I recently saw Dr. Babkes for back pain. I received a very thorough exam and everything was explained clearly. I appreciate the fact Dr. Babkes took the time to explain things to me and referred me to physical therapy. PT has made a tremendous difference and I was able to avoid taking medications. The front desk staff was helpful, but also very kind. That kindness was conveyed through the entire process.

Submitted April 29, 2019

Dr. Babkes is a wonderful doctor. I first visited him three years ago. He correctly diagnosed my problem & prescribed the medicine which has since managed my illness. Dr. Babkes is knowledgeable, thorough, polite & very helpful. After moving from MD to VA, I kept visiting Dr. Babkes. This year, my employer switched health insurers, & the new plan only covers doctors in VA. The previous plan had covered Dr. Babkes. It didn't occur to me that the new one might not. When I went to my most recent appointment & informed the receptionists of my changed insurance, they discovered that Dr. Babkes was "out of network"; I'd have to pay out-of-pocket. When Dr. Babkes learned of the problem, he immediately offered to see me AT NO COST! He examined me, renewed my prescriptions & advised me on finding a neurologist in VA. I am very grateful to Dr. Babkes for generously helping when I had made a foolish mistake. He is helpful & caring, plus experienced & competent. I strongly recommend Dr. Babkes!

Submitted April 28, 2019

Rude and dismissive. I felt he talked down to me and did not take my concerns or personal knowledge seriously. Some patients are intelligent and thoughtful and have valid concerns and do not need to be lectured like children. Completely unhelpful.

Submitted Dec. 18, 2018

My visit with Dr. Babkes was a very positive experience. He gave me a thorough exam and spent a great deal of time with me. He was extremely patient, kind, and made sure I fully understood his diagnosis, my options, and his instructions. He is a great doctor and he has an excellent and reassuring bedside manner. I highly recommend him.

Submitted Sept. 16, 2018

I misplaced my medical card. I offered to come back in morning with $40 copay. They refused & said they would add a large fee for a "no show" appointment. My husband was able to send me medical card # over the phone. The receptionist told the doctor. He was rude & gave me bad news , but refused to explain . My appointment was 2 minutes & he told me nuero-surgeon would explain & don't come back to his office. Obviously motivated by the almighty dollar. Cold , no bedside manner.

Submitted Nov. 7, 2017

My appointment started close to on time which was nice. Dr. Babkes spent about 10 minutes with me, which seemed like not enough time. It seemed like the entire time he just wanted me to hurry up and leave. I tried to explain side effects I had from other Rx's, when my pain occurs, etc. So he prescribed me a medication and it has given me horrible, horrible side effects. Once I did some extensive research on the Rx, I am confused to why this was ever even prescribed to me. When he finally called me back to discuss my bad side effects, he tried to shove me onto another drug without listening to me. When I declined that drug (I was researching it while on the phone with him) he got very upset and suggested that I just take Excedrin from now on.

Submitted March 1, 2017

I have been treated by Dr. Babkes for 30 years. He has provided excellent care and is extremely compassionate. I urge readers to disregard fake reviews that suggest otherwise.

Submitted Feb. 21, 2017

Dr Babkes in the two interactions I experienced with him over the phone today, impressed me as a highly impatient, rude, individual who lacked empathy for me as a patient and curiously for someone who took the Hypocratic oath, displayed a complete inability to communicate effectively, kindly, and rationally when asked questions related to my test
results and recommended follow up based on those results. Professionalism in my opinion goes way beyond so called stated accollades and titles. Drs. who display care and a love for
the profession of doctoring even on a bad day, like most professionals try to at least show respect and courteous behaviour towards the people with whom they are working. I value and appreciate that kind of humanity.

Submitted June 19, 2015

Unfortunately, i am not able to select .5 stars for this doctor. I was under the impression that most individuals who become doctors do so because they care about people and their patients. This is COMPLETELY the opposite case when it comes with Dr. Richard Babkes. He actually yelled at me one time when i had to call his after hours line because my pharmacy told me that i had run out of refills and needed to contact my dr to have a new prescription written. I had run out of meds, so I had to call instead of waiting until regular business hours. But i thought that the after hours line was for AFTER HOUR emergencies???
So that's just one of many really bad experiences that I've had with him. Another is that he doesn't keep good records. Everytime i change jobs, the new insurance company requires that the doctor send over documentation to prove that i require the name brand version of the medication instead of the generics. He didn't remember that i had already tried the generic (as one of his patients) so he essentially said that he couldn't help me, and that I either had to take the generic or pay the $1000/month that the insurance company would force me to pay. Well needless to say that it resulted in VERY poor results when i took the generic, so he eventually wrote the required note to the insurance company so that i could take the name brand only. So fast forward 2 years and i change insurance companies again and what do you know...he does it again. No response from him when i tell him that i'm out of meds and the new insurance company is waiting on him to send documentation. I made several calls and received no response from him so i went to his office and got a history of my information from his secretary and let him know that I will be getting a new neurologist. Did he care. Nope. I guess he already knew that the chances of me being able to find a new neurologist within the next month or so was little to none (which i found out the next day)....especially since I was still out of meds. So i called him back the next day to kindly ask if he would still call the insurance company because i am still out of meds. His response was...actually, the response that he gave his secretary to tell me (because he wasn't even man enough to call me himself), was to tell your new Neurologist to call them. Wow...tell me that's not something you're 13 year old daughter would say to you (opposed to someone who is supposed to be a professional). Again...these are only a few of the childish, and unprofessional experiences that I've had with this doctor. Simply put...if you're looking for a GOOD doctor...look somewhere else.

Submitted Feb. 26, 2015

Excellent staff. not terribly impressed with Dr. Babkes's people skills or diagnostic skills. He is probably a very nice man but not as my doctor.

Submitted Feb. 9, 2015