Hector P. Rodriguez, MD, ColumbiaDoctors

I completely agree with Rene N.‘s review. Dr. Rodriguez appears dismissive and does not seem to care at all about patient concerns. He seemed to get annoyed when I said that I had followed the directions on the medication to «stop use if symptoms have remained or deteriorated after 7 days.» I’ll be looking elsewhere for solutions to my Allergic Rhinitis, and I suggest others do, too.

This is my first Unilocal review. I picked Dr. Rodriguez out of the Aetna network.
On my first visit, I gave him a history of my symptoms of chronic sinusitis and that I’ve been taking phenylephrine OTC to alleviate the severe headaches and congestion, and I wanted to avoid taking cycles of antibiotics. He shrugged and told me that I should just «keep taking phenylephrine». I expressed concerns about side effects because I’ve been taking it for almost two weeks but he said to «not worry about it… it would just go away by itself «and to make another appointment in a few weeks if things didn’t improve. Two weeks later, symptoms have gotten worse.
It took another month to get a 2^nd visit: I told him that the headaches got worse inspite of taking phenylephrine; that I’d attempt to stop but severe headaches returned. I reported getting dizzy spells and nausea. He didn’t offer a theory as to why this was happening. He didn’t say much except to see a neurologist. He couldn’t recommend any.
I got an appointment with a neurologist after a few weeks. By then I’ve had about 2 months without symptom alleviation due to following Dr. Hector Rodriguez’s advice. The neurologist listened to my concerns, took a thorough history, and informed me I’ve been having phenylephrine reaction — that this medication’s side effects included dizziness and nausea and brings about severe headaches if you get used to taking it and stop abruptly. (Basically, a withdrawal symptom.) She gave me an effective regimen to wean off phenylephrine and to take care of the sinus symptoms. I wish I had gone to her two months before.
Dr. Hector Rodriguez is supposed to be an expert on sinus conditions but inspite of my expressed concerns he never told me about a common OTC’s side effects. Even on the 2^nd visit he didn’t give sound advice about the impact of the drug or how to alleviate the symptoms.
I found out later that my brother-​in-​law also picked him from his network; went there once and decided not to go again because of the doctor’s dismissive attitude.
I’ve had the good fortune to have been helped by competent, caring doctors, but I couldn’t count Dr. Rodriguez among them. I have nothing to gain by giving him a negative review and will be posting a positive review of the neurologist. Please spare yourself a similar experience and find a specialist who will listen thoroughly and give informed advice.

Not to say anything to take down Michael M.‘s review, but my experience in no way mirrors his. (And if Michael is being completely truthful in his review, then I’m very glad my experience differed!)
One, the staff inside of his otolaryngology practice (an ear /​nose /​throat practice, for the layman) are friendly and efficient. Setting up the appointment was painless. They called back to confirm my appointment 24 hours prior. Upon arrival at the office, they had my forms ready, processed my co-​payment quickly, and one of them even walked over to me in the waiting area to hand me my receipt. Totally unnecessary (which I say in the most complimentary way) but extremely kind of them!
As for Dr. Rodriguez, my appointment with him was scheduled for 4:15 p.m. As my iPhone read «4:14 p.m.», he was already waiting for me, hands washed and examination room ready. Though I will not bore and /​or disgust the reading masses with the reasons for my visit (…unless you are really morbidly curious? Ha!), I can say, without a doubt, that Dr. Rodriguez is friendly, professional, and knowledgable. He put me at ease and even asked me other non-​nose /​throat /​ear related questions, just to check on my overall well-​being.
The best part? He gets right down to brass tacks. I was in and out of his exam room in about seven minutes.
Honestly, if I ever have an otolaryngology issue in the future, this is the man I will be calling. You should too. Take my word for it. I am an Unilocal Elite. You can trust me. ;-)