Dr. Luca Jones, MD

While in ER for heart palpitations, this doctor performed a History & Exam on me. I was honest about my alcohol usage which yes, had increased in the last couple of weeks due to new home purchase/fixing up/moving stress - increased as in a drink or 2 per night vs a more typical for me, drink or 2 on weekends only - AND this drink consisted of Costco Ready-to-Drink Margarita. As she was taking notes, she said "8 oz of hard liquor per night." I attempted to correct her, as a serving of pre-made margarita is NOT 8 oz of hard liquor PLUS I drank it over ice so it was also somewhat diluted! She stopped, looked at me and then reiterated as she was writing "so, 8 oz of hard liquor per night". During the exam, she informed me that alcohol is toxic to the heart, which I said I didn't know and therefore I have no problem cutting it out to which she responded that I should slowly back off alcohol and not cut out all at once. As it was 4:30 am & I had hardly slept all night, I did not immediately… realize that she was pre-disposed to believing I was an alcoholic. It was not until 3 days later as I am reviewing my chart that I see that her notes say: - "Heavy Alcohol Use" - "Consider referral to addiction medicine as outpatient" - "Alcohol/week: 35.0 standard drinks" - "Types: 35 Shots of liquor per week" - "Comment: 8 oz hard liquor nightly" By the way, I had 2 servings of this margarita immediately prior to being seen in ER and my Ethanol level on labs show 25 mg/dL which is a Blood Alcohol Level of .02%...far below the legal limit of intoxication and CONSISTENT with what I relayed to her and what she supposedly reviewed on lab results. In addition, an average margarita serving contains 2 oz or 1.33 shots of hard liquor....not even near the amount she put on my chart notes!!! I am quite upset, to say the least, and wish there was a way to make a notation in my chart disputing her notes as this is now in my medical records.

I have had the opportunity to be seen by Dr. Krendel at least a half dozen times, and each time she made me feel like a close friend who was sincerely interested in my health and well being. She is very knowledgeable, super attentive and it is a pleasure to visit her each time. A consummate professional who is passionate about her craft. 5 STARS!

Went to see Doctor Krendel for a routine visit, and she followed up a week later with a phone call to check on me. I’ve never had that happen before! She also apologized quite a bit for me having to wait 10 minutes in the exam room.