Doctor has zero compassion for his patients and his indifference sets the tone for the whole office. I went to the ER for very painful sciatica. I saw Dr. Pabla two days later. He was an hour late and rushed me through the visit. He tried to stop me from asking questions about my condition and treatment. And whenever he asked me a question he cut me off after only five or six words. He did not want to gain or share any information. He took out a small model of a musculoskeletal system and spent about 25 seconds "explaining" sciatica to me. I had to get the actual information off the Internet later. Dr. Pabla wrote three prescriptions, probably the same three he writes for everybody with sciatica. Two days later I discovered that, unlike the pain killers I got at the hospital, the ones the doctor prescribed did not help at all. I called the office on a Friday morning to ask if he could prescribe something more effective. His assistant told me that he's always away every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and there's no way for them to reach him. "But this is urgent." "You have call back Monday." After three days of suffering the doctor finally told me he couldn't prescribe a different medicine until after I had an MRI and he had a chance to review it. Dr. Pabla mentioned the MRI when I first visited him. I told him that in this case my insurance probably would not cover the procedure. But I asked him to send me the billing code so I could check my coverage. He said he would provide it with the notes on my case. At the time of this review - five days after the office visit - he still has not completed the notes or sent them to me. I asked him what would happen if I didn't get an MRI and he avoided the question. I also asked him why his office is structured in such a way that for three straight days every week he "can't" be called or paged in an emergency. He told me I should have gone to the ER. I said I couldn't go to the ER a second time - it's much too expensive - and in any event, the staff at the ER would simply refer me to an orthopedist - again. What I truly needed was a prescription, not another $300+ visit to the Emergency Room. Well, that's what I tried to say. Before I could finish, he hung up on me. Stay away from this doctor. He does not care about making you better or relieving your pain. He just wants to bill you for a 30 minute visit that only lasted 5 minutes and then send you out for a very expensive diagnostic procedure. I am sorry to be so negative, but Dr. Habla's poor attitude is just so painfully obvious. And I use the word "painfully" advisedly. read more
