Phan Douglas M MD

I was extremely pleased with my first visit with Dr. Phan.
I went in today for a second opinion for my chronic nasal congestion, as my experience with the previous ENT (Dr. Joshi Janardan) was somewhat underwhelming.
Dr. Phan came across as very warm and polite. Took the time to listen to all of my symptoms. Then proceeded to examine, my ears nose and throat even though my problem was entirely nasal.
He re-​confirmed the diagnosis I had previously received (deviated septum), but went on to hand me a mirror and show my exactly what he could see up my nose. Explained and showed exactly what was going on, explained each and every symptom I had and how it tied to my condition.
Moreover he also pointed out another condition I had in my throat, which could be adding to my snoring issue, which I had mentioned in the forms I filled (but hadn’t talked specifically about). So either he actually took the time to read the forms or was just a good catch on his part.
The best part was, that he was openly discussing both surgery and medicinal options. the previous doc was aggressively pushing surgery while completely ignoring questions about possible alternate options. Dr. Phan took the time to help me assess the risk and benefits on prolonged usage of nasal decongestants.
All in all, very pleased.

Here is a honest review of my experience with Dr. Phan.
I was referred to Dr. Phan by my PCP for chronic nasal congestion problem. Dr. Phan himself is courteous, friendly and seemed to ask the right questions on my initial visits. Together we went through the standard medicine course for about a month or so.
However, I had experienced side effects with the medicines and as a matter of choice, did not want to be on anti-​histamines or decongestants forever. Eventually, Dr. Phan ordered a CT scan to examine sinuses. The CT scan showed clear sinuses, but a septal deviation and we started discussing surgery options and eventually scheduled a septoplasty. After about two weeks I called and cancelled the surgery and started consulting with Stanford ENT.
Here is why:
— I usually have an annoying experience with Dr. Phan’s receptionist/​organizer. She is in an extreme hurry to talk to you (even when you are face to face and she has nothing better to do at that time) and most times I would feel exasperated with her way of answering even simple questions. She would also make it extremely hard to get in touch with Dr. Phan or herself. There was one week where I had left 2 messages and called 3 or 4 times and the contact was just not returned. Eventually I had to get a regular appointment and come into the office to see Dr. Phan.
— Dr. Phan himself is knowledgeable and talks clearly. However, after my initial visits I noticed that he was also in an extreme hurry. I felt very rushed and very flustered that perhaps they are not listening to me fully well.
— Dr. Phan is extremely busy. I see scores of patients in his office every time I go. This explains his rush.
— Finally, the decider — neither Dr. Phan nor his receptionist seemed to remember me. For instance, I had already had a session with Dr. Phan with my CT scans and then saw him again a week later to ask some follow up questions. He seemed to completely forget that he had already seen my scans and even after I explained that we already went over the basic material, I had to sit down and have a «fresh» discussion over the scans for 15 minutes before I could get to my questions. Obviously, by the time I got to my real question for the visit, he was already rushed and not very interested in answering my questions.
So — unprofessional office, rushed doctor, forgetting patient’s visit history — all these taken together made me very nervous about doing a surgery (however simple) with Dr. Phan’s office. I fundametnally believe though that Dr. Phan himself is very capable, a really nice guy and a professional.
Note: I am comparing my experience here with Stanford ENT — Dr. Peter Hwang and his Nurse Jane Wang. I was received very well, every thing about organizing the visit was very smooth (so good front-​office) and they were very patient with me.