Garg Chandrika MD - Villa Rica, Georgia

Matthew W.

The first mandate of a doctor is to ensure that he or she does not knowingly do harm to a patient. Dr. Chandrika did not live up to her professional duty of beneficence today when I came in for an Urgent Care visit.

First, she seemingly entered the room very combatively, insisting forcefully and somewhat loudly, that there was nothing she or the urgent care facility could do to help my gastrointestinal issue. She repeated this several times with the same combative tone. She said several times there was no 'magic pill' that she could offer me. I had only made mention of maybe a medicine to help with severe bloating. I did not know how to respond to her. I did not feel respected nor safe.

I had been waiting for over an hour, and I did so patiently. I had been kind to every staff member. By the way Dr. Chandrika acted, you would have maybe assumed I had mistreated her or her colleagues. I had treated them kindly.

At this point in our interaction, my severe anxiety began to take hold. I was becoming flustered, short of breath, and I needed to leave. I was physically unable to communicate this to her due to my anxiety. Dr. Chandrika seemed to calm down at this point and actually began to perform a physical exam. She began to do her job as a physician, but it was too late, She had already shamed and embarrassed me to the point of regretting seeking medical treatment.
The last part of our encounter was possibly the worst. She pointed to a list of my medications, pointed at OxyContin that I had taken for an oral surgery years ago and asked me if I still take it everyday. I do not and have not. However, at this point my anxiety was so high that I could have said yes to anything if it meant I could leave. When I regained my wits, I realized the purpose of the question and flatly told her it was for a surgery years prior. But, she did not bother to calmly ask questions and to do her due diligence; therefore. when she questioned me about medications at the end of the consult, I was too anxious to respond. I am not a drug addict. I suffer from Depression, Anxiety, and Cerebral Palsy. I don't need to be accused of abusing substances.
Dr. Chandrika, at the very least, needs to reconsider and be retrained on her interactions with patients overall, especially when working with venerable patients. This inexcusable interaction today will cause me to delay seeking medical care in the future.