Dr. Ali Sajjad, MD

Excellent doctor

Ali Sajjad knows only five things from medical school: Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), Gout, Osteoporosis, Raynaud's Disease and Rotator Cuff Syndrome and Allied Disorders. If you see him, he will make you do some movements and ask you some questions to try to determine if you have one of these five diseases. If you're looking for a doctor that will listen to you, then think about what you may have given your symptoms and what they learned in medical school and practice - look elsewhere! Let me re-emphasis this last point - as I was referred here by my general doctor - ask for a different doctor if you are interested in a diagnosis.

I liked him, he listened with a cautious ear, but he took some time to read my chart, after that he never minimized my condition. and gave a thorough exam and sound advice. That's all I ask of a Physician.

The University of Minnesota has this method that sometimes works for catching patients who are riding on an old diagnosis but are actually suffering from a different disease. In this method they throw away all of your history, don't let you tell a 1 page story (or look at the 1 page summary you brought) and only ask questions. I've seen good doctors use this technique and it sometimes does help the misdiagnosed get a correct diagnosis, but the U of MN doctors are not good at it at all. Their questions focus down irrelevant pathways while ignoring 85% of your condition. I cannot recommend this doctor because he follows this U of MN rheumatology methodology. Furthermore, he did not actually seem knowledgeable about the medications used in his field believing some very wrong things about their use that contradict what my pharmacists and treating physicians and medical literature (I work in public health on rheumatic diseases) have done. The problem with him is he thinks he's smart… (he's arrogant) but when you think you are smart but are wrong that's a really bad attitude to have in a clinician. If I had known he was a part time rheumatology professor of the U of MN, I wouldn't have made the appointment since I know their department is a disaster.

Terrible, terrible, terrible! Arrogant, disrespectful. His 1st words were that we both have to be on same page,[ for an opener.] He wanted me to inject same medicine I was taking in pill form. When I said I'd read up on it, he threw his arms out, and laughed at me. He said he was going to talk w/ my pulmonary dr, and didn't follow up, nor did he return her call, This was his final offense and I began w/ another dr. I don't assume dr's. know everything, and do ask questions, which I suspect he resents. I wonder if he treats his male patients the way I was treated?

Dr. Sajjad's answer to everything was medicine. I didn't find him to be a good listener, nor was he informative about additional options for treating my RA.

Dr. Sajjad has been one of the best medical professionals I have come across in many years. His diagnosis was accurate and was able to come to it very quickly. At first his way of communication seemed a little off but it could be described as more conversational which I appreciate as I don't understand the medical jargon most often used by doctors. I look forward to his friendly smile every time i visit his office

He is currently with HealthEast, Maplewood.- Always wants to you to COME INTO OFFICE and will NOT talk to you on the telephone.- Does not trust your word as a patient. Treats you like a child from a trust point of view.

He's a poor communicator. He prescribed colchine for my mother's gout but never warned us about side effects. Several days after Mom started taking it, she started vomiting uncontrollably. I took her to her primary care physician who knew right away that the colchicine was the cause, telling us that this is a common reaction. He's also a poor listener, showing very little interest in any information volunteered by the patient.

I was referred to Dr. Sajjad for joint pains, and he quickly started diagnostics and it became clear that I have a small vessel vasculitis, an auto-immune disease. In that respect, he was an efficient and good Dr. However, he did not really listen to me, and after viewing my medical records, it is clear that he minimized my pain and the seriousness of my condition. He comes off as uncaring. He did not tell me what tests I was taking, or why - I simply knew the basics- blood work, x-ray, ct scans. I would have liked more information on what the tests were looking for and why so I could start researching my disease and be an active participant in my care.