I am in my 50s so I've had a lot of doctors in my life. But Dr. Barkodar is easily the worst and most unethical.
Among the reasons why I would give her less than one star if I could:
She insisted on redoing blood tests I'd had two months previously. Without telling me, she tested for every sexually transmitted disease, including HIV, even though she hadn't asked if I was sexually active.
She also insisted I needed an ECG, despite no history of heart disease and a blood pressure of approximately 100/65 (nice and low). She hadn't even listened to my heart and she didn't wait for my blood test results, which would have shown her that I have low cholesterol and lots of good cholesterol.
However, she does have an ECG machine in her office, which means she was able to charge for the test. She also tested for Vitamin B12 and told me I should come back for weekly shots. My levels were on the low side, but within the normal range. As to a normal, but somewhat low, low blood protein level, her sole advice consisted of two words: "eat better." Considering she never asked about my diet, this advice assumed that I'm not already eating well and that if I'm not, I would know what better is.
This may sound innocuous, but a low total protein level can suggest a liver or kidney disorder, or a disorder in which protein is not digested or absorbed properly, including celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She did not ask if I had a history of any of these diseases (I do).
Worst of all, she pulled me off of the dosage of a medication I had been on for 25 years - even though I had emailed her before seeing her to ask her if she had a problem with it, which she said she didn't, and the dose, though on the high side, is within the normal range for my condition. I agreed, however, to try her to cut back, on the understanding that if it didn't work, she would return me to a higher does. Only after 3 office visits within a 2-week period (and her refusal to follow up by phone) did she acknowledge that she was putting me through "torture" (her word), but she wasn't willing to lose her license. This is utter nonsense. I wasn't abusing this medication and had been on it for a quarter of a century.
Finally she told me that if I didn't like it she would write me a 30-day prescription and refer me to a specialist -- but when I asked for a name she changed her mind and told me she wasn't comfortable referring me to someone else. Not giving a patient a referral is a violation of the California Medical Board's guidelines for severing the physician/patient relationship and contrary to California civil law.
If you've read this far, I hope you are sufficiently horrified into staying away from this money-grubbing excuse for a physician. Otherwise, be prepared to pay dearly for tests you don't need and advice you can't use. read more