Dr. Richard Hai Dohn, MD

Background info: Father has never had a PCP before, new to medications, and had to go to ER to have his blood pressure controlled due to a severe illness. The medication they used in the ER to control his blood pressure weren’t first line options (per ACC/AHA) for everyday use, especially for elderly patients (look up anticholinergic side effects), but are perfectly fine for quick emergency situations or long-term treatment use for certain patient populations/allergies. They selected those particular (blood pressure) meds in the ER possibly because the medication was cheaper for the hospital to purchase in addition to being very potent for rapid control. Fast forward post-discharge from the ER, my father was transferred to the care of Dr. Dohn as his PCP. I spoke with Dr. Dohn wondering why he didn’t change my father's blood pressure meds to the preferred/1st line drug regimen options that the ACC/AHA guidelines recommended after discharge. According to him via direct call over the… phone, there was NO reason why he didn’t change the meds to the first line options… he just received the patient with those medications from the ER. He even checked w/ notes from the ER for reasons why they picked that particular blood pressure med, and confirmed that that medication was just what the ER used per protocol, nothing patient-specific. (Note: This medication is not recommended for elderly patients due to (anticholinergic) side effects among other things.) This tells me this doctor has so much on his plate that he would rather not have something else on his plate to actively manage/monitor (such as blood pressure) since he’s already so busy. He isn't listening to family concerns, possibly even unaware of the latest ACC/AHA guideline updates. I request again that he change the medication regimen during my father's first follow-up appointment, and with a smug tone, he says “I don’t want to change the medication. He’s doing well on it”. It felt like he stuck with his choice to not change the medications to prove his authority. In medicine, leave your ego at home and remember the responsibilities of a doctor. I'm trying to speak to him as a concerned family member, nothing more. Other notes: His office last minute cancelled our appointment when we waited 4 weeks for it, and on the day of the rescheduled appointment, they called us about Dr. Dohn being out of our insurance network… Overall, I had the impression that he wasn’t motivated to provide the best for my father. On a plus side, he’s sociable and will joke with family lots to make you feel happy.

Dr. Dohn has been attentive and caring. He has a great bedside manner, good listening skills and is available when needed. We will miss Dr. Dohn!