I'm mixed about myself and Dr. Rashid! Perhaps we are just a poor patient-doctor match? Anyways,…read morehere's my experience:
I come from a medical family. Specialists. I know what diagnostics looks like. Good diagnostics should and can be a thing with PCPs, but my experience in VA has challenged that.
I've seen Haroon on and off for a few years, and when I first saw him he was quite checked out. Spent most of his time quietly on his laptop during his consult with me. I don't think totally ignoring me, but not actively diagnosing me. Like every other doctor in VA, his first move is almost always a consult, run labs, then a follow-up. This diagnosis comes after the lab model results in wasted time, not exclusive to Dr. Rashid. In one instance, I came to the Dr. with an issue that is verifiable via a quick physical check, and he did not do that, ignoring what I had told him/the patient. Again, I find this not exclusive to Dr. Rashid in the VA medical community. When I came back after labs, i had to tell him to check me twice, he finally did, and I was properly diagnosed with exactly what I had told him was the issue the first time. To be clear, this is the kind of physical check that's very basic, been around hundreds of years, that anyone can do, but a doctor is trained in and when they diagnose you they can well... do doctor things like send you to the proper specialist with a referral (which I cannot do, and need a doctor for!).
So, unfortunately, that experience is pretty average in VA for PCPs ime I'll say that I've seen Doc also improve over the years. He now seems to do in-person phone follow-ups, texting. He seems a little bit happier, in general. So perhaps things are improving, which is basically all I want from my neighborhood doc. Though I really want and kind of like Dr. Rashid as my PCP, multiple times I've found myself needing to go to a different PCP or just directly to a specialist (when insurance allows) in order to get the right healthcare. But, again, not exclusive experience to Dr. Rashid, and seems part of the model of medicine in this part of VA.
His front staff have always been pretty good, and their online system has also improved for the most part.
Lastly, I will say Rashid is good in that he is preventive in his approach to medicine. He's not interested in throwing pills at you, and respects the body. This is what keeps me coming back currently, despite my search for my forever doc!