Potomac Physicians Associates

You don’t generally have to wait as long for them to take you for an appointment, now, but the office is still no better about dealing with prescriptions.
I stupidly tried to process renewing my migraine meds through Dr. Andrew again, and ran into the same issue where additional documentation was required. Not only that, but when I tried to do this, they noted I hadn’t been in for my annual exam, so I scheduled what I thought was that. Nope, this was just an office visit so she could renew the migraine meds. I had to pay for that visit and do the annual exam separately.
After several weeks of them making no progress (fortunately I still had plenty, so it was not dire), I went in for my annual appointment with my allergist. She asked how I was on meds and if I needed a refill. I mentioned the migraine meds, and she asked if I wanted to have her try it. Sure, I said. A WEEK later, it was done. A nurse in her office took ownership of it and stayed in contact with CVS/​Caremark until it was completed, and I had my meds.
So I paid for an office visit with Dr. Andrew to get my migraine meds, and never actually got them through her office. So I can’t up their star rating.

I have been seeing Dr. Meena Andrew for several years. While the obstacles of a larger office can sometimes be deterring (it’s often difficult to call and talk to someone– emailing through the patient portal is best), she is the reason I keep coming back. She is thorough, personable, and you don’t feel like she is rushing on to the next patient.

I dont know how people can give this place a low rating! i have been going to Dr. Karp for many years and while I wait sometimes… it’s not for very long. Today I walked in (which i dont think most people do) and the most amazing receptionist named Sheila did everything she could to get me to see someone because she knew I was in pain (horrible sinus infection) and needed to get back to work. I was ready to walk away and just make an appointment for the next day. But Sheila worked all kinds of angles to get me to see someone. Everyone I saw today was friendly accommodating and the place is always clean.
Maybe the people that give this office low rating are impolite and rude. If you give it off — that’s what you get!
Thank you to Sheila and Dr. Karp! I am feeling better already. :)

I have been a patient of this practice for over seven years, and EVERY SINGLE TIME I come in for an appointment, I am amazed at how professional and efficient the front office staff are. They are courteous and friendly and I am almost always seen on time — which is important because we’re all busy these days so it’s nice that there is a physician’s office that respects my time and does their best to honor their appointment commitments. My physician, Dr. McNamara, is simply in another class. He is a down-​to-​earth professional who genuinely cares about the health of his patients. I have actually come to think of Dr. McNamara as a trusted «advisor» and friend. I feel fortunate that I am in his care. I cannot imagine a better health care practice to be a member of. I even have my wife — a physician herself — and my oldest son now going to Potomac Physician Associates.

There is no true customer service or patient care at this place. I’ve been a patient here for over two years and, compared to any other medical offices, this place has the WORST wait time and WORST customer service. On average I wait about 45 minutes to 1 hr to be seen, then you are seen for 15 minutes, and finally another 15 minutes to check out. I once waited 1 HOUR for them to draw my blood. It’s really hard to get an appointment with the doctor and usually I settle for the physician assistance.
The front desk/​administrative and billing staff are rude and have very bad customer service. Check out time is usually very long and the clerks often call billing office because they don’t know charges for routine services. Nobody ever say hello or smile. There are side chatting even in front of patients.
I’ve been under the care of Dr. Thaker and Dr. Kammula. I did not like Dr. Thaker so I switched to Dr. Kammula, who’s much better but not worth having the deal with the bad customer service or wait time.
I would not recommend this office to anyone who wants a medical facility that cares about their patients. I only went here because it is across from my work. I will be taking my business elsewhere.

This practice is the worst ! Don’t try and see a doctor appt. you can’t be seen for months. My daughter had blood work done and no one could see her for at least three months to go over her results. I made the appt for her mistakenly. I’ve been trying to call them back for two weeks now to cancel or change the appt and can’t even get anyone on the phone. Honestly my daughter has tried and so have I and we have stayed on the phone for maybe 15 – 20 minutes before just hanging up. Try the next day same thing. Good bye!!!

After going here for years, I left this practice when I was told that I could not reschedule my annual physical and blood labs for another 3 MONTHS. I take thyroid medication that needed an annual blood check and the prescription would have ran out. I offered to see ANY doctor or Physician Assistant in the practice and I was told that there were no openings for 3 months. Unbelievable. Goodbye.

I have been coming here for years, and not once have I been greeted with a smile. The reception staff is rude and always looks over worked. They seem to project that issue onto patients because if you ask a question they immediately become irritated. The only reason I continue to visit this practice is because of Dr. Chen. He has good bed side manor and makes me feel very comfortable. If I become confused when he uses medical lingo he will re-​explain it in a way I can better understand. Also, he has referred me to wonderful specialists on several occasions. I truly trust his medical opinions.
If you are looking for a calming doctors office, this is not the one for you. The receptionist staff at this office defiantly poisons the water with their negativity. I’m just waiting for the day Dr. Chen switches practices and I can leave this rushed, understaffed, and angry office.

Reception is fine. The one PA that was knowledgeable is gone; the medical assistants have horrific clinical skills, as according to one, I did not have a blood pressure. I supplied my medical history including medications and dosages on a typed sheet. On a subsequent visit, in review, all dosages were wrong, and one medication was substituted for another, which was not even in the same class. The one doctor I saw had an attitude, could not pronounce a surgical procedure, and did not know the difference between two surgical procedures. Complete lack of basic knowledge from the medical assistants to the MDs. I will go elsewhere.

The doctors here are nice but the reception staff are just awful — it is the second time ‘Jenn’ has hung up or been rude.

I waited two weeks for an appointment for a medical issue I was having. I made sure when I made the appointment they knew what I needed treated, and they confirmed both on the phone and via email that they could treat me. They called two hours before my appointment to say they made a mistake and they can’t help me after all.
I asked why they let me make an appointment for a service they cannot provide and they just said they would make sure whoever does their scheduling knows for next time. I asked if they could at least help me make an appointment for a specialist since i had already wasted two weeks. They said they could have someone contact me with a list of specialists who take my insurance but that is all they could do. Not that it even matters, but they never even followed through with that, which is already somewhere below the absolute bare minimum that they could do to help me.
Unbelievable. If you are looking for a practice that wastes your time and is totally indifferent to your medical needs, this is the place for you.

I have been going to Potomac Physicians Associates for many years. My current doctor is Dr. Hirshfield. They have implemented a new secure communications e-​mail system and I have found them to be incredibly responsive when I have questions. It is truly amazing how responsive they are when I ask a question or need help with a prescription. Today, I have been dealing with Susan Olsen, a PA about coming some prescriptions filled and there was some confusion about where to fill the prescriptions. Susan and I have not spoken by phone but she has been amazingly responsive in writing back to me to get the prescriptions filled with the appropriate pharmacy. Very grateful for Susan’s help and Dr. Hirshfield’s help in dealing with my on-​going medical issues.

Two and a half stars. I discovered one of the five phrases no woman wants to hear, and lemme tell ya, it ranks above «that makes your ass look fat.» Phrase number four: «Let’s do the fastest pap ever.»
Purell at the desks, fairly friendly staff. The physician assistants are slightly awkward but have a much better bedside manner than the PCPs. There’s a little bit of a disconnect between the front desk and the actual clinical staff. Electronic records are not the problem, nor the patient instructions or summary paperwork that gets passed among staff members. It’s telling you the doctor is taking new patients when they aren’t, scheduling the right appointments, and verifying whether the prescriptions were sent in a timely fashion. The digital portal they use for followup communication is tolerable. Fees are $ 15 to fill out paperwork, +$ 5 for each additional page; $ 35 for writing a letter; $ 20 to expedite within a 5 – 7 business day window.
Echoing the awful phone tree, and appointments during typical business hours only. Hopefully you don’t have to get any imaging done, because the lab they outsource to on the Camalier sixth floor takes ages. Parking payment machine is conveniently across from the office entrance, first 30 minutes are free but I’ve only managed that window once.

Made a new patient appointment and when I called multiple times to get a cost estimate, no one could provide me a cost estimate for this appointment. They transferred me all over the office, billing to appointments. How can I see the doctor with an open checkbook in hand? They don’t base their new patient consults on time and the doctor’s hourly rate? I am willing to pay for services but their inability to provide a cost estimate forces me to cancel and seek care at another office.

I recently went to to Dr Karp at this office. She was great. She spent a lot of time with me and I found the whole office runs smoothly. I was taken back at the time of my appointment and waited just a couple of minutes for the doctor. I really appreciate the whole experience.

Dr. Meena Andrew was a recommendation from a friend and I could not be more pleased with the care she has given me. I once had a raging case of poison ivy and she actually came into the office while she was on call to assess me instead of deflecting me to another physician or physician’s associate.
One bonus… there is a blonde receptionist that more than likely is the hottest woman I have ever seen in «real» life. She’s a 10… go see for yourself

This review is for the Bethesda (Fernwood) office.
I would like to second the many Unilocal reviewers who have mentioned the difficulty of scheduling an appointment with this office.
The front desk staff seem competent and sometimes friendly, but completely overworked. There just don’t seem to be enough of them, given all their responsibilities. For example, the check-​in can take a long, long time, even though the front desk staff are all working hard to get patients into the computer system.
In addition, the phone system is extremely off-​putting. Getting through to a real person take a lot of time and patience — often, the line disconnects partway through the process.
Some of the doctors and PAs I see are thorough, warm and engaged in providing high quality care. I’ve had a couple rushed, almost perfunctory sessions with PAs, but those are the exceptions.

I am fairly new to the area and am trying to find a doctor for regular checkups. The receptionist was so rude on the phone and told me that all the doctors are booked for at least two months. When I asked if I could have an appointment with a PA, she said there was only one available at 3:45 the next Monday, but when I told her that I was out of town for just that day and I could meet any other time, she just laughed and said I should look elsewhere if I’m going to be too picky.

Look,
A doctor is someone who skims a few things about you, assess the damage, and writes a prescrip, right?
Hell, thats all I need!
Calling in to make my appointment, the office staff was friendly and helpful, and when I told them I did not care about seeing my doctor, it made it easy for me to see the PA
Which, by the way is usually less hurried, and much more attentive.
got my anti-​biotics, and 2 weeks later, feeling better.
What more do I want?
Nothing really. I have never even met my doctor all the times I have gone in.

Doctors and PAs are knowledgeable and helpful.
Clean, organized rooms and waiting area.
Receptionists are friendly.