Dr. Meera Ramakrishnan, MD

1 star. If I could give zero stars I would. I have been trying since January 2026 to get a single referral from Dr. Ramakrishnan's office at First Medical Associates to Kennedy Krieger Institute — a world-class specialty clinic less than an hour away. It is now April. The referral has still not been done correctly. Let me tell you exactly what that looked like. The process is not complicated: the PCP submits a prior authorization form to my insurance (Maryland Physicians Care), receives an authorization number, and includes that number on the referral to Kennedy Krieger. Both my insurance and Kennedy Krieger confirmed this is routine — they do it with this exact insurance constantly. Kennedy Krieger told me directly that they have never encountered a PCP office that could not figure this out. Here is what First Medical Associates did instead: — Sent the first referral with the wrong codes and no authorization number. — When I called to correct it, office staff told me they did not… know how to do a prior authorization for a referral. I then spent my own time calling Kennedy Kreiger and my insurance multiple times to research the process for them. — At the office's request, I personally wrote and emailed them a detailed, step-by-step guide. I included every CPT code, every diagnosis code, the prior auth fax number, the Kennedy Kreiger fax number, the insurance portal link, and a numbered list of every step they needed to take. I did their job for them. — They sent the referral again. Still no authorization number. Still wrong. — A staff member left me a voicemail stating that their office "does not do prior authorizations for referrals." This is factually incorrect and directly contradicted by both my insurer and Kennedy Kreiger. — I forwarded my instructions again. I followed up again. I called again. I was assured it would be handled correctly this time. — Kennedy Kreiger called me on April 3, 2026 to tell me another referral arrived — still without an authorization number. — When I called the office that same day, a staff member told me the referral had been "successfully sent" to Kennedy Krieger and the gastroenterologist. There is no gastroenterologist involved. I had my appendix out weeks ago — that case is closed. They confused my active EDS referral with a completely unrelated, concluded referral from a different specialty. They also told me that in the future I should have my surgeon handle this. There is no surgeon. There has never been a surgeon involved in this referral. I have spent over five to six hours of my own time doing administrative work that is the legal and professional responsibility of this office. I have been denied access to medically necessary specialty care for three months because of their repeated, compounding errors. I am filing formal complaints with the Maryland Board of Physicians and Maryland Physicians Care, and I am filing a grievance with the Maryland Insurance Administration. If you have a straightforward medical need, maybe you will be fine here. If you are a complex patient who needs care coordination, referrals, or anyone in that office to retain basic information about your case from one phone call to the next — find another doctor. This practice is not equipped to help you. 0/10