Dr. Prithvi Nambalat Shankar, MD

My mother started seeing him when she moved into the area. I kept going with her to her appointments, as I was trying to advocate for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. I would take a list of the things that she was doing that didn’t make sense. I know he didn’t know her in her more capable state, and we should have gone for a second opinion with someone who knew Alzheimer’s better. Dr. Shankar would tell me, “We can’t know that someone has Alzheimer’s unless they’ve had an autopsy.” So I would ask, if we couldn’t try a medication. He “misdiagnosed her” with both depression and anxiety, which she had both of, as she was losing her faculties, becoming confused, and falling constantly due to the fact that she was losing the ability to know how to balance/walk, etc.—all of these things that I was reporting to Dr. Shankar. I have held onto this anger for years, as she last saw him in 2009, when she fell and had to be resuscitated. He told my brother glibly in the hospital after she got out of the… ICU “Welcome to the world of dementia.” She only lasted another 18 months (and we chose not to see Dr. Shankar again), with a massive amount of falls and CT scans (headaches from possible brain cancer due to the scans) and finally passed not even being able to swallow, due to the Alzheimer’s. I heard later, on getting her a different doctor that many patients with Alzheimer’s had been misdiagnosed with the depression and anxiety, but for Dr. Shankar to not think to refer me to another doctor who knew more about Alzheimer’s was unconscionable. I brought her closer to my home and that doctor gave her a memory test and added another medication which gave her more of her former vocabulary she’d lost, but it was too little too late. It took me nearly 8 years to write this, as I was very angry with him. I hope he’s better at listening when there is an advocate giving him a lot of useful information.

My parents went to Dr. Shankar for over 10 years, and I have been going to him for almost 10 years. I have complete confidence in him.

Dr Shankar is an excellent Dr. However his staff is very childish & likes to play games. Dr Shankar, fire you immature girls on your staff & you would have a great review. Very unprofessional female staff.

Great doctor great service Thanks dr S.

Dr. Shankar has been my primary physician for many years. He has been one of the best doctors I have ever dealt with. He has a vast amount of knowledge, a very good bedside manner, (when I am talking with him I feel has all the time needed to answer questions and offer advice), and refers me to very good doctors.

I think his bed side manner is In need of improvement. When he leaves on vacation, he asked Dr. Dias to take on his patients, this doctor has no business in practice. Rude and thinks his opinion is the only one that counts. Both of these doctors see my mother and declared her to be in good health, two weeks later she passed and Dr. Shankar did not even have the curtesy or courage to call. I dropped him as my family Doctor immediately .