Rizwan S. Akhtar, MD, PhD

Rizwan S. Akhtar, MD, PhD

5.0 
505 ratings  Read Reviews
Northwestern Medicine logoNorthwestern Medical Group

Primary Specialty

Movement Disorders

Is your insurance accepted? Select plan

CALL

Practice Focus Areas

This medical professional has a particular interest or expertise in:

Education

Medical Education:
MD, PhD, University of Alabama School of Medicine - 2007
Internship:
University of Alabama Medical Center - 2008
Residency:
University of Pennsylvania Health System - 2011
Fellowships:
University of Pennsylvania Health System - 2013

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology (Certified)

Faculty Profile

Assistant Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine

View Faculty Profile

Practice Groups and Affiliations

Medical Group:
Northwestern Medical Group
Alignment Category:
Northwestern Medicine Physician Network
On Medical Staff At:
Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Ratings and Reviews

At Northwestern Medicine, our patient’s feedback is important to us. While different care providers have their own unique strengths, we strive to be as transparent as possible with our quality of care.

Read Ratings FAQs

Overall Rating

5.0
5.0 

505 Ratings

Sort By Newest

Reviews from Patients

47 Reviews

Reviews from Patients

Sort By Newest
47 Reviews

April 22, 2025

5.0

Was not dismissive

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 17, 2025

5.0

Dr. Akhtar's visits are comprehensive. He explains everything clearly, and I feel confident that I am receiving the best care.

Was this helpful? Yes (1) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 17, 2025

5.0

Outstanding care

Was this helpful? Yes (1) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 08, 2025

5.0

Spends all the time I need.

Was this helpful? Yes (1) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 08, 2025

5.0

Dr. Akhtar is the best neurologist I've ever seen. I've been going to neurologist for 50 years all over the United States. Northwestern can be very proud that Dr. Akhtar is part of their staff.

Was this helpful? Yes (2) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 08, 2025

5.0

Listened and gave us options

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 04, 2025

5.0

He takes his time and presents solutions to concerns

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

April 03, 2025

5.0

He listens and answers your questions . He takes the time to make sure you understand what's going on.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 25, 2025

5.0

He cares for you and you know it.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 21, 2025

5.0

He's knowledgeable and very good with patients.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 19, 2025

5.0

Same as above. I am so grateful for Dr. Akhtar, his clinical skills, his kindness, and that he listens to me and my concerns. He explains things thoroughly using plain language- he has never talked down to me.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 13, 2025

5.0

Dr. Akhtar is an awesome doctor!! He cares a great deal about his patients, and he makes sure that I have a clear understanding of my medical care.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 11, 2025

5.0

Dr. Akhtar was very thorough and helped me make a plan for the next few months.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 10, 2025

5.0

Confidence in diagnosis

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 07, 2025

5.0

Such a great communicator. He clearly cares about educating both his fellows and his patient.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 05, 2025

5.0

he knew what my problem was

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 05, 2025

5.0

Great bedside manner, obviously knows his stuff!

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

March 01, 2025

5.0

Exactly the ideal doctor

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

February 25, 2025

5.0

As I mentioned above, I feel like he has so much knowledge and explains it well, is caring and takes his time going over any concerns I may have

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

February 23, 2025

5.0

Took time with me and very knowledgeable!

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

February 18, 2025

5.0

He is amazing. Great Dr. Spent lots of time explaining and made us feel very comfortable.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

February 10, 2025

5.0

Greatly appreciated the doctor's time and attention to my concerns.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

January 25, 2025

5.0

Nice

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

January 10, 2025

5.0

Once I saw him, he gave full and undivided attention. He apologized for the delay.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

January 09, 2025

5.0

Always Professional and listens to his patients.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 20, 2024

5.0

He is a genius in the field of movement disorder, especially Parkinson's

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 17, 2024

5.0

Takes time to listen to patient and address issues

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 13, 2024

5.0

I sincerely hope that the level of compassion and clarity that Dr. Akhtar showed in my appointment continues. His students were thorough, and he was vibrant.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 10, 2024

5.0

He is not only an awesome Dr but is an excellent listener and a truly kind soul

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 06, 2024

5.0

best dr ever??

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 06, 2024

5.0

Excelente and kind Dr. He was very honest and transparent with my conditions as well as his fellow co-worker. I am going to recomend him to all people that require a trustworthy Dr.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 06, 2024

5.0

He takes all the time necessary to answer patient and family questions in detail and makes sure they are satisfied and understand the answers. Very thorough in all aspects of diagnosis and treatment, with explanations for each step.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 05, 2024

5.0

Very thorough, knowledgeable and spends time with me.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

December 05, 2024

5.0

Explains everything. Thorough.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

November 08, 2024

5.0

Wonderful, makes you feel part of the plan.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

November 08, 2024

5.0

Very. Patient and thorough. Highly knowledgeable and very polite.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

November 03, 2024

5.0

Dr. Akhtar is largely responsible the actual diagnosis of my rare genetic disorder. Having all the symptoms of the disease for 40 years and seeing endless numbers of neurologist throughout the States, Dr. Akhtar was able to give it a name. He has assisted me in dealing with the symptoms and progression of this progressively disabling disease where there is no known treatment. (the disease was only identified in 2019 by medical research). Dr. Akhtar has supported me as a physician and clinician and additionally brings to bear his knowledge and expertise as a scientist and researcher. I've never had a visit with Dr. Akhtar has shared his discussions with other physicians and researchers about my case to get additional input and feedback.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

November 02, 2024

5.0

Felt he was actively engaged in helping me handle Parkinson's

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 25, 2024

5.0

Very knowledgeable, very professional, yet very personable. He answered all our questions, and focused on determining what could be causing my husband's condition.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 18, 2024

5.0

Dr Akhtar is very professional and knowledgeable. He gave me his undivided attention completely. He made a lot of good points that made sense.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 17, 2024

5.0

Excellent doctor and he takes the time to explain everything to the patient.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 15, 2024

5.0

Excellent doctor

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 10, 2024

5.0

I have received thoughtful, knowledgeable, and thorough treatment from Dr. Akhtar.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 10, 2024

5.0

1. The readiness of the doctor and his assistant to make a careful and complete diagnosis of the patient's ailments, monitoring of possible diseases of the nervous system. 2. Demonstrate good listening to the patient's concerns, present improvement routes and confirm understanding of the treatment 3. Resolve doubts and provide information to advance towards achieving better mental health and quality of life.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 04, 2024

4.0

Explains very well

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

October 03, 2024

5.0

I love Dr. Akhtar! He's an awesome doctor!! He cares about his patients and it's important to him that they understand the importance of their health and care.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!

September 20, 2024

5.0

I admire and feel very comfortable with Dr. Akhtar. He is personable, knowledgeable, listens and addressed my concerns and made me feel at ease during my appointment. I also like that he is familiar and spoke highly of my primary care doctor whom I also admire (Dr. Stolar), in which I now feel confident in the care I'm receiving by them.

Was this helpful? Yes (0) No (0)

Thanks for your feedback!
View more reviews

Disclosures

Rizwan S. Akhtar, MD, PhD reported no external professional relationships for calendar year 2024.

External Professional Relationships

Pharmaceutical, device, and biotechnology companies frequently collaborate with basic scientists and physicians within an academic medical center to help advance science and improve patient care. These relationships are important in achieving scientific breakthroughs and in establishing the effectiveness and safety of promising new therapies. In order to assure objectivity in clinical research and patient care, the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Feinberg), Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, Children's Hospital of Chicago Medical Center, and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab have adopted integrity policies that require research and clinical faculty (in full-time, part-time, and unpaid/voluntary categories) to report compensated and uncompensated external industry relationships. Patients are encouraged to discuss these disclosures with their physician as well as to inquire as to how these relationships are overseen by Feinberg. To learn more about our Disclosure and Professional Integrity Policy, and the conflict of interest policies of our joint affiliate survey partners, please go to our Office for Regulatory Affairs Policies page.

View More Disclosures