Dr. Riaz Haider, MD

*This review is a bit lengthy, but if it keeps even one person from being under the care of Dr. Haider, then it’s worth it. Last week, my mother entered OnPointe’s physical rehabilitation center in Arlington. They do not list the doctors employed there on their website, so I was unable to read reviews or further investigate the quality of care provided by the doctors. If I had, perhaps my mom would not have suffered under the care of Dr. Haider. True, online reviews aren’t always reliable or accurate. Dr. Haider, though, has a significant amount of negative reviews. There are accounts of things he has done to patients under his care that range from bizarre (telling a patient to lick her hand like a cat to help with possible fibromyalgia) to the horrific (diagnosing chest pain in a patient as indigestion and then sending her home where she would later die from a fatal heart attack. Now, I will sadly add my review. I say sadly because this experience somehow left me a little more… jaded about the type of care I can expect for my elderly mother going forward. My mother is 87 and was recently in the hospital for pneumonia and a UTI. She has had numerous back surgeries, is fused with titanium rods the length of her back and across her hips. As she has aged, her bones have softened and some of the screws are backing out of the rods. She lives with chronic pain. Because of this, she has been wearing a fentanyl patch and taking hydrocodone for over a decade. For some reason, when she was released from the hospital and moved to OnPointe, the hospital did not have her fentanyl patch on her. She told me about it not being on the day she arrived at OnPointe. She arrived at the beginning of last week and was put under the care of Dr. Haider. I informed her nurse that her fentanyl patch was not on, that she needed it for pain and had been on both fentanyl and hydrocodone for many years. I asked the nurse to please have Dr. Haider call me. Dr. Haider never called. When I spoke to the nurse the next day, he told me that Dr. Haider said he would not be giving my mom the fentanyl patch or hydrocodone because he was afraid she would be too groggy for her rehab exercises. I explained to the nurse that my mom has been taking those medications for so long that they do not make her drowsy, but they do make her pain tolerable. I asked again to have Dr. Haider call me or my mom’s primary care physician. Dr. Haider still would not make the call. Meanwhile, my mother is enduring intense pain and, as a result, high blood pressure. She has stopped eating because she feels nauseated from not having her pain medication. Fast forward to Friday, I am still calling the nurses and begging for them to help my mom. That evening, the nurse called me back and said that Dr. Haider said he would give my mom her fentanyl patch IF I signed a DNR. This struck me as so unethical that I was sure I misheard him. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The fact that Dr. Haider would not call me or my dad or listen to my mother is ridiculous. But, trying to bribe me into signing a DNR when he can see she is going through withdrawals and is in obvious pain reaches an immoral level. Obviously, he lacks compassion and empathy. However, I fear Dr. Haider even lacks the common decency to respect his professional oath which calls for him to do no harm. He knew my mom needed her medicine, saw her suffering, and walked away - glad to be done with her. My mom continued to get worse until she finally had to be transferred to the emergency room on Sunday. Her blood pressure was 225/90. They immediately recognized the problem and began giving her fluids and fentanyl through an I.V. The ER doctor tried to call Dr. Haider, but Dr. Haider would not return his call either. He never called! The social worker and ER doctor wrote Dr. Haider up because of this situation. Once my mom was rehydrated, she returned to OnPointe. I requested that Dr. Haider not be her doctor once she returned. Thankfully, OnPointe granted my request. I have also read that Dr. Haider has had at least 3 malpractice suits against him. I have not taken the time to verify this yet, because I’m sure it’s true. The real kick in the pants for me is that Dr. Haider works with recovering addicts at his Mansfield office (who have also left bad reviews.) How could anyone who knows anything about addiction take an already ill 87 year-old woman off pain medication she has been taking for more than a decade and expect any other outcome than what happened to my mom? The fact that he did means Dr. Haider either does not have the knowledge to adequately treat patients or he knew what would happen and chose to let my mom suffer. Both facts are equally horrifying, and Dr. Haider should not be allowed to continue practicing medicine.

They are lazy fat and rude !!

Amazing Dr. His staff... not so much. Their not friendly and caring like him.

He is amazing, understanding, caring, always listens, and every time I go in he wants to know that I'm OK and doing well with my subs. Hes patient and always listens to what I have to say. Then on my way out he says God is with you don't forget that and God bless you. Don't forget to call me whenever you need me. I couldn't ask for a better dr. Ever!

I love Dr. Haider, I wish he practiced all medicine because I'd see him for everything. I recommend him to all of my family. The office is a bit dirty and disorganized (it's an old house converted) but small price to pay for the excellent care.

My father is in an Alzheimer's center for dementia. He has an advanced case and is unable to be on the "highest ability" floor. My father is 84. Dr. Haider has been his family physician for years. He never ONCE did an evaluation to test for dementia, even after my father was unable to answer his questions and had OBVIOUS problems with his memory. What Dr. Haider did was criminal in my opinion. If my father had started receiving care for his condition early there is a good possibility he could still be at home instead of being in a locked care facility where he is miserable. Dr. Haider is HORRIBLE. Do not take anyone you care about to him for care.

I was scared to death to go to my appointment this morning after reading the reviews on this doctor. I was pleasantly surprised. Now, the office is a bit dated. The front office was kind and friendly, the nurse was super sweet and set me at ease immediately. There were no judgements they all told me how proud they were of me for coming in for help. He went over everything and told me I was the boss and handed me my RX. Told me to let him know if I need anything and to never run out of my medicine and let him know if need more but try to stick to our plan. The last thing he told me was "God bless you and your family". I left and they came outside and gave me a $50 off insurance card to use each month on my prescriptions. I was in and out in 30 minutes but I have taken Suboxone before so he might spend more time with someone who has no experience with it. I loved him and that office. :)

On several occasions I have needed the doctor to fill out a form for my disabled son and the staff acts as though I'm asking for their right arm. On one occasion it took them 2 weeks to get the form back to me. I am in the process of looking for a new doctor.