P Basil Vassantachart, MD

Dr. Basil has been my primary care physician for 5 years and he’s given me sound advise on medicine and living a healthy lifestyle. I go for my yearly physical exams, as well as mid-​year visits to check my blood pressure and other health concerns.
Just like any doctors office, there can be unexpected waits due to patients changing needs and the staff tries their best to accommodate and check-​in while I wait in the room.
Parking is free in the lot (it’s shared with Bank of the West), or park on the street if you want a shade under the tree. There’s also a pharmacy next door (although I’d prefer CVS because of their automated refills).
While you wait in the reception room, health-​related videos play in the background and health/​lifestyle magazines are also avail on the desks. It’s a comfortable and quiet environment — no screaming kids as most patients are older adults.

I’m giving this place two stars because I think the doctor is a nice guy. He also might be a good doctor, but it’s hard to say when every visit lasts about five minutes because he’s in such a rush. Also, as another reviewer pointed out, you’re probably going to end up waiting a long time to see the doctor, even with an appointment. An hour seems about average. This is unacceptable.
Also, dealing with the staff at this office is worse than pulling teeth. For example, I needed to get some medical records from a doctor’s office that was out of state. The office would not release the records directly to me, but needed to speak with Dr. Basil’s office. I gave them the phone number and pointed out that there was a time difference, so they’d need to call in the morning. A couple weeks later I called back to make sure they’d gotten the records. They hadn’t. The receptionist’s excuse was, «Uh, I think there’s a time difference or something.» I think I made about three phone calls about this, and by my next appointment, they still hadn’t gotten the medical records. I think the doctor reviewed them after the appointment, but I’m not sure. This is one of several frustrating experiences I’ve had with this office, but I won’t go on. Basically, they’re too disorganized and/​or overloaded to deal with basic things that a doctor’s office needs to do, like obtaining medical records so the doctor can make a proper treatment decision.
I gave this doctor a try because, as I said, I liked him. However, it’s just too frustrating to deal with this office and to have at least an hour of my time wasted at every single appointment. I’m finding a new doctor.

I was referred here after my original doctor left to China… first i was nervous due to the fact that this new doctor knew nothing about my medical conditions and only knew me by my paperwork. Im glad to say that, this doubt went away from the first visit. Dr. Vassantachart is very proffesional, courteous, and willing to answer all questions you may have. bloodwork is easy and the staff girls are very calm and know how to make you feel at ease if you dont like needles. like all doctors be prepared to wait some with appointment or not. no greater feeling than going to the doctor and having peace… hope this helps you guys. Oh the parking lot in medium sized. American express, visa, and mastercard excepted.

After waiting an hour (with appointment), I could not afford to wait any longer to see the doctor.
I can understand a 10 – 15 min wait, but over an hour with no end in sight is excessive! Patients are people too! We have lives and businesses to attend to.
If I had to guess, the doctor is probably nice because he seem to take his time with each patient, but overbooking workload is bad practice.

Dr. Vassantachart is a lovely person. I deeply respect his dedication to the community. I know that he volunteered at a recent event to bring health-​care to the uninsured. He is multi-​lingual. I think that he speaks at least four languages fluently.
He has excellent interpersonal skills and a strong desire to make sure that the entire person is treated, not just one or two symptoms. He’s my first physician to actually test me for allergies. He’s the my physician to recommend acupressure for migraines instead of medication. As it turns out, there was another cause for the migraines, but you can’t catch everything. I certainly don’t expect that from him.
The office staff is lovely. They’re efficient, personable and friendly.
The only reason why Dr. Vassantachart isn’t getting 5 stars is because of the physical location of his office. While the waiting room is spacious and filled with comfortable sofas and plenty of reading material, the TV is BLARING. I’m not a TV watcher so I find it very distracting and irritating, particularly since the wait to see the doctor is at least an hour. No, I’m not kidding. AN HOUR. He spends a lot of time with each patient so just have to wait, and wait. The parking lot is tiny. It’s deceptive because it’s next to a bank with a ton of parking. However, the parking lot attendant will verbally abuse you if you park there. Furthermore, there is no street parking on Friday, due to street cleaning. Parking on Atlantic is for only an hour. You will get a ticket because you’re waiting for an hour.
While I’m very fond of Dr. Vassantachart, the sheer logistics of clearing my schedule for the amount of time necessary and the parking situation made me grudgingly switch physicians. If you have the time to see him, I recommend him. If you can schedule your appointments for later on Friday when the street parking opens up, that’s splendid. He and his staff are delightful.

Dr. Basil makes me want to deduct 5 stars from my own doctor and add them to the 5 red stars here. I wish I lived in Alhambra so I could have him as my personal physician. Dr. Basil’s first name is Prasert. And he really lives up to his name. Prasert means excellent, esteemed, precious, or best. He deserves a lot more than just five red stars.
My friend Tasana recommended this doctor a year and a half ago after I told her that my boyfriend might have ulcers. I Mapquested his office’s address, and it turned out that it’s only 3 minutes away from my boyfriend’s house. When my boyfriend first visited Dr. Basil’s office, I didn’t get to go with him, so I didn’t really know how Dr. Basil and his staff members were like. Then my boyfriend made an appointment with Dr. Basil again about 2 weeks ago. This time, I went with him and I wanted to kick myself for not living in or near Alhambra. The receptionist smiled when she greeted us. The waiting room is spacious. There are tons of magazines to choose from. The couches and chairs are comfy. I felt super comfortable in this office.
When the nurse called my boyfriend’s name, I actually wanted to go in with him, and he even asked me to go in. But I thought they would allow only patients and their relatives to go in, so I told him I would wait in the waiting room. The nurse saw and heard us, so she told me that I could go in. Wow. I never knew. She was actually nice about it. She didn’t give me attitude. She didn’t look bored. She was just cool!
When we finally met Dr. Basil, he explained to us what needed to be done for the day, and he even discussed the result from the x-​ray that my boyfriend had a year and a half ago! It was because my boyfriend never went back for the result. He doesn’t have health insurance, and he just thought that he was okay. Well, he was right. The x-​ray didn’t show any signs of ulcers, but Dr. Basil said that the blood work result showed that my boyfriend’s red blood cells were very small, and that it was due to iron deficiency anemia. He explained that it is common among Asian people, and that my boyfriend didn’t have a sufficient amount of iron in his diet.
Dr. Basil smiled and asked my boyfriend, «She hasn’t been feeding you well, huh?»
And my honey said, «Nah…I just don’t really take good care of myself. I don’t even eat 3 meals a day… blah, blah, blah.»
Dr. Basil: «Oh, so you’re taking the blame completely, huh?»
My Honey: «Yeah…It’s my fault.»
LOL. I sooo understand how Tasana feels whenever Dr. Basil blames her for her parents’ high blood sugar. But I think for my boyfriend’s case, Dr. Basil was just joking, so I didn’t feel as bad as Tasana would feel.
Dr. Basil charged my boyfriend only half the price for the x-​ray this time. I still don’t know why he did what he did, but I assume that it’s because he knows that this pathetic patient of his still doesn’t have health insurance. Dr. Basil also told my boyfriend to go to the County Health Department to receive free medicine. He gave my boyfriend the prescription, but he didn’t want my boyfriend to go to a pharmacy because it would have cost a lot of money. Both Dr. Basil and his wife (another receptionist) were really, really kind. His wife gave directions to the health department and told us that this office welcomes everyone because that’s what Dr. Basil is supposed to do. He’s a doctor. He’s supposed to help his patients regardless of their financial ability to pay. Can you believe there’s still a doctor who’s truly a doctor in this capitalist society???
I told another receptionist that I wish I lived in Alhambra so I could be Dr. Basil’s patient. She asked me and my boyfriend if we were married, and we said no. So she said, «Why don’t you just move in with him?»
My Honey: «Her mom would murder me.»
Me: LOL.
The nice receptionist: «Oh, I shouldn’t be giving you guys bad ideas.»
I LOVE DR. BASIL AND HIS STAFF!!! 10 BRIGHT RED STARS!!!

Dr. Basil’s my hero. He makes me realize that not all doctors are scary… except when we make him mad. :P
My parents, who are both diabetic, have been his patients for at least ten years. I have to go to his office at least once a month (until now. I haven’t been there in a very VERY long time. T_​T), so I’m pretty familiar with the office, the nurses, receptionists, and the doctor himself. The office is a normal sized room, not too big and not too small. It’s especially clean and comfy with many seats and sofas in the room because they have to make sure that their patients are comfortable while waiting to be seen by the doctor.
Dr. Basil is fluent in english (duh) and knows a little Thai, which makes him my family’s favorite physician, especially when he tries to speak Thai to my grandmother. ;D There was this one time when my grandma whined about her countless health issues, and the doctor replied, «Rok kon gae. Tum arai mai dai laew», which literally means, «It’s old people’s disease. We can’t do anything about it.» Aww. I guess he was trying to say something to comfort my grandma, but it came out TOTALLY wrong. It’s okay, though! He tried…^___^
I was once one of his patients, and I can never thank him enough for helping me when I needed an operation (oophorectomy, if I remember correctly… haha). While other doctors thought that I was only having a normal stomach pain, Dr. Basil didn’t let me go home easily because he was sure that there was deffinately something wrong with me. However, he wasn’t totally sure what the real problem was, so he called in a specialist. After that, I was sent to the hospital. Before leaving his office, my mom was about to take care of the co-​pay, but Dr. Basil shook his head and told us not to worry about it. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve continuously believed the other doctors that I had a normal stomach pain. –_​-​«
Usually, Dr. Basil is very kind, generous and funny. However, there’s always an exception. If he sees that you don’t take care of yourself, or if your health is getting really bad (*ahem* high blood sugar –_​-​«!!!), he could make you cry just by looking at your face. He doesn’t say anything more offensive than «You have to love yourself. take care of yourself», but I think it’s because of the look on his face that’s really intimidating and makes you want to kick yourself. Plus, he blames ME whenever my parents’ blood sugar goes high. …why meeee? LOL, He really does care about his patients, doesn’t he?
The receptionists and nurses are so cool. Regi! ^_​^ Regi’s like my mom’s favorite, for some reason. LOL Maybe because she’s a really bright and talkative person. Regi is the one who always calls me to make sure that I take my parents to the office for a follow up. I’m sure she made several attempts over the past few months, but my home phone doesn’t work right now, so it’s IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to reach me via home phone at this time. sorry, Regi! xP
anyhoo.
Dr. Basil and his staff deserves five red stars ***** for their hard work and great effort to make their patients healthy and happy, which reminds me… I need to make an appointment for my parents!