Dr. Barbara Ann Mcintosh, MD

Dr. Mcintosh IS a very good doctor, but she doesn't bring her best self to the office very often anymore. She rarely does blood work unless the medication she's prescribing requires it. She refuses to listen to new symptoms- whatever you walk in with, that's the only disease you can ever have. One of her favorite lines since Covid is, "I'm treating you for (fill in the blank)." New symptoms couldn't be caused by anything related to her specialty - she'll just let you ride the medical merry-go-round endlessly. Unless you're showing an obvious physical symptom, you're fine. Autoimmune diseases tend not to travel alone. Dr. McIntosh refuses to consider that a new issue could be developing (and if it is, you have to see any other doctor but her). At one visit I brought in some research that suggested that an issue I have had for more than 10 years could be caused by something happening in the nerves. She raised her voice and told me firmly that the disease only affects the muscles in no… uncertain terms. Two appointments later, she told me that the disorder was caused by the thing I had suggested earlier that she smacked down without hesitation. She doesn't care for well informed or complex patients. I believe that the problem is that her patient load is far too high, she hasn't invested in new technology since Bill Gates was young, and she's extremely understaffed. The staff doesn't turn over much and they're nice, but there's only so much a person can do. Her computers are so old that the enormous monitors have yellowed. Until recently, she came into exam rooms with nothing but a sticky note with the medications she's giving you on it, then scratched each off as she asked about them. The sticky notes have disappeared and haven't been replaced. Dr. McIntosh is a good doctor, but it seems like she simply cannot provide personal, compassionate care because she's so busy. I never walk away from her office feeling I have been heard or truly seen. I am significantly worse off than I was when I began seeing her years ago, but I feel like I am just a piece of work she needs to get through. I don't feel the doctor cares about me at all and if I stopped coming in she would never miss me. That's a shame because I began seeing her because she was so much more compassionate than my previous Rheumatologist.