Virginia Medical Alliance PC

I was looking for a new general practitioner in my network and close to home. While VMA met those needs, I won’t be going back due for several reasons. First, the office is very shabby and run down looking (mis-​matched, worn out chairs in waiting area, linoleum from what I suspect is 1950 for example). Second, Dr. Fleurancois and I just did not click at all. I saw her for my yearly physical and I felt like she was condescending, didn’t listen, and was in a rush. She was running about 40 minutes behind when I was finally seen; I get stuff happens and was patient during the wait. However she seemed to rush through things to make up the time and get me out of there. I told her about a back injury I suffered about 8 years ago that really hinders my ability to exercise and instead of asking what happened and what treatment I sought she just told me to hire a personal trainer to help with biomechanics (I’d already done this with 3 rounds of physical therapy). When telling her about a ringing I was having in my ear she told me there was no fluid in my ear but that ringing can be caused by fluid. Huh, you just said there wasn’t any in my ear? Third, she told me they would call with my lab results within 10 days but 6 weeks later and I still haven’t heard from them. On a whim I checked their patient portal after 10 days and my results had been posted only 4 days after the tests were done. There were a few results outside the normal limits but I guess no one is going to call me to follow-​up, so I’ll just elsewhere.

I came here a few times, because it’s close to where I live. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst doctor’s office I have ever visited. It’s unbelievable to me that they have a constant flow of patients. Their accounting department is unhelpful and unresponsive. Each time I visited, I paid my copay and was given a bill of $ 10 in the mail to pay. I tried calling their accounting department to get some questions answered, but nobody answered. I left message upon message with no response. Just recently my wife tried to get an appointment to look at her wrist, but no doctors were available. Their response was to go to the ER. We’re done with this place. You guys suck.

I called for a same day appointment, and I appreciate that they took me in, and I really had no wait time at all. Although Dr. Sharma seemed a bit rushed during the appointment, it was getting to be the end of the day, and I ended up needing an Xray, so I’m glad that she rushed, so I could get the Xray before they closed. I received a call the next day with Xray results from a nurse. Unfortunately, I had some follow up questions, which the nurse couldn’t answer, but Dr. Sharma had given me pretty good direction on what she thought was the best course of action. All in all, I’m a happy patient and I’m still appreciative of the fact that they didn’t waste my time or their own — I just could have used a tad bit more.

Came for lab work. Was supposed to open at 7:30am. I’m still sitting here with 5 other patients at 7:41am and no phlebotomist. Finally phlebotomist has arrived with coffee in hand and no sense of urgency. Reflective of how they feel about their patients.

Wanted to find a new family doctor close to my home. Dr. Nancy Fleurancois was a disaster. Very poor listener. Has a snarky, condescending, «I am smarter than you» attitude. Has no interest in having a discussion or making patient feel welcome. Linda Blackburn Firth, the PA, however is excellent. Smart, thoughtful, supportive, willing to answer questions and explore treatment options.

Dr. Sharma didn’t even unwrap my hand from my ER visit, my finger was broken, and I needed a referral to see a hand guy. She never called me back after numerous calls to the office about calling in my referral to my insurance. The office was very rude to me and kept telling me «we are not going to call this in and you can’t speak with the Doctor.» I ended up going back to the ER due to the pain. That visit they found not only was my finger joint broken in three places but my palm was broken too. I was able to have the ER call in my referral. Dr. Sharma NEVER called me back. The office called a few days later (the day before my surgery) to say the referral was denied! I knew that because I called my insurance and they told me it was due to the office not submitting the paperwork correctly.

I have been using VMA for over 9 years now-​probably closer to 10 or 11. My primary care physicians have been Dr. Price, then Dr. Oshry. I have seen 2 PAs, Linda Ferraro and Sara Johns. Dr. Price was very warm and informative and his nurse Kitty was the best. I don’t think he still sees patients, so I will omit why I switched and tried Dr. Oshry. Dr. Oshry has been great. 9 times out of 10 I don’t feel rushed and I usually do not have to wait long. There were one or 2 times where the wait, once I was called to be seen, was much longer than I thought was appropriate. But one or 2 times out of many can be forgiven. The PA, Linda Ferraro, was recommended to me when Oshry was unavailable. I found her to be cold, uncaring, unhelpful, and borderline rude. I even tried her a second time and had the same interaction. I was actually shocked and appalled by her bedside manner. I saw Sara Johns once and was very impressed. Her bedside manner was great! She will definitely be the person I see when Dr. Oshry is unavailable. I just remembered that I did see another PA once, but for the life of me I cannot remember her name. She was decent though. No Sara Johns, but cool. Receptionists are hit or miss, mostly hit in my experience. I’ve usually encountered friendly or moderately friendly ones. It’s actually some of the nurses that I think need to be friendlier. You’re in healthcare! You’re caring for and dealing with people. You should be required to have certain positive characteristics and demeanor. Lucky for me, most of the nurses I’v dealt with personally have been good to great. It’s mainly in passing that I’ve seen some that look like they’re mad at the world. Overall, it’s a great practice, in my humble opinion.
Hope this review helps.

Well we gave Dr. Fleurancois a second chance when another family member went to see her. He waited 45 minutes in the waiting room and still was not called back into a patient room. He decided to cancel his appointment because they weren’t sure how much longer until the nurse calls us to a room. We have switched doctors and have been happy with our new primary care physician.

Dr Seema Sharma is easily the best doctor in this area! She is patient, kind, and she knows her stuff! How do I know? I, too, am a physician, and she treated my husband and I with respect, even before she knew what I did. She took great time with me, started working on multiple complex issues, gave multiple referrals, and called right away with results.
The only thing you will have to look over is the rude receptionist in the front — don’t let her keep you from this wonderful doc who actually cares about patients!

I love Dr. Johns she is smart, beautiful and so very helpful! She made me totally forget that I had to call several times and hold just to make an appt, I will always go back as long as she’s there!

I have been coming to this practice for about 8 years if not longer. I am very happy with my doctor and the practice in general and hope to be a client here for many years to come.

I wanted to switch doctors because my last practice did not have any board certified internists. Thank you to my Aetna provider search, I was able to find this group. They are in Springfield, but just a quick 10 minute drive from Burke.
The location is kinda weird, they are in a cluster of row houses/​buildings behind a Shell gas station, don’t trust google maps or a GPS, just trust me when I say you need to drive past the Shell station and onto the street with office buildings that look like town homes.
Parking is easy, lots of it around the buildings. The office itself is on the second level. The front desk staff is great! Both guys that I encountered were polite, kind and attentive. I met my doctor’s nurse and she was fantastic! First impressions are always key to my happiness, especially at a doctor’s office. The doctor came in shortly after my initial visit with the nurse. I had heard that this doctor was very smart. She was very thorough, asked lots of questions, and went straight to the point about options for my care.
I always appreciate a provider who is straight up and honest. I know they are busy and I am just as busy. I appreciate that I don’t have to sit in a doctor’s waiting room for long amounts of time because all the appointments are backed up. That was always the case with my last doctor’s office.
In summary, I was greeted in a friendly and helpful manner. The nurse and the doctor were on point with my issues. I’m not sure if this will always be the case, but my first impression left a good one.

The receptionist are EXTREMELY rude. They act like you are wasting their time and are incredibly short with you for no reason.
The doctors’ bedside manner are horrific and it’s impossible to get a simple prescription refill without getting into a whole mess with the entire office. I also had a terrible experience twice with them not calling me back about important test results that I need some explaining on. I had to make another appointment just to get my test results explained to me.
Steer clear, if you can.

My family has been going here for years, at least six or seven. We found the place through a referral for Dr Immel, their GI. He was so compassionate and helpful through a chronic intestinal illness I had that we explored them to switch for our GPs. We love PAs Linda Ferraro and Sarah Johns, but have been happy seeing other Doctors and PAs when necessary. Last week I had my annual physical, was seen promptly, my appt was thorough, lasting nearly an hour. Sarah is always pleasant, asks questions that shows she really KNOWS me. I couldn’t be more pleased and I highly recommend them. I won’t say I’ve never had to wait for an appt, but when I do there’s generally a very good reason. If you need to see someone same day they can generally make it happen, and I suspect that causes blips along the line for other appointments. A little understanding goes a long way.

Had an appt today here at. 10am. I showed up at 9:50am with all my new patient paperwork filled out. As I’m sitting there waiting and waiting, i saw a few patients who came in after me, already seen and done with their appt
I don’t know what time I finally made it into the exam room, but at 11:10am I finally decided to get dressed and walk out. I had my two toddlers with me and I can only keep them calm for so long. The staff and nurses are really nice and friendly but not a single person apologized for or acknowledged being an hour behind schedule.
And lastly, I always like to comment on the atmosphere of the places I review. It did not help that the office feels like a dark basement with barely any light. And the exam room felt more like a storage closet.

On my way out, I passed by the Dr’s office and I noticed he was sitting at his desk talking on the phone, which only fueled my frustration.
***revised: I did receive a voicemail from the Dr. apologizing for being behind schedule, and he also mentioned his phone call was an emergency call. So I have added an extra star.

A team of quack doctors with zero bedside manner that make you wait for an hour for their crap service only to push you out of their check-​up room after a few minutes. I have been going to all three of the doctors here for nearly a decade and I have too many inexcusable stories to tell. All you need to know is unless you have a sniffle, put your health and money into another place that isn’t full of incompetent morons

I have been going to this practice for several years. I now see Dr. Maitri. She is always available to me and calls me herself with test results. The issue other reviewers have with going to outside labs has to do with their health insurance, not the practice. The lab in the basement is convenient and fast. The staff has never been awful or terribly rude to me and are much better than many of the other doctors offices I go to. They do seem to have high staff turnover, though.

First let me say this: The PA I see, Linda Ferraro, is awesome. Seriously, she is the best. She has always been correct in her diagnoses, and she is generous with her time. She listens to your concerns and shows genuine care and empathy. There are plenty of doctors closer to me without the concerns I mention below, but I keep coming back solely because of her. Furthermore, another doctor there was able to diagnose my mother’s rare disorder when others outside this practice could not.
So it pains me to leave 2 stars, but I’m doing this in hopes that the people who manage this practice will read these reviews and buck up. The people who answer the phone are a wreck. They are rude and misinformed. They will not pass along messages to the doctor or call you back. I’ve found the nurses to be polite, but also misinformed. There is a clear lack of communication between them and the doctors, and when you are dealing with your health, this is NOT something that should be acceptable. Also, be warned: your appointment will not be on time. If you need to fast for blood work, get the first appointment of the day.
And since I normally believe in the sandwich method of delivering bad messages (start with a good, fill the middle with the bad, end with a positive), I’ll say that I appreciate the fact that the lab is in the basement, and you can just get it done right there after your appointment.

As many of the other reviewers have experienced, the nurses and receptionists are INCREDIBLY RUDE. It’s as if you are interrupting their game of solitaire or something whenever you call them. And good luck getting them to call you back. I was in AGONY from a herniated disc and called begging for an MRI referral. I waited… and waited. I finally called them again and waited some more.
But it’s not just the nurses and receptionists — it’s also the doctor. He seems to know/​remember little about his patients’ history (does he even look at their file before appointments?). I met with him twice in a two week period about back pain, and in the second visit he asked me the same questions (and got the same answers) that he did in the first visit. He seemed to have no recollection of the first visit. Then upon speaking to him a third time two weeks later, he again seemed to have no recollection of what my symptoms were.
Back to the MRI — after FINALLY getting a referral I went and had the exam. Then I called VMA to see if Dr. would want me to come in and discuss it/​get the results. Their response was basically «don’t call us, we’ll call you.» Great, more waiting, I thought. And that’s just what I did — I waited… and waited some more. Finally after several more days of EXCRUCIATING hernia pain I called them and asked if the doc had seen the results yet. FINALLY Dr. called me and asked «do you have pain down your left side» — um you mean the same pain down my left side that I’ve told you and your nurses about over and over? Then he was like «uh yeah you should probably see a surgeon immediately about that» — YA THINK? IS THAT WHY I’VE BEEN ON THE FLOOR IN PAIN THIS WHOLE WEEK WHILE I’VE BEEN WAITING?! GEE THANKS FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY WEEK TO GET BACK TO ME.
I guess the Dr., though a nice enough guy (unlike nurses/​receptionists), is just too busy, and maybe that’s the problem with the nurses and receptionists also. If they’re too busy for me, they’ll likely be too busy for you.

I agree with the other comments about the nurses and receptionists being less than courteous, however, I continue to go here because I like my Doctor. I used to be able to use the lab downstairs (which was great, the wait sometimes was long, but they are so nice down there), but unfortunately my insurance changed and now I have to go to a separate lab.
I’ve been a patient for several years, and I used to see another Doctor who has since left the practice. I have seen some of the other physicians, and continue to see the P.A. here. all in all, the Doctors are good, they know what they are doing, but sometimes the staff is a little gruff.