Ashesh D Patel, MD PC

So, firstly, I would go back but if I were to recommend Dr. Patel and his office, I would add that his secretary comes off as very abrasive. I actually think she isn’t that bad and I believe she is well-​intentioned. However, when I first entered the office, worked with her, and then witnessed her interacting with other patients, I was surprised at how short she came off. Honestly, she’s incredibly unprofessional. With that said, I think it is only fair to temper that rather harsh statement by adding that, while I stress the importance of «the-​customer-​is-​always-​right» customer service, she is efficient and things seem to get done, which counts for something.
Dr. Patel is the usual doctor type, incredibly smart, knows his stuff, and, at least for me, didn’t try to add any unnecessary services. He personally called me and left a message as a follow-​up which is thoughtful. I would recommend with reservation.

Made an appointment on Zocdoc. They said they don’t get that info… What a pointless system. I called ahead to make sure appointment was good and doctor running on time. They confirmed.
I waited 80 minutes without seeing the doctor but listening to everyone’s medical issues through paper thin walls. Then I left.
Very unprofessional.
No updates, no apology.

I tried seven separate times to renew a prescription and the receptionist has lost this request every time. She is exceptionally rude and unprofessional. Find a real doctor and don’t go here.

Will never be back. Over an hour and a half wait time. Rude front desk attendant. When asked, no one can say how long the doctor will be before your appointment. Incredibly loud office with people yelling from two sides of a room to talk to each other. Just no.

Dr Patel is the worst. I should have known when I signed in and the front desk woman asked me if I was sure i had spelled my last name correctly? Dr Patel should not be practicing. I sat in the exam room for 2 hours and after I opened the door and complained, the nurse said oh we forgot about you… Finally Dr Patel came in and sat he on the examine table while I sat in a chair. It was the a disturbing conversation and Dr Patel is a freak. Dr Patel seemed to be on drugs or sedated. I will be following up with the medical board.

When I first met him, I was a little turned off because he talks really very softly and rather fast. However, I believe he is only kind of unsure. I have been to see him a few times now, as he is my GP, and I genuinely enjoy him. I’d urge him as a doctor in the event you are looking and he takes your insurance.

I love Dr. Patel and his front desk staff. I know some of the more sensitive folks won’t like the front desk staff approach, but she’s nice as ever once you actually… wait for it… talk to her. Dr. Patel has been very good to me, and I recommend him to my friends who move to DC as an option for a Primary Care Doctor. His bedside manner is very well (I’m a former Navy Hospital Corpsman), and he’ll refer you to a specialist if it’s beyond his care. He listens very well, and I’m always able to be seen within 24 hours.

Dr. Patel is the best general practitioner doctor I ever had. He LISTENS. He really really listens to you. And then when he talks to you, he talks to you like you are a reasonable educated person. When I have had medical emergencies, his staff makes sure I can get in to see the same day or the next day. He has also referred me to really great specialists who seem to practice medicine in the same way. I have had problems that expensive specialist doctors could not treat and Dr. Patel solved with a glance and a correct prescription. He really is a great doctor. So, about his staff… they can be rough around the edges, but during one period when I was going in a lot, I got to talking to them and even the most brusque of them are really kind people underneath. No, it’s not professional to glare at or bark at patients or ignore them. But some of what is rubbing people the wrong way may be cultural expectations. When I have needed help, they have helped me, all of them from the lady who runs the show upstairs to the lady who draws blood in the basement.

I was at his office twice and the experience was less than OK. Yes, he may be intelligent, and somehow quiet but if you can not reach him because of his front desk staff, does it matter? He is responsible for his staff and the office which needs tons of updates. 80s? Tons of paperwork everywhere and the front lady just pure rude and irresponsible. I have a feeling that she is the boss of this office not the doctor. Few months ago they lost my x-​ray and today after calling office with urgent question about my health (several days fever) that old lady took a note and said the Dr. will call. Of course he never did. When I called back (during the office hours) they were out of the office already.
Well, also today it was my last try with this doctor office. I changed him for a new physician at 4pm with my insurance company and at 6pm !!! the new doctor called me to give my an advice. Thank you for Medstar in Adams Morgan. You are great! There are many good choices in DC, Dr. Patel is not one of them.

I’m a physician myself, and I have to say that I really do appreciate Dr. Patel. He’s intelligent, thorough, and has a nice, quiet bedside manner. Really a pleasure to deal with.
Like other reviewers, I’ve noted the disparity between Dr. Patel’s quiet and friendly professionalism and his staff, who normally just completely ignore me when I come into the office. I always have to be the one who approaches them to ask «um. .. do I need to check in?», etc. I’ve NEVER had any of the staff members welcome me, say «good morning», «the doctor will be right with you», etc.
BUT, I normally pick the earliest appointment available in the morning, so things are on-​schedule and quick, and I am usually in and out in 30 – 45 minutes total, after a thorough checkup with Dr. P. Which is pretty great.
So one point off for the petty failings of the staff but otherwise very highly recommended.

Uch, enough is enough. I’ve been coming here for three years, primarily because of how close it is to my house. Dr. Patel is ok. He’s nice enough, refers you to other doctors when needed, and is about, well, average so far as doctors in my experience go.
Unfortunately, when you run a general practice, you’ve got to take account of the people you help run it. And his support staff is the absolute worst. The older woman who runs the front desk is rude, dismissive, and generally seems put upon for the fact that you are asking her anything, including checking in. Speaking to her on the phone for any reason generally results in a lecture about how you did something wrong. And she’s about as nice as a junkyard dog.
And I’m not giving Dr. Patel as pass either just because he’s a nice little man. Like others on here, I’ve been waiting literally months to get a call about my most recent appointment and the results for it and the referral. I’ve been literally calling every week for 2 months in the morning. And I’ve gotten nothing. It’s the surly woman who runs the front desk that’s to blame, since its her job to pass messages, but at some point, Dr. Patel has to own up to the fact that his choices are responsible for all this.
I’m done with this place and won’t be coming back.

I had previously left this office a bad review due to scheduling issues via ZocDoc, however if you call to make an appointment, this can be avoided. After seeing Dr. Patel for over a year now, he is a good doctor and is very patient. I have health anxiety which I see a therapist for, and Dr. Patel works with me compassionately, as the doctor patient relationship is important in us folks with health anxiety. Would give 5 stars if not for scheduling issues, and some rudeness from staff.

Dr Patel is awesome. I have been going to him for years. He is pleasant, practical and attentive — and very responsive off hours. His staff is another story.
I have never been seen on time. Ever. Normally the delay is about 30 minutes, but today, after making an appointment via Zoc Docs AND receiving confirmation emails and texts, I sat in the office for over an hour.
I arrived at my appointment 15 minutes early and signed in. I was not asked how I made my appointment or told I was not on the schedule. 45 minutes go by and still nothing. After someone who came in after me with a later appointment was taken to the back for his appt, I asked what was going on. The receptionist then proceeded to tell me how I made my appointment wrong and that I was not on the schedule — loudly and repeatedly. She told me of the known problem with Zoc Doc scheduling but refused to take responsibility for putting protocols in place to minimize the issue while they figured out how to make the interface work (apparently this has happened to others before me). In the end, only a forced apology was rendered and I was not seen. Pretty close to being done with Dr. Patel’s wonderful practice :-/

I went to Dr. Patel about 4 times as I had moved to the area and was looking for a good doctor. I agree with Sunrita S. Dr. Patel is very nice, a little timid and socially awkward but some very smart people just are. Dr. Patel took the time to listen to my more complicated needs and was thoughtful and compassionate.
With that said the elderly women who is his main front staff person is extremely rude. She is rude to her other coworkers, rude on the phone and to patients. I called multiple times when I needed a medication filled, no one got back to me. Finally as I was out of medication they got back to me and said the pharmacist needed to fax a refill form, I told her since I was new to the area and Dr. Patel he had not prescribed me that particular medication in the past. I had just been in to see him a month prior but forgot to ask for a refill on that med. She then said that I needed to personally fax in a request from myself asking for the medication. I asked her if she could just write the request down for me, or email it in since I personally don’t have a fax machine at home… as a lot of people don’t. She said they don’t have email and this was the only way it would work. I had to physically go down to the office to turn in a request for medication.
It was also very difficult scheduling appointments, they are rude on the phone and hard to get a hold of.
Dr. Patel needs to fire her, otherwise he will continue to lose patients, she was the reason I switched doctors.

I’ll echo what many other reviewers are saying and say that my experiences with the staff over the phone while trying to get an appointment or a prescription refill have been increasingly difficult (and god forbid you want them to send the prescription to your insurance’s mail-​order prescription service…) Every time I see that I’m starting to run out of refills, I feel a sense of dread about needing to deal with it all again.

I saw Doctor Petal once and he seems to be smart and knowledgable and my first visit was great overall and he asked me to do a follow up appointment which I did by calling his office for 9 am this morning
When I arrived the office was closed, after knocking on the door, they opened for me
The receptionist was there but the doctor is out of the town for a week! And they know he is not coming for this week as well
But no one call me or send me a text to inform me that the appointment is cancelled!
This is really not professional
I think it is not enough for the doctor to be smart to run a private practice
I am not going back there anymore

I’m running out of patience with Dr. Patel and his staff! I’ve had positive experiences with him before but will not be visiting him again. My past appointment was on November 12^th and went as expected, however, I still have not received a call back from him or his staff in regards to my blood test results. I’ve called his office on numerous occasions and the staff was very rude. The first time I called, I was told that Dr. Patel is very busy and only calls people if they’re is an «emergency» on their reports. When I asked for my reports to be mailed to me, I was assured they would be sent out by the next business day. This cycle has continued every week and I’m still sitting here waiting for my results. I’ll be looking for a new PCP in the DC area.

Great doctor.
Great staff.
He’s been my doctor for years and wouldn’t change a thing. Great «bedside manners» explains everything and make you feel comfortable.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Patel for several years, and I think he’s a very solid doctor — I value his guidance.
I’ve been getting frustrated with organization in the office, though. Last year I had health issues that involved coordinating with multiple specialists, and the office didn’t handle that in a very organized way — I didn’t hear about some important results nearly as soon as I should have. The folks at the front desk are sometimes helpful and pleasant, and sometimes not.
I like Dr. Patel, but I would rather go somewhere with better organization and consistently pleasant staff.

I’m sorry, Dr. Patel, but I have to be honest. If this review were only about you then it would be four stars. I would focus my review on the quality of care and not on your staff, but the waiting room at your office is such a miserable purgatory that I had to speak up.
In my experience, appointment times at your office mean very little. I have been here three times, and each visit has meant a 30-​minute wait to be seen after my scheduled appointment time.
Calling into your office is a nightmare in itself. I called one morning after not hearing back about test results, and politely asked if I could speak to you. You were with a patient, which is totally understandable, so I asked when you might be able to call me back as I was really worried. The receptionist didn’t know, and said that «the best she could do was write you a reminder note to call me.» She was abrasive over the phone, and begrudgingly told me that if I wanted, I could come in and wait my turn to speak to you anytime between 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m., or 1 p.m.-3 p.m. I work a full time job, so sitting in the waiting room without an appointment wasn’t going to happen. I was short with the receptionist because she was short with me– golden rule, you know? It’s frustrating when people go out of their way to make easy things difficult.
I made an appointment, which was delayed 30 minutes (as anticipated), and as I waited I saw the receptionist look at the patient sign-​in sheet, go into the back area (which is reflected in the door and everyone in the waiting room can see), and snicker to one of her colleagues, presumably about a patient in the waiting room, and maybe even about me. Am I being paranoid? Of course. Is this professional behavior? No. Should an effort be made to make people feel comfortable and welcome in a place where they already feel like shit? I certainly think so.
I can overlook the dingy office, I can overlook the long wait times, but I can’t overlook being made to feel inferior and unwelcome. Your gatekeepers are rude and lack empathy, and I will be finding a new primary care physician.