Dr. Anita Mishra Henderson, MD

I am writing to address a concerning interaction that occurred during a recent visit involving one of your patients and their parent. The purpose of this message is not to escalate unnecessarily, but to call attention to behavior that fell short of the professional standard expected in patient-centered care—particularly in pediatrics. The parent approached the visit prepared, engaged, and asking thoughtful, informed questions about their child’s health. This should be recognized as an asset, not treated as a nuisance. Instead, the response they received was perceived as dismissive and, at times, disrespectful. Regardless of time constraints or differences in perspective, such interactions risk undermining trust, discouraging advocacy, and ultimately compromising the therapeutic relationship. Parents are not obstacles to care—they are essential partners. When a parent seeks to understand, clarify, or even question aspects of care, it reflects investment in their child’s well-being.… Meeting that engagement with condescension or impatience is not only unhelpful, it is professionally unacceptable. As clinicians, we are held to a standard that includes not just clinical competence, but communication, respect, and the ability to foster collaboration—even when conversations are challenging or viewpoints differ. A pediatric setting, especially, demands a heightened awareness of this dynamic. I strongly encourage reflection on this interaction and consideration of how similar situations might be approached differently in the future. A respectful explanation, even when brief, goes much further than dismissal—and preserves both trust and credibility. This feedback is offered with the expectation that it will be taken seriously and used constructively.

I am so sad that she moved to New Mexico. She was my son’s pediatrician for over 14 years. I had a different doc for the 1st 2 weeks of his life, but he treated me horribly. So, we switched to Dr H under recommendation by a couple friends that also used her. Our son has anxiety, depression and ADHD. She has always taken time to discuss issues, meds, alternatives and do research any time we had questions. When we first started going, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do delayed vaccines or regular. She gave me reading material and looked at what I had. I feel like our decision was made together. The same with ADHD meds, therapy and so on. She was sometimes hard to get ahold of, but she was the head of pediatrics for SW Medical. So, that’s understandable. But when I told her that, as adhd meds are hard to get filled timely, she gave me her cell so I could text her when he was ready for refills. Any time there was an issue, she fixed it. She will be missed by our family. New Mexico gained a… wonderful doctor.

Where did she go?

my 14 year old really likes her, and he’s picky.

this Dr was a breath of fresh air. she was happy to answer our questions and actually held a conversation with us. she also referred us to a great specialist, but was able to treat during the interim, since she said it could take a while to get an appt with the specialist

A plethora of issues that caused us to go elsewhere. 1) I took my daughter here for her well-check, she was not sick it was just her normal (covered by insurance) checkup. We ended up being charged with a bill through the mail without any explanation or warning. When I called to sort out what I assumed to be a billing error they informed me it was because the doctor provided ADHD counselling and if at any time a service is provided beyond the normal checkup procedures it turns into an appointment. The problem is we were not provided ADHD counselling. This was my daughter's first time at this doctor so we let her know as part of her medical history that she has ADHD but already has an IEP in place at the school, there was nothing we needed from the doctor and nothing provided. I told this to the woman on the phone and she said there wasn't anything she could do, I said don't you feel like you're basically tricking people then if you turn a well check into a normal appointment just… because they answer a question? Am I supposed to lie to the doctor or refuse to answer a question next time? She didn't care. 2) My 1 year old tested high for LEAD and low on iron, understandably this freaked me out and I wanted to get it fixed immediately. The lab sent in our results to the doctor and everyone kept telling me they're just waiting on the doctor to release the results, it took almost a week, numerous phone calls and ultimately me walking into the office and waiting for over an hour before the doctor called me on the phone and I got our results over the phone in the waiting room. 3) I have never had a doctor's office not schedule follow ups and next appointments at the time of your appointment but this office (or at least this provider) does not. I never know when we're supposed to come in next.

I am a picky mom of four kids and when I first met Dr. Henderson she won me over and I’m so glad that I chose her. She is very educated and takes the time to make you feel like you’re the only patient there. She also returns my phone calls and answers my message when I leave one even as busy as her office can get. Our fork is stuck in the ground!!! We love her and her office!

I have been taking my children to her for several yrs now and have just about had it with her. She is rude and never listens, never takes the time to sit and talk. The only time she did and seemed like she cared was when she was training someone. Acting like she really knew my children. She never follows up. She calls in prescriptions to wrong pharmacies and i have to drive clear across town 2 get 3 seperate medications for my child at 3 seperate pharmacies. Thats just ridiculous. I'm beyond furious with her alredy.

saw us quickly. was very professional

Dr. Anita Henderson was very unprofessional during my daughter's exam. She was very rude and demeaning to me as I expressed my concerns about vaccinations. She at one point rolled her eyes at me and spoke down to me about the entire topic. I agree I am not an expert on the subject, but she could have patiently addressed my concerns instead of becoming overly sarcastic and down right rude. Also, getting an appointment here was difficult. The wait ended up not being worth it. Dr. Henderson was a disappointment, never in my life have I been treated so badly by a doctor. Usually, they are very patient, understanding and professional. Not this doctor, I felt like I was speaking to an overly sassy teenage girl rather than an MD.