Patrizia Showell, MD

I have had one appointment with Dr. Showell. She was very friendly, courteous, and capable. I was seen on time, and given a comprehensive well exam. I appreciate the integrated nature of the Polyclinic, with the lab being onsite, as well as a shared information system between doctors, and an online system for accessing my records.

What a bunch of west coast babies! Get over yourselves with your bad reviews of Dr Showell. Che brava! She is a brilliant woman, direct and thorough … she doesn’t need to kiss your ass. She is a doctor and also a human; just because she is a doctor doesn’t mean she has to be in a peachy mood every second of the day. No one is, regardless of their profession. When she is deep in thought about your damn diagnosis, be grateful she has a brilliant mind.
Dr Patrizia has been my go to doctor for several years and I appreciate her no nonsense directness. She is also kind, stylish, and personable if you give her a chance. The Poly Clinic has top notch medical staff and I won’t go anywhere else. I have NEVER had one bad experience from Dr Patrizia or her team and I would highly recommend her if you want good advice.

I have been Dr. Showell’s patient for more than 5 years. She is knowledgeable, competent, thorough and timely, all qualities I was looking for when I had to find a new MD. If her eyes filled with tears at any of my complaints, signs, symptoms or findings, I would drop her like a hat. She is an excellent physician.

While I don’t see Dr. Showell as a patient my wife does and has for the last 10 years. I think that Dr. Showell is one of the best. In spite of the daily pressures she faces from our changing health-​care system she does a good job and when things are outside of her area of knowledge she brings in the right specialists. In this day of fast food and instant gratification it is nice to know that you can visit a doctor who will listen, talk to you and take the time to help you understand the meaning of lab results or other diagnostic tests.

I, too, am surprised at the amount of negative reviews on here for Dr. Showell. Perhaps she’s ready and remedied her bedside manner in the past 4 years?
Needed a GP and she was the one assigned to me, went in for some blood tests and, while i agree she is not warm and fuzzy, she was professional and efficient, which is great for someone who has to sneak away on her lunch break to get an appointment in. She didn’t ask too many questions (but that’s because i was blabbing the whole time) but was knowledgeable and offered suggestions. I know i’ve only seen her once but didn’t have any issues with her and her staff, and felt it important to mention … perhaps she’s changed!

I came to Dr. Showell after my other MD couldn’t seem to fix my reoccurring sinus issues. He was hemming and hawing about what to do, and everything seemed a bother. Dr. Showell was fast, with 10 minutes she had written an RX for nasal spray, antibiotics, and steroids. I asked when they would be sent to my pharmacy, and she told they already had been. To top it off, she explained that all this might not work, so she referred me to an ENT right then, as a precaution so I wouldn’t have to wait. In all she did in 10 minutes what my previous MD couldn’t do in 10 months.
Her compentency is suberb and she understands that delay’s can be miserable, she offers fast and effective treatment. She gets to the bottom of an issue, and then attacks it without mercy on multiple fronts. Just what I want in my Doctor. She is a superb clinician who cares about the suffering of her patients.

She has been my primary-​care physician for aboout five years and from the outset I found her concerned and informative, though patients may need to know how to ask the right questions. She has now helped guide me through a heart scare, explaining the nuances of various tests that helped eventually pin down a false positive. Now she has helped guide me through a very serious colon cancer surgery, being on top of each test result, calling me to inquire if I was «okay» with things, showing up at the office of the specialist to be in hand a bit to confirm how I was doing. The surgery last week was successful, but she made sure I made an appointment to discuss follow-​up aspects with her, in addition to the surgeon. I figure I’ll give her a note saying: «you’re smart, you’re caring and you’re cool. Thanks for being my doctor.»

I had the unfortunate occasion a few years ago to encounter Patrizia Showell, MD when I was looking for a new primary care doctor. After keeping me waiting for what seemed like forever, she burst into the exam room with her bad attitude on full display. After less than a few minutes of questions and answers, she reached the snap conclusion that she wasn’t going to accept me as a patient because my PPO insurance plan wouldn’t provide her with high enough payments, and she said precisely that to me. She barked a few more snarly sentences in my direction and then she whisked out of the exam room as brusquely as she had barged through the door, never to be seen again.
As other people have commented, I can’t imagine having this woman as a physician. I also tried a couple other doctors at the Polyclinic before reaching the conclusion that the Polyclinic is little more than «for profit» medicine at its very worst. Not only did I reach the conclusion that Patrizia Showell, MD was a doctor to avoid, I reached the conclusion that the Polyclinic is a place that is primarily interested in making a fast buck on patients period, meaning that it is an institution that people interested in actual medical assistance probably want to avoid.

Not sure why Dr. Showell is getting such bad reviews here. I saw her last week as a new patient because I needed a last-​minute appointment on a Friday afternoon. She was the only doc I could get in to see on such short notice. As I was sitting in the waiting room I pulled up her Unilocal reviews and almost left because they were so bad. But I stayed and I’m glad I did.
Dr. Showell was professional, knowledgeable and had a perfectly nice bedside manner. I am 6 months pregnant and she took the time to ask me about my pregnancy and share some memories of her first pregnancy.
I didn’t have to wait long at all to see her, and her front desk staff seemed fine as well. I appreciate them getting me in on such short notice.

I am still a relatively new patient, but, while I have definitely sensed the brisk and impersonal manner others describe, I am not looking for a doctor to be my buddy, especially when feeling me up, checking me down, etc, etc.
She answered all my questions clearly and concisely. When I asked for details or explanation, I was provided them. The follow-​up was what was expected from a high-​volume doctor who I imagine sees many patients only once in their life.
Anyways, not trying to get worked up, but she has treated me for trivial conditions, worrisome conditions and embarrassing conditions and done all with a cool professionalism, I look for and expect in my doctor.
I am saddened to hear of others experiences, but want potential patients to know it’s not all bad.
PS, something she said to me that was true, so I’ll repeat it: «We do a good pap.»

This incompetent doctor needs to hang up her hat! I saw her a few months ago for knee pain, I decribed the symptoms to her and she acted as if I was delusional. I was sent to X-​Ray and was told she would call me within 24 hours with the results. The phone call never came, instead I received a letter in the mail a WEEK later. The letter had 2 sentences…
Mild degenerative tissue and arthritis on right knee.
Call me if you have questions.
No treatment recommendation was made! Will never see this doctor again!!!

I think its a bummer that usually, people don’t write reviews unless they had a bad experience, as evident by the ones I see here.
I’ve been seeing Dr. Showell for something like 13 years and I have never had the kind of experience these people are describing. Sure, the woman is not all sunshine and butterflies — you aren’t going to her for therapy for crying out loud!
Her cool professionalism is exactly what I appreciate about her… this doesn’t mean she doesn’t listen or has no compassion! I have found her not only to be highly competent but also highly intuitive.
I think these people are really looking for a holistic MD, which is fine, but don’t tear down a fine doc because you just don’t mix.

I like Dr. Showell personally, although I could see how her bedside manner might not be everybody’s cuppa tea. Personally, I find her brisk, cool, calm manner to be reassuring, and I’ve never had any problems with her staff, who are always friendly and efficient.
I picked her randomly from the other Polyclinic physicians and haven’t regretted it. She accurately diagnosed some spinal issues which were causing me headaches and referred me to Deche over at Polyclinic’s PT department. (Deche is also awesome.) Later in the year, right after the horrible snowstorm, I had a really really bad attack of bronchitis, with breathing issues that were causing panic attacks and Dr. Showell got me in right away, She calmed me down, explained what was going on, reassured my BF (who had brought me in) and prescribed me some meds which totally cleared my problem up. When I explained that I had problems swallowing medications, she made sure that my pharmacy received instructions to give me smaller pills, or in one case, a children’s swallowable version. I have found her to be professional and competent personally. (And I’m a bit of hypochondriac that researches my diseases a lot and likes second opinions and whatnot.)
I will say that occasionally I come away wishing I’d thought to ask more questions, and maybe Dr. Showell could volunteer more information if she thinks it necessary, because sometimes patients don’t know what questions to ask. But when I do have questions, she answers them.

Horrible, horrible horrible.
I really wish I had checked Unilocal first, because I had the same experience as the other reviewers.
I hate to rant or mudsling, but I’d really hate for other patients to go through what I went through.
She may be an excellent medical professional, but her bedside manner is beyond excuse. I rarely go to the doctor, and when I do, it’s because something is wrong and I need the help of a professional to figure it out. I’m usually nervous, and I realize that can make it tougher for a doctor to get to the information they need. That takes listening, asking questions, discussing, getting to know me. She jumped to conclusions, made rapid diagnoses, and did not explain the reasons WHY I’m experiencing the symptoms I am.
But worse than the doctor was her staff. I received a message that my blood work had some issues and I needed to start medication right away. No explanation. Scary, right? When I called the office to speak with the doctor to get more information, I was not ALLOWED to speak to the doctor directly, and furthermore, my direct questions about my condition were not answered by the nurse. I was told to come back in 6 weeks for a follow-​up with no offer of any explanation of what is wrong, what the medication is for, what else I can do.
I have other examples of unsuccessful phone calls to Dr. Showell’s office, trying to get some help and get some answers, but they’re similar to the other reviews. The final call ended with «the doctor does not make phone consultations.» What kind of doctor is completely unavailable over the phone? I didn’t even want medical advice at that point, I wanted her to know that her staff really needs to improve their customer service and apologize when they screw up scheduling and waste half my day.
I replied that I will be seeing another doctor immediately for follow-​up and never returning to the office.
Don’t go there. There are so many other physicians out there with kind staff. When you’re sick the last thing you want to go through is the hassle of poor care.

The Ice Princess of Polyclinic. Dr. Showell is a good clinician but she lacks compassion and exhibits no real interest in the patient as a person. Perhaps she should go back to school and get board certified as a pathologist. That way she can use her skills of diagnosis and not have to deal with patients.

I have seen Dr. Showell for about 5 years. I have very few heath needs-​just a yearly physical/​pap smear-​so I have very few demands of my physician. The Polyclinic is close to my house so it worked out well for me. I am a health care professional and am well versed in the standards of care, procedures, polices and the complexities that are health care.
This past March, I had my yearly exam, and later I received a bill from a lab for tests that were run on me that were outside the normal physical/​pap smear. I was not notified these tests were going to be run on me. I called her office and asked to speak specifically to Dr. Showell for an explanation. I had to explain to «Glena» who answered the phone why I wanted to speak to Dr. Showell. About 2 hours later, I received a phone call from «Glena” — who I assumed was the receptionist, who read to me my exam notes to explain why tests were done. I stated that I was not informed of doing the tests and asked why I wasn’t informed. «Glena», then, instead of offering to let me speak to the physician (which is what I asked for in the first place), then asked if I was refusing to pay the lab bill. So, I said yes, simply because my request wasn’t being acknowledged. I then said, «This still does not explain why these tests were done without notifying me». «Glena» then told me, with much irritation in her voice, that I could make an appointment and come in to speak to Dr. Showell. I do not know why this «Glena» would be reading my health record to begin with.
I then called the Polyclinic directly to find out if there was a manager or quality assurance person for the clinic itself that I could speak to. I was instructed instead to write a letter directly to Dr. Showell. I did this, outlining everything that had happened, the conversation with «Glena» and explained that I did not feel that I could still continue to have Dr. Showell as a physician. I also requested that I receive confirmation from her office that I would not be responsible for the lab bill. This was in April and I have never received a response.
Dr. Showell has shown to be to be unprofessional which is reflected in her staff as well. In my experience, the staff of a physician reflects the personality of the physician, and how much a physician values patients as people. I should have not to go through the «firewall» of the front desk in order to have access to my physician and I should be able to speak to my physician when I ask to speak to her. If Dr. Showell simply forgot to discuss with me the rationale behind doing some tests on me — fine — everyone makes a mistake; however I asked to speak to her about it, sent a letter to her about it and still, no response. Her silence speaks louder than words.

I started seeing Dr. Showell about 3 years ago when I moved to Seattle and needed to find a doctor. She was female, nearby, and I could get an appointment easily, which fit the bill at the time. Now I think it is so easy to get an appointment because she looses so many patients, as in talking about her, I learned several of my co-​workers dropped her, too.
Over the years, I had several experiences that turned me off more and more, and now I’ve just had it. I do not think anyone should go to this woman if they hope to have a doctor that seems to care about them or their wellbeing.
Here’s what a typical visit with her is like — Dr. Showell comes in the door, and says, «So, what’s going on with you» and you do your best to describe you symptoms to her. She has no reaction to any of them. She says «Hmm» and nods sometimes, writes some stuff in your chart. There are little to NO follow up questions, and she doesn’t seem to require many inputs to come to her vague diagnoses. She doesn’t seem to care much about you, how you are feeling, whether the medicine helps you, if you get better, or whether you ever come back or not, she’s just on to the next patient.
The worst was when I had been in to see her, and she gave the usual vague useless diagnosis. A week later, I was still feeling sick, and even worse than before. I called the office and asked them to have Dr. Showell call me back to discuss and see if I should come back in. After a very very brief description of what was wrong with me for context to the woman at the front desk, I got a call back from some random guy who wanted to prescribe me about three medications I’d never had before based on zero interaction with me, the patient. I asked who I was speaking to, and if he was another physician or PA, and he said he was a nurse. I think this was possibly the most irresponsible prescribing of medication I have ever witnessed.
Months later, I got sick again, and not being able to find a recommended doctor taking a new patient any time soon, I reluctantly just went back to see Dr. Showell on the basis that at least she must have some medical knowledge. I got the same vague diagnoses based on listening to me with the stethoscope here and there, and looking at my last lab results that were about 3 months old. With a shrug, she said «Well, it must be some kind of virus, I don’t know what else it could be.»
To make a long story short, (and believe me, I could go on with more examples), I do not wish this poor level of care upon anyone and hope that prospective new patients will not make the same mistake I did of seeing Dr. Showell. I genuinely feel that having Dr. Showell as a physician put my health and wellbeing at risk. I never realized how important picking the right doctor is, and will be choosing my new doctor much more carefully.

Dr. Showell is ok and I’ve been seeing her for my various ailments that come up from time to time. She is very quick and expedient with her diagnosis and certainly is very well knowledgeable in her field. That being said, she isn’t very personable and isn’t one for small talk.
If you are looking for quick and expedient, she’s the one to go to! If you are looking for warm and fuzzy… look somewhere else!

«I totally agree with you. I have been seeing her for 2 years and finally stopped when she treated me with negligence after going to her after I got hit by a car. I’m glad I’m not crazy. I didn’t want to admit it till now, but I felt she was racist against me. She is everything you’ve stated in your review.»
above was my original response to someone else who had posted regarding a negative experience with Dr. Showell– he believed she had something against the gay community.
I just want to elaborate on my situtation: I was riding my bicycle and HIT hard BY A CAR. the doctor at the ER prescribed me pain killers, did X-​RAYS and then advised I see my physician. Two days later I came in a wheel chair to Dr. Showell’s. She and her staff were so careless with me. The purpose of my visit was to get followup treatment to my injuries and for referral to specialist if needed. She refused to prescribe me painkillers and said with an attitude «why don’t you just take aspirin». I had additional XRAys and she nor her staff ever called me back with the results. I finally had to call in, but was not allowed to talk to her, and her receptionist was less than courteous and helpful.
This lady has no business beeing a doctor. Just another greedy nerd.
not sure why the 1^st reviewer pulled his review but here it is:
«In the 3 years seeing her, Dr. Showell was rarely less than an hour behind seeing her patients making her patients wait only to spend as little amount of time possible once you finally see her. I wish that was my biggest complaint…
I found this Doctor to be very judgemental and emotionless, treating each office visit with the same compassion and empathy of that of a 4^th grade math equation.
Patrizia Showell also completely ruined my medical records through clerical errors that made it so I could not get affordable life insurance and I am a healthy 36 year old male.
I have filed a complaint against this Doctor with the Department of Health and hope it sheds some light on her loose record keeping and anti-​gay hate that interfers with proper medical diagnosis’ and potentially risks my health as a result.»