Virginia Heart - Fair Oaks

Went from a D- last year to a Solid A this year.Parking was good, the air conditioner worked and most importantly I was seen right on timed was in and out in 45 minutes. The exam and explanation was thorough and I fully understood The doctor.

As always, I had an outstanding appointment with Dr, Sheiffer. Unfortunately, because of his fine care it is almost impossible to schedule the follow-up visit six months later.

=3-19-2025= I had an appointment today at the Fair Oaks location. I was not greeted when I arrived at the front desk check-in area. There were 3 front desk check-in staff members (3 women sitting at desks behind the counter from left to right) ignoring me while I stood there waiting to be acknowledged for check-in. I was finally acknowledged by being asked what my name was but not with an initial "hello" by the staff member who sat at the middle desk behind the front desk between the two other staff members. Taken back by no "hello", I had to say "hello how are you" two times before the staff member said "hello how are you" back before I provided my information to check in. This interaction was disappointing to me because I did not feel like a valuable patient. The interaction made me feel not important enough to be asked "how are you doing today". I'm big on customer service and the simple things like a "hello" as I too am in the customer service business (27 years). The check out staff at the front desk provided a better experience and was personable, detailed and great to interact with unlike the check in front desk staff. The rating of this review could've been lower than 4-stars, but the rest of the dr. appointment was great as the medical assistants and the nurses in the back treated me like a valuable patient. I don't know how the check-in front desk staff are trained, but it's obvious they don't do well with greetings to patients. They have the initial interaction with the patients that come in, and the greetings could be much better. The patient that came to check-in after me also had to stand there for a few minutes and wait to be acknowledged and greeted.

Cardiologists here do medical gaslighting. They do not care about you, and have poor bedside manner, bad customer service. Dr. Kanwal denied my symptoms and downplayed my medical conditions, Melissa Myers could care less about my medical history or concerns. Both of them had a lack of respect for the patients, and horrible lack of empathy.

Wow! What a great practice! I was told to be there 30 minutes before, arrive on time, sign the remainder of the papers, and then wait to be called. It was at most 5 minutes to stay, and I was called back literally 20 minutes before my scheduled appointment time. It was not a first, but I was pleasantly surprised. I met with the nurse first; she checked my vitals, reviewed medications, and got an EKG. She answered any questions I had before Dr. Benton came in. He, too, was excellent and came highly recommended. We discussed what occurred, and he wanted to do a series of tests to try and determine what happened. We discussed a plan, and then he took questions from me and didn't rush me out the door until I was finished. I'm not used to this type of doctor, and I was pleasantly surprised. This is my first time seeing a cardiologist in this area, and I highly recommend Dr. Benton and Virginia Heart.