Dr. Baljit Kaur Banga, MD

Here is what I observed, experienced, and probably what you as a new patient can expect. She appears to have a hidden agenda. She says one thing, it really means another. "Lets try this..." really means "This is what is going to happen" She will not tell you directly. You have to figure out over time what she really means. Your concerns will probably not have any effect on what she is going to do with you. Take it or leave it. I have tried to explain several things to her, but after my statement, the response starts with something like "Yes, but what WE want to do is..." I know that she doesn't listen, and I get the impression she thinks I am lying when I tell her the truth. To me that shows a lack of respect. Many times Dr. med approvals and lab test requests were never completed before the due date. I typically spent several hours each of the two or three "Kaiser working days" before each test or med disbursal to see if all was ready and approved. Typically the… always a problem. (Typically there was a problem that could have been averted.) I have had to return and repeat tests because the Dr. paperwork was never generated. She basically threatened not to fill the meds if I didn't return for the second test. (I had to return a whole month later after the first test, on the day before I was to pick up the meds in the morning of the next day) I was notified by her nurse 3 working days before the med due date. I asked the nurse to call and resolve the issue, Dr. Banga never took the time. 5 minutes would have done it, instead, hours of wasted time. With Dr. Banga, if something can go wrong, it probably will. Other doctors and PA's I have visited over the years do not have this problem. Lack of Dr. performance. The real agenda appears later on. Again, take it or leave it. It was necessary to spend 5 to 7 hours a month, before refill day, to try and straighten out the MESS that existed with the meds and testing. Testing required by her was 400% of recommended time intervals, Kaiser/CDC recommendations. She expects the patient to discover and request someone else to help "fix" her paperwork not performed by the due dates. "Just tell the lab person to put the specimen in the refrigerator, and contact me..." She had two months early notice to put that request in. She fails the paperwork, then threatens me before the next med dispersal date, and never apologizes or even says "oops". She will not say that she failed on any occasion, tells me to do her work, basically. No other doctor at Kaiser that I have worked with has this consistent problem. She is a definitely a world-class micro-manager. If your meds are now working in your best interests, she is going to try and change them. She has to change, modify, or disreguard all previous Dr. recommendations, medications, including "my procedures" that work very well for me. One one occasion, she did not like how the other Dr. had prescribed meds. She then insisted I go to the specialist in Bellevue to resolve our difference of opinion, "she vs. myself plus the doctors in my past at GHC". Two months later, the specialist agreed with me. As I now expect, she would not change her mind, and had the response - "Well, if that happens again, I want you to be seen first" , ie., I must go the the emergency room in Bellevue each time. This issue had been resolved in earlier years by several doctors. These were GHC doctors, including one specialist, and had been a good answer to the problem. In my opinion, her performance for me has been the worst in the 34 years I have been with Kaiser/GHC. Maybe your experience will be different. Good Luck! Kaiser/GHC to me is definitely 5 stars. I have nothing but good experiences with my clinic visits.

Great listener.