Dr. Vaani Liepold Jegapragasan, MD

Dr J was my first and only rheumatologist so I did not realize that I had struck gold when my primary sent me to her. I have been her patient for almost a year and have seen her about 6 times. Her breath of knowledge is outstanding and she is willing to explore holistic care. She is also a great teacher and explained my labs and treatment plan. She has a calm but upbeat demeanor and I enjoy my visits with her. Who says that about there doctor? Since she left I have had ttransfer to someone else who dismisses my concerns and lacks empathy. I am writing this review in the hopes that Dr J reads it and gets back to practicing rheumatology. I never told her how much I appreciated her care. Miss her so much! Hope she is well.

I have seen many rheumatologists in the 20+ years I have been dealing with mctd, and Dr J is by far the the best rheumatologist that I have seen. I don't typically write reviews but felt compelled to write this as I was blown away by her professionalism and genuine care for her patients. This is the first time that someone actually took the time to review my chart before the visit, and spent time reviewing my diagnosis and treatment plan with me. She spends the time needed even though I know she is pressured by the system to churn out patients every 15 minutes (I worked in healthcare). I am very involved in my care and ask a lot of questions. I appreciate that she answered the questions to my satisfaction. I have had other rheumatologists be dismissive and become inpatient but at the end of the day, it is my health that is at stake. So glad to have found her! The rheumatologists at Allina don't stay for too long, and there is a huge turnover but I hope she stays. If she leaves, you bet… I will be following her!!! She is the gem of Allina.

Dr. Jegapragasan spent the first 15 min. venting about her scheduling staff scheduling me for a virtual visit. Then, telling me she was dropping my HCQ medicine down to the amount for someone who weighed 30 lbs. less than me. She explained her calculation, and said she wasn't going to use the scientific requirement because her new prescription was "a round number" which would be easier for me to comprehend. I am a Math major, so not sure why she thinks I cannot divide or multiply. She also didn't want to hear about a recent SLE flare up, that others had told me I needed to be seen for as an urgent issue. She then ordered lab work, but even after a week never posted it so I could view it. In short, I do not trust her decisions, her follow-up is non-existent. When a patient does everything they are supposed to be doing, they do not deserve this poor level of Rheumatology care. I will say that her nurse is very professional, efficient and documents well.