Dr. Angelica Vanessa Esquivel Davila, MD

My experience with the UTHSC Geriatric and Palliative Care Clinic has been poor. They do not practice "palliative care" by definition. In fact, many doctors in the clinic are not specialized Geriatric OR Palliative care physicians. By definition: Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve the quality of life for the patient. Having severe inoperable conditions which include, but are NOT limited to, osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, severe scoliosis, spinal stenosis, and 4 herniated discs, they insisted on discontinuing and/or lowering many of my medications that provided a modicum of relief. Any request for a new medication, regardless of being minor, is denied and you are referred to another physician in the field. ie: changing the dose of an antidepressant will require one to see a Psychiatrist. Having recent… records and tests showing painful diagnoses does not matter. You will be denied or cut back on any pain medications and will be referred to one of their specialists or facilities for additional (identical) tests.. Suffering from both muscle tightness and spasms, and having anxiety, I had previously been prescribed Xanax for anxiety and sleep, and Flexeril for the spasms. I was informed I could only be prescribed one of them. I was made to choose between insomnia or pain. That is NOT Palliative Care.

I have called office to schedule an appointment given the round around by scheduler.

Doctor Davila has been our primary doctor for a little over a year and I must say she is a very excellent doctor. She put my wife and I at ease at our very first appointment. She is very thorougth and demonstrates a deep concern to our needs and issues. I would highly recommend her to anyone.