Best Indian Doctors in Richmond (2026)

TL;DR

Richmond has a substantial roster of Indian and South Asian physicians — at VCU Health, Bon Secours, and community clinics across the city. This guide names them, maps them to their practice locations, and walks through how to find the right cultural and clinical fit for your healthcare needs. 🩺

Healthcare is personal. For many Indian and South Asian patients in Richmond, finding a physician who shares cultural context — who understands dietary habits built around rice and dal, joint-family decision-making around serious diagnoses, the discomfort that sometimes comes with certain health conversations, or who simply speaks Hindi or Gujarati or Telugu — is a practical consideration, not a sentimental one.

Richmond's Indian and Desi physician community is larger than it might appear from the outside. It is concentrated heavily in the city's academic medical system, with a secondary presence in community clinics and outpatient practices. This guide maps that community.

Indian Physicians at Richmond's Major Health Systems

Richmond's healthcare anchors are VCU Health (Virginia Commonwealth University Health System), with its flagship academic medical center on the Medical College of Virginia campus, and Bon Secours Richmond Health System, operating across several campuses. These two systems account for a large share of Richmond's Indian-origin physician population.

At the Broad Rock Boulevard campus, a major Richmond medical facility, several Indian-origin physicians practice. Dr. Rahul Ahuja, Dr. Nilang Patel, Dr. Ruchir Shah, and Dr. Ehsan Khan are all based at this location. Dr. Tangada Rao also sees patients at the same campus.

The VCU Health network's Medical College of Virginia facilities — along East Leigh Street, East Marshall Street, and North 11th Street — hold a concentrated set of Indian and South Asian physicians. Dr. Nikhil Ailaney is at the East Leigh Street location. Dr. Vishal Aggroia and Dr. Ketan Verma practice at the North 11th Street address. Dr. Shrina Desai is also based at North 11th Street. Dr. Dhiren Kumar, Dr. Surbhi Bansal, and Dr. Madhu Gowda practice at East Marshall Street. Dr. Sudeep Pandey sees patients at the East Marshall Street academic campus as well. Dr. Prabhat Kumar is affiliated with the VCU Health system.

At Bon Secours' Bremo Road facility, Dr. Jasvinder Dhillon practices. Dr. Seerut Dhillon is based at a North 2nd Street location within the broader network.

At community and outpatient settings across Richmond: Dr. Salman Akbar is based at a Forest Hill Avenue practice. Dr. Joy Sharma practices on Shrader Road. Dr. Shubha Bhat sees patients at a Hull Street Road location. Dr. Shravan Kumar practices at the Jahnke Road facility.

Insider Tip: VCU Health's academic medical center involves residents and students in patient care. If you prefer a solo attending physician with less rotation through your care team, ask about community-based VCU Health practices — they share the network but have a different clinical environment than the teaching hospital floors.

How to Find the Right Indian/Desi Doctor in Richmond

Matching by cultural background is useful but it is the beginning of the selection process, not the end. Here is a practical framework for narrowing it down:

Insurance and network first. VCU Health and Bon Secours accept different insurance plans, and physician billing at an academic medical center differs from a community clinic. Before scheduling, confirm your prospective physician accepts your specific plan and that the facility is in-network. A wrong assumption here creates billing headaches later.

Match by specialty. The physicians named above practice across multiple specialties — internal medicine, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, surgery, psychiatry, and others depending on department affiliation. Identify what type of care you need, then look for Indian-origin physicians in that specialty within the system. The VCU Health and Bon Secours provider directories, searchable by name and specialty, are the most reliable tools for this.

Language access. Many Indian physicians in Richmond are conversational or fluent in Hindi, Gujarati, Telugu, Punjabi, or other South Asian languages. If language matters for your care — for yourself or for a family member — it is worth asking directly when you call to schedule. Most practices can tell you a physician's language background before the appointment.

Patient portal and communication. Both VCU Health and Bon Secours offer patient portals for managing appointments, reviewing results, and messaging care teams. Confirm whether your prospective physician's practice is integrated into the portal system before committing — this affects how you communicate between visits.

The Desi Physician Community in Richmond

The Indian and South Asian physician community in Richmond is not just a list of names in a directory. Many of these doctors live in the same neighborhoods, attend the same cultural events, and participate in the same mandir or cultural association communities as their South Asian patients. That proximity matters.

It means informal referral networks exist within this community. An Indian physician who knows their colleagues personally can often point a patient toward the right specialist more efficiently than a purely administrative referral. The cluster of Indian physicians at VCU Health's academic medical center in particular forms an informal professional network that can be navigated with the help of a good primary care relationship.

Richmond's South Asian community has grown steadily over the past two decades. The medical presence of Indian-origin physicians mirrors that growth — there are more of them now across more specialties and more facilities than a decade ago.

FAQ

How do I find a specific doctor's specialty? Look up the physician's name in the VCU Health or Bon Secours provider directories online. Both list specialty, clinical location, and accepted insurance.

Are the doctors listed here accepting new patients? Not necessarily — patient panels open and close regularly at academic medical centers. Call the practice directly to check availability before assuming.

What if I need a South Asian doctor in a specialty not represented here? The broader Richmond metro — including Henrico and Chesterfield counties — has additional Indian-origin physicians across a wider range of specialties. A search in the VCU Health or Bon Secours directories filtered by location and specialty will surface options beyond the list above.

Can I see an Indian doctor at an urgent care in Richmond? Indian physicians also staff Richmond's urgent care centers, though specific physician availability changes by shift. A dedicated primary care relationship with a physician you know is more reliable for consistent, culturally informed care.

What interpreter services are available at Richmond hospitals? Both VCU Health and Bon Secours offer professional interpreter services for patients who need them. That said, a physician who shares your language directly provides better continuity than working through an interpreter for complex or ongoing medical issues.

Bottom Line 💊

Richmond has a real and growing Indian/Desi physician community, concentrated in VCU Health and Bon Secours networks. From Dr. Joy Sharma on Shrader Road to Dr. Nikhil Ailaney at the East Leigh Street campus to Dr. Jasvinder Dhillon at Bremo Road, there are Indian-origin physicians practicing across the city and across specialties. Match by insurance and clinical need first, cultural fit second — and ask about language preference when you call.