Smita H Patel, MD

Stay away from this place. She isn’t very helpful and she gets very irritated when you ask her questions about your condition or the medications she gives you. Starting with my second visit, she would ask how I’m doing, wrote the prescription, and wanted me to leave her office in less than 10 minutes. The last time I went to see her I asked her how long the appointment was supposed to take and she told me the insurance only covers 15 minutes, which isn’t true. Anyways, she gets annoyed when you ask her questions. I think she feels that you’re questioning her knowledge or something, and she pressures you to leave her office immediately. She’s also very annoying because she doesn’t pay attention when you’re talking or she ignores what you tell her. Also, she doesn’t send refill orders to the pharmacy and forces you to make an appointment for your medications every month. She’s very incompetent. I do not recommend her.

Was blindsided by very serious diagnosis that I am 100% sure I don’t have. She gave me a lot of medications after only talking to me 15 minutes and ignoring my concerns/​answers. Asked me the same questions multiple times which made me think she wasn’t listening. No one should find themselves crying for two days after a visit with a mental health professional. I made the mistake of not doing my research before making an appointment. At least I can say she was courteous and timely during the visit, but I did leave the practice thinking that I was crazy, confused, belittled, and feeling very insecure about my mental stability.

DO NOT GO HERE! SHE WILL MAKE YOUR SITUATION WORSE! I have been to many psychiatrists over the years, and I didn’t even know psychiatrists this bad could be board-​certified. I have been on a medication for 15 years and 3 other psychiatrists. The medication is a stimulant and going off this medication abruptly (as I told her from days when I haven’t taken it) makes me unable to even stay awake during the day. Nevertheless, she decides after seeing me that she won’t prescribe me the medication because she «thinks it isn’t helping me.» Despite my pleas that I didn’t have enough to get through Thanksgiving weekend (it didn’t even cross my mind that this would happen) and would almost certainly not get an appointment tomorrow, and to at least give me enough to taper and wean myself off the medication instead of losing
tha switch to whatever she recommended. She refused. I left her office to call my wife to discuss what we could do (we have a 9 month old and its not fair for me to be out and unable to help), at which point she sends her receptionist out saying I’m «disturbing the clients» and threatening to call the police if I didn’t vacate the premises.
DO NOT GO TO HER. Better to pay hundreds per visit to a different doctor.

I wrote this review in March of 2014 and it never posted…
I can only assume that Dr. Patel has plenty of patients, because her office seems to be completely indifferent when it comes to scheduling appointments for new ones. I contacted her office by phone to make an initial appointment for a couple of weeks ago, but I was told that I couldn’t make one until I filled out a new patient form. I went to her web site and downloaded the form, which only asked for information like my name, address, and insurance… you know, information that I couldn’t possibly have given over the phone… and the instructions said that the form could either be faxed, emailed, or brought in with me when I came to the office. Not sure why I couldn’t schedule the appointment before I filled out the form if they didn’t need the form until the day of my appointment, but I filled it out, scanned it, and emailed it as an attachment with a message asking for confirmation that it was received. After several days without a response, I called the office again and left a voicemail asking to be contacted. It has now been a week since I left that message, and I have yet to hear from anyone. I am no longer interested in seeing Dr. Patel, and, after reading the reviews on this site, I think that her staff has actually done me a favor through their incompetence and/​or lack of organization. I feel like I have probably dodged a bullet.

I truly do not know why Dr. Patel gets all the hate here. My insurer booked me this appointment, and these reviews gave me cause for worry.
She recently moved offices, and it appears that she has a staff of 1 (herself). She was a little razzled upon my arrival (my appointment was a last-​minute add apparently, and there was another patient with a severe case right after me).
She made certain I had my forms filled out before she sat down to see me.
Was the appointment timely? No, but I’m chalking that up to some confusion between her, myself, and my insurer who miscommunicated some information.
She specializes in ADHD and depression (possibly others), and she has a firm grasp of medication management.
Is she perfect? No, but she’s a thinker, and she strongly suggested a regimen of prescription and non-​prescription options (supplements like B12).
While I’m not a huge fan of conservative medicine, I have circumstances that warrant it.
I like seeing Dr. Patel and if you’re an active participant in your mental health care, I think she responds well to that.

I saw her for almost a year, then needed to reschedule 1 appointment (my grandmother passed) and when I came in she dropped me as a patient– because I missed a session. She was extremely rude about it– I left her office in tears. Beware! Read the reviews, these people are telling the truth. STAY AWAY!

Wow. Dr. Patel doesn’t get a lot of love in here. I saw her once. She rushed me in three minutes early, before I could finish reading a legal form I had to sign. I suffer episodes of severe depression, bad anxiety, and insomnia. Though I told Dr. Patel that Lexapro was no longer effective against my depression, she told me to stay on it. Dr. Patel would not prescribe Ambien for me because she didn’t want to over drug me. But when I told her that tricyclics, such as Trazadone, Remeron, and Elavil did nothing for my insomnia, she assured me that the tricyclic she was prescribing me would give me good, deep REM sleep. Then she rushed me out when my appointment ended. Though she smiled and seemed polite, she seemed aloof, and lacking in empathy or understanding. And I didn’t sleep a wink from the tricyclic she prescribed me. I give Dr. Patel one star because she’s conservative and careful to not over drug patients, but that’s all the good I can say about her.

An awful human being and a dangerous care giver. Stay away. Don’t go to her. I took my daughter to her for an ADHD evaluation. She tossed a ball back and forth to her and she declared that she didn’t have ADHD. It turns out that my daughter did have ADHD after I took her for testing at a real clinic with exhaustive testing. Thank God I did not listen to Patel. She should be shut down.

Words cannot describe how far away from a «Doctor» Smita is. My psychiatrist retired abruptly, forcing me to find a new psychiatrist for medication management. Smita came up on my health care website and I booked an appointment.
Here is what she did the first visit… in order:
1. Asked me about my medications I am currently taking.
2. Asked me what medications I have been on in the past
3. Immediately (without any historical context) suggested that I change my medications
4. I told her that I was very concerned about changing something that has been working well for me
5. She pushed me in to trying it… and scheduled a followup in 2 weeks.
Those two weeks were like hell. The meds she prescribed me did not work… in fact they made my conditions worse. I basically was just waiting for the next appointment so that I could go back to what I was on, and then I received a phone call from Smita 3 days before my appointment telling me she had to reschedule (without reason) my appointment to be an additional week and a half.
During that time, I ran out of my medication… but tried to give her the benefit of the doubt that she would actually listen to me and keep my medications exactly the way they have been for 5 years.
Now comes the horrible part of «Dr» Smita Patel — my second visit. I have never been treated like this before by a doctor in my life.
Second visit, ordered by time:
1. I had an appointment time of 9am. Her DC office is on the other side of the city from me, so that meant that I had to hustle and leave my house at 8am to get to her.
2. I arrived at 8:55am…5 minutes early just like the email reminder said to.
3. As I walked into the waiting room, I noticed a young girl also waiting.
4. Smita comes out, doesn’t greet me and takes this other young woman into some office.
5. Its now 9:15 and I am still waiting.
6. 9:25…still waiting
7. At 9:35, she greets me and asks me how I am doing as I walk to an office with her.
8. I told her «not good» and explained what has been going on.
9. She then tells me that she wants to change ANOTHER medication I have been on for like 7 years, for no logical reason. I told her that I absolutely did not want to do that. There was no basis for such a change. She says ok, then tells me to take even less of the medication that she put me on in the first visit.
Ok, now this is where you realize that this doctor is terrible:
10. I tell her that I really just want to stay the course I was on, and go back on my original medications.
11. She then accuses me of LYING that I ever took the medication she took me off of!
12. I tell her that is certainly not the case, and I can prove it with recently filled bottles of that medication
13. She asks me if I have medical records to prove it.
14. I told her that I have been trying to get in touch with my psychiatrist that retired, but he has not returned my calls or requests.
15. She then accuses my previous doctor of malpractice.
16. She then tells me that maybe I should just find a psychiatrist who just mails me prescriptions???
17. I told her that I didn’t want that, I just wanted to not make any changes since everything was fine.
18. She then asked how I even got an appointment with her, since she doesn’t allow patients to make appointments without their records.
19. I told her that I just called and her assistant made the appointment… no questions asked.
She then calls her assistant and tells her to ban me from making another appointment unless I can get my medical records. Asked me if I paid her previous bill. I told her that I received the EOB from my insurance, and that I will write her a check. She then handed me the bill for the visit I was in then, and told me that I needed to pay that as well.
I told her I would pay by check, she refused. Said I had to pay by credit card right then and there. I said ok, and then again accused me of lying to her and trying to game her for medication.
This woman has no business being a doctor. I am now without medication, and she basically ruined the last 3 weeks of my life without any logical reason as to why she would change my medications. She didn’t get to know me. She didn’t even reason with me. She treated me like a delinquent.
I wouldn’t wish her services upon anyone. I really didn’t want to write this, but I feel its important to prevent people from going to see her. I think she may have had something bad happen to her maybe with another patient? I am really not sure, but I tried to be patient with her and be reasonable… but she didn’t really reciprocate those sentiments. Don’t see her.

Wish I could sue her but cannot be bothered. The quality of care I received during my last couple of visits was poor enough to sue. She blatantly broke multiple HIPPA standards during my session.
Do. Not. Go. To. Her.

Stay away from Dr. Patel is my bottom line recommendation. I’m not 100% comfortable posting a public review about my experience with a psychiatrist, but it was so bad that warning others is worth it.
I saw Dr. Patel for 4 months this year while I was dealing with having cancer. I developed severe depression and anxiety during that health crisis. I wish I had seen these reviews first.
At my intake appointment, Dr. Patel significantly reduced the dosage my of anti-​depressant. I expressed concern about this but followed her instructions. It didn’t work out well. Over the 4 months I worked with her, she gradually increased the dose back to where it had been when we met. It was a painful period of unnecessary adjustment.
Dr. Patel usually rushed through our appointments. Even when I had questions or concerns – even when I was sitting on the other side of her desk sobbing – no appointment lasted more than 15 minutes.
Another one of my doctors recommended that I see a psychopharmacology specialist. The concern was that I was taking a lot of different meds to deal with 3 different issues. So I saw the recommended specialist (who doesn’t take insurance) and afterward let Dr. Patel know that she would receive a copy of the report.
When she got the report, Dr. Patel called me and yelled at me for not trusting her. She said she wouldn’t see me again. I asked if we could keep just the next appointment to give me time to find someone new. She refused, sarcastically told me I should see the other doctor since I trusted her opinion, and told me she was sick of being abused by her patients. I’m still feeling shocked that she would take it as a personal attack (actual phrase she used) and that she refused my request not to put me at risk of running out of meds while on a waiting list to see someone else.
Do yourself a favor and don’t «abuse» Dr. Patel by becoming a patient. It was a bad experience all around.

Dr. Patel is a great psychiatrist.
During a major depressive episode, I called her and she was able to squeeze me into her schedule within a week.
Considering this, I don’t hold it against her if my appointment starts a little late.
She is great for medication management.
She is always kind.
She will give tips and advice, although it is true, therapy is not what you are paying her for.
She is a top pick for someone who has taken responsibility over his or her disorder.

On a good day, I only waited 30 minutes past my scheduled appointment time to see her (and not because she was running behind with other patients). My appointments generally lasted about 5 minutes or less.
She forgot that the entire reason that I was coming to her was to re-​visit my medication therapy in the wake of the recent death of my mother, and once asked me how she was doing. I actually laughed.
I had to research my own prescriptions because she prescribed me medications that were completely off base. A doctor friend of mine thankfully swooped in and asked me why in the f*ck was I taking Paxil if I was trying not to gain weight (something Dr. Patel and I had discussed).
The last straw, however, was when I showed up to her DC office last Friday for my 8:30 am appointment and the door was locked. I called her Silver Spring office for an explanation and left a message. I never received a call back. Done and done – will only be working with my internist for medication management from here on out.
:UPDATE:
Dr. Patel just called my cell phone from a blocked number and threatened «legal action» (her words) if I didn’t take down this review (today, the same day that I posted this). So, just so you guys know, if you say «mean» stuff about her on the internet, she’s sending her lawyer after you.
Maybe if Dr. Patel had read her notes before she called to threaten me tonight, she woud have remembered that my mother (still dead) was a lawyer. I grew up around lawyers. I have a lawyer to cover every possible scenario in my life. So, if Dr. Patel wants to send a lawyer after me, I only ask that she send one who’s ready to deal with that. I will not be scared by a letter.
So we’re all clear – I told her earlier this morning that I was not coming back to her practice after she stood me up for the last appointment. She was completely nonchalant, offered a noncommittal «I’m sorry no one ever called you back, but we’ve been so busy,» and wished me «good luck.» It seemed like she couldn’t have cared less to lose me as a patient until I posted this review.
Dr. Patel, I know you’re reading this: I am contacting the AMA and the APA. I’m pretty sure the Hippocratic Oath doesn’t allow exceptions in the case of threatening patients who give you bad, but truthful, reviews on the internet.

Now that I have read other reviews about Dr. Patel I am feeling somewhat relieved after entire day spent in tears. I’m seeing that what happened to me was not about me but had everything to do with something that is very wrong with this woman.
She told me she was closing my file as I was leaving. I left and then went back assuming that I had misheard her. She told me to leave and that she could not talk to me. I said that I deserved some kind of explanation. Suffice it to say that she had interpreted a number of my comments and actions within my 15 minute sessions as a personal attack on her.
It was so surreal. I could not believe that a professional Psychiatrist would twist my words and actions to have anything at all to do with her. Therapy is the one place you actually get to make it all about you. That’s why you pay a Dr. so you can keep your friends right?
This Dr. needs her own Dr. and has no business treating patients. I hope she reads these reviews and makes some attempt to mend the harm she has caused, but her lack of introspection leads me to believe that she will continue hurting people until she hopefully, eventually, loses her license.
I plan on writing the Psychiatric board and sending a letter of complaint.

I’m with Fana — I wish it was possible to give someone zero stars. Dr. Patel should not be dealing with people who have mental illness — she has absolutely NO empathy. We went through a variety of different medications over the course of a year, and when it seemed like none of them were the right fit, she wanted to send me for a second opinion. However, none of the doctors she recommended were accepting new patients or took my insurance. When I returned for my next appointment and told her I had not been successful, she belittled me in front of a waiting room full of patients.

I’d give zero stars if it were possible. Simple put, she is uncaring and incompetent. If you care about getting treatment and are not just seeking drugs, go elsewhere.

I can’t honestly give this doctor 1 star. She definitely needs her own shrink because she is nowhere close to helping anyone. All she does is prescribe meds, takes money and yells at others who work there

I agree with the other two posts. Do not see this psychiatrist. She is extremely rude and is not helpful at all. I also just received a bill (4÷28÷11) from service in 2009. It takes nearly two YEARS to send me a bill? My insurance from 2009 did not pay for the service. No problem, I am happy to pay privately. But how about billing me in 2009!?! My address changed, but my phone number stayed the same. Plus, I had all of my mail forwarded, and this statement reached me without a problem. Sooooo??? What was the problem for the past two years? It is ridiculous to receive a bill so much later.
I absolutely do not recommend her. You have many choices in healthcare, I strongly encourage you to make a different one. That being said, the person who manages her billing office was very pleasant (I don’t know his name). Imagine, a billing manager being nicer than your physician. How unfortunate.

RUN FAR AWAY FROM HER! IF you want just meds go see her she will give you a different med wach time!
She is horrible and will only treat people that dont talk and dont ask question and when you do she will say,” I am not your Therapist. I am here to give you meds.“
Ok .How can you «precribe» meds when you dont listen to anythng a person says or whats going on in their life. My «therapist» tried to get in touch so that they were on the same with me and because thaTS not what «Dr.Patal» does she «closed my case’ !
I went to her in the begining because I had postpartum. So I was deperate. Everytime I would go to see her, her eyes were barely opened and I would sit back and wonder what the hell kind of meds SHE was on!
When I say RUN .I mean SPRINT in the other direction from this woman!

It is extremely difficult to find a child psychiatrist that accepts medical insurance or accepts new patients. But if you happen upon Dr. Smita Patel’s name – RUN THE OTHER WAY! She is rude, unprofessional and lacks empathy for prospective patients. After attempting to set an appointment for 2 months, she basically kicked me out of her office like some kind of untouchable. I couldn’t even get a word in. Why would you want someone like that potentially treating your child? I really think she should consider getting professional help for herself or perhaps work in a research facility where she doesn’t interact with people. Seriously!