Dharmendra Verma MD, Coastal Bend Gastroenterology Knowledgable but unavailable for his office and hospital patients. Prefers to only do procedures. Victoria , Texas

Dr. D Verma is knowledgable but doesn't seem to like seeing patients in the office. His is only there for a short period of time a few mornings a week and if you don't specifically request to see him in advance the only person you see is his FNP who has very limited knowledge and a bad attitude. If you disagree with her be prepared to be discharged. I have more than one disease process going on that I am being treated for and is somewhat rare. I had an appointment at the office and he was in the hall when I was placed in the exam room. I thought since he was there I would get to see him but he left and I was stuck with seeing the FNP.

When she came in the room I was informed he had left and that I had not specifically requested to see him. I asked her if she knew anything about one of my diagnosis and was told that "No! I don't and I don't need to to treat you!". I further questioned her asking if she was aware that the symptoms overlapped and she said no that she didn't need to. I asked to be rescheduled and was told it would be 3 months away for the next available to see him. I told her I had already waited 2 months and an appointment was found a week away early in the morning.

I thought great but the morning of the appointment 15 minutes before I was scheduled his office canceled at the last moment. I was told that they would call me as soon as they knew when he was going to arrive and I could come over and see him. They never called me back. When I called them back for an update I was told that he wasn't coming back in. I told them I had been sick for several days and needed to be seen so I was sent to the ER at the hospital where he was and he would see me there. Not the case! I had to see the ER doctor who did not have a clue how to treat me and was sent home to end up in another ER a day later and admitted for a week.

His office staff is equally rude. They change or cancel appointments at the last moment without consulting the patient. If you have been canceled one would think that you would be rescheduled immediately, however it may be months before you get back in to see him. If you have questions or concerns and call the office or email them through the patient portal chances are you will not get a response in a timely manner (24 hours) or at all as the nurse practitioner and doctor do not return phone calls or emails. They prefer dumping patients to the local ER. If he is at the hospital that his offices refers you to he will not take the time out of his busy day to come see you in the ER and you are at the mercy of the ER doctor who gets caught in the middle.

If you are unlucky enough to be admitted to the hospital chances are you will not see him daily and when he does arrive he is constantly on the phone. He is usually in your room less than 5 minutes and during that time he is answering his phone telling the person to call back in 5 minutes. He may give the patient one plan of care and then doesn't follow through or changes the plan without informing the patient. Upon dismissal from the hospital you would think that you would get to speak with him so that you can be informed about you're plan of care as an outpatient but that will not happen. If you have a procedure scheduled be prepared for it to be rescheduled at least once if not twice without your knowledge. He either doesn't know what goes on in his office when he is not there or doesn't care, either way it is bad news for the patient.