Howard P Zahalsky, MD

I've never had a bothersome wait to see Dr. Zahalsky. The office staff is helpful -- they even printed me out an insurance card before my new insurer had a chance to mail me one which was very nice!

Dr. Z has a good bedside manner and is personable. His approach is a little more holistic than that of previous doctors I've had which I like. He always takes as much time as necessary in appointments and doesn't make me feel rushed. I get the impression that he cares about the patient experience and isn't on "auto pilot."

Just a no-nonsense no-frill good doctor.

Always liked Dr. Zahalsky.  Personable and funny.   Most importantly, he is knowledgeable.  

But over the last two years, I've gotten the sense that he is more important than the patient.  

The office doesn't seem as buttoned up as it used to be and although I have no concerns about his medical knowledge, I do have concerns about his bedside manner and his understanding of individual patient needs.

Although his front desk staff is friendly and personable and I never had to wait more than five minutes for my scheduled appointments I will not go back to visit Dr. Zahalsky, nor will I recommend him to anyone under any circumstances. After three visits, I lost all trust and confidence in his approach after he told me, on two different occasions, that I didn't have to worry about a particular issue, and only after insisting on a test he called days later to inform me that there indeed was a problem, and refered me to a specialist with whom I had to wait two months to get an appointment! Additionally, he didn't  take the time to ask specific questions or seem to be genuinely interested in my concerns. Needless to say this is unacceptable. He was one of a list of doctors recommended by my former physician who, sadly, retired last year. Again, he has lost a patient, and I am currently looking elsewhere.

Dr. Zahalsky is nice enough. He does the blood work himself, and after a few days it's easy to access your information on the online portal. The wait wasn't bad to see him.

I probably won't go back, because I wasn't a fan of how he handled the fact that I had high bp. He took my bp, noted an absurdly high number, but didn't take the time to check it again later. He ranted about "protein supplements" without any detail on the supplements or even about when I use them, which I rarely was at that point. It's possible that the high blood pressure was due to dining out about 20 times a week--I am on Yelp, after all. He didn't even ask, or let me explain my poor eating habits. I solved the issue myself by watching my sodium intake and eating more fruits and vegetable

I won't hold it against him that the two specialists he recommended were not helpful. I should have done my own research.

Dr. Zahalsky is a nice person and easy to talk to. However, I found his approach to be pretty cursory. His list of questions about my medical history at our first appointment was quite short compared to my experiences with other doctors, and I felt like it was up to me to remember everything I should mention. He was not very helpful regarding some relatively minor but bothersome issues I'm having. If you just need a doc to do blood tests, take your blood pressure, listen to your heart/lungs, and feel your glands, he's ok. If you want a more thorough internist I'd go elsewhere, as I plan to do.

Had gone to him three times.  Husband very limited mobility with neurodegenerative disease.  Presented with UTI.  Was not responding to antibiotic.  Our home health nurse called on our behalf to advocate for antibiotic change.  He told her that he does not prescribe on the weekend and were told to go to ER.  This absolutely heartless given husband's inability to walk, Zahalsky had lab results available to him, freezing temps and horrendous rain.  My husband's going out in this weather could have very easily resulted in severe illness, in addition to UTI.  Of all the people I have spoken to since this incident, there has not been one who could understand what motivated this behavior, other than he clearly was not interested in a patient who might have needs outside the norm.

Schedule mix-up today and ended up running 15 minutes late. Dr. Zahalsky not only still agreed to the appointment, he took his time to actually listen to my symptoms before counselling me. He never rushed me out even though I was the one running late. Amazing bedside manner, polite front desk staff. One of the best primary care physicians in this area for sure. I chose him because of all of his positive reviews. They are deserved.

Note that parking at his office is rather expensive ($5.00 after the first 30 minutes), so try to park on the street and walk if you can. There is street parking about a block before his office next to the general Hospital entrance (it's on a residential side street). Also note that while it's not on his website, Dr. Zahalsky accepts some types of UHC insurance, just make sure to confirm this before scheduling an appointment. Also, the paperwork for new patients is minimal which is always appreciated.

Look no further for a primary physician.

A family member is in extreme pain and this doctor will not write a prescription because it is "the weekend".  The doctor has test results from a culture and knows exactly what to prescribe.  I am writing this to try and help other people.  Do not recommend under any circumstance.

I was uneasy about finding a primary care doctor since moving to the east coast; whenever ill I would just visit the ER in hopes they could fix what ever the problem was. After 3-4 ER visits in a months time ( and a diff diagnosis each time) my husband said it was time to find a doctor. Wendy at the front desk is always very kind and can find you an appointment when in a pinch. The office is very clean and from speaking with other patients , it's very clear everyone is happy to be in Dr.Zahalsky's care. Dr.Zahalsky was able to figure out what was wrong with me within one appointment and I was feeling back to normal within a weeks time! He's also a really funny/ easy to relate to person. Very happy to have located this practice, and I look forward to continuing to use Dr. Zahalsky as my doctor. :)

A perfectly cromulent primary care physician.  Explains well, respect patient's time, and is very practical with recommendations.