symptoms and dismissed everything I said, not once, but on my follow-​up visit as well. He kept trying to say I had fibromylagia which basically meant he didn’t know what was the matter with me, and that I had soft tissue issues. Yes, I have pre-​existing issues with my neck (bulging discs which are getting better with steriod injections) but what I came in for was completely different. Joint pain in my hands/​feet, burning pain which came on suddenly after I got an unknown rash (later determined to be shingles). As time went on though, rather than just sit and take what he was saying to me, which I knew was inaccurate, I stood my ground and insisted he was wrong. After that, and after getting the results of more tests in, he changed his tune and finally was able to get to the bottom of my symptoms and came up with a proper diagnosis (rheumatoid arthritis). Now, he is pleasant to be around. He is definitely knowledgeable in arthritis and medications related to it. I would recommend Dr. Powell if you’re suffering from joint issues. If you’re younger, then you may have to overlook his bedside manner at first. He’s an older doctor from an older generation so if you’re older you’ll probably have no issues at all with him. But he does grow on you and does get friendlier the more you get to know him.