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Bad Experience w/ Local Dr.

Discussion in 'General Chat Forum' started by je55ica, Oct 26, 2007.

  1. je55ica

    je55ica New Member

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    I just wanted to pass along a very bad experience I had with Ashburn Medical Center (Dr. Ditaranto's office), specifically the office manager & staff. Horrible customer service and about as rude as anyone in that type of position has ever been to me. It is unfortunate that I will be moving my family out of the practice as a result, but I can't deal with that type of treatment. The Dr.'s are alright, but nothing great as far as bedside manner goes. To make a very long story short, they gave me a lot of conflicting information about getting a referral and in the end it was my insurance company (AETNA) who ended up being accomadating. Very frusterating, and I wouldn't recommend that office to anyone.
     
  2. erica

    erica New Member

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    I had a bad experience there as well and switched practices. I had gone in for a cholesteral test after having fasted all night... I found a babysitter for my kids, didn't eat breakfast, and then after waiting in the office for a half hour they told me there was a chance my insurance would not cover my tests because I hadn't scheduled the appointment as a "physical." Then, after I went home in a huff because I didn't want them to proceed if I had to pay out of pocket, they wanted to bill me for the appointment. They said they would not make me pay the bill "this one time." I haven't been back. Also, my husband called 3 times to have a doctor go over his cholesterol tests and no one ever called him back!
     
  3. joy

    joy New Member

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    Hate to chime in on this, but I tried and didn't like them either. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital ER for a night when all I originally needed was a prescription refill.
     
  4. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    I bailed on them after 3 visits. Nothing too bad tho. I certainly did feel that the office staff were VERY impersonal.
     
  5. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    we've seen Dr. Rodriguez at Broadlands Family Practice and have never had anything but top notch care and friendly reception. they just remodeled their office and it's beautiful and welcoming. Dr. R. is very thorough and leaves no stone unturned whether it's me, my husband or son's appt. I highly recommend you visit them in your search for a new GP-

    http://www.broadlandsfamilypractice.com/
     
  6. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    My family has been seeing Dr. Ditaranto for 10 years. We have been very happy there. There have been some staff members come and go that I wasn't thrilled with, but I can live with that.
    We had tried a few other Drs before settling with Dr. D. and we have been very pleased with his knowledge, skill, and personality.
    I know many, many people who would agree with my assessment. One friend relocated to West Virginia and still uses Ashburn Medical Center as their primary care facility.
     
  7. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Our family sees Dr. Cohn there and completely agree about how great it is.

     
  8. T8ergirl

    T8ergirl New Member

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    The truth is, if the office staff is not well trained and a pleasure to deal with, people leave medical practices. Regardless of how much a doctor is liked, if the administrative house is not in order, it is a problem. I ran a medical practice for 7 years and I would say that Dr. Ditaranto's staff is typical. That is--not very good. Not friendly at all--even if you've been going there for years they act like they've no idea who you are. There is no "welcome back, how have you been?"--nothing. Just the same old "sign in and sit down" drill. Its ugly and its not what patients want. Also, I found them to be somewhat disorganized --but again, typical. We have never seen Dr. D himself. We used to see one of the associate physicans whose name escapes me at this point. He was pretty good--I liked him. But he moved back to Toronto. He was replaced by a female asian doctor whose name also escapes me. She's the reason we left. I went to see her once with a run of the mill acne breakout. I've had intermittent acne all my life and all I needed was some tetracylcline and a topical antibiotic, which I suggested. She refused to give me anything and told me to go to a dermatologist. THANKS. Not what I want or expect from a family physician faced with a simple medical condition. A few months later T8erman went to see her with a swollen lymph node in his neck that was freaking him out (aging and mortality issues--what can i say!) She palpated it and said he needed a CT scan to rule out a tumor. WHAAAAAAAT???? How 'bout a CBC and a few questions about how you've been feeling? How 'bout its just a swollen lymph node? JEEEEZ. Definitely this is a doctor who doesn't want to do much. The suspected tumor was gone 2 weeks later. That was the end of it for us at that practice.
     
  9. JLC

    JLC Member

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    Dr. Lee (the Asian woman) is also the reason I switched to Broadlands Family Practice.
     
  10. Buffettbassman

    Buffettbassman Troll Extrordinare'

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    My wife had several bad experiences with Dr. D as well. I use Broadland's family Practice and that's one of the best run practices I've ever seen.

    C
     
  11. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    I second that. I've seen Dr. Cohn at Broadlands Family Practice a few times, most recently for a very serious burn on my hand. After contacting a few 'burn specialists' who were 'too busy' to see me, Dr. Cohn's office took me in the very next day. He was great and extremely personable, like talking to a friend over a beer.

    If anything, I would say to give his office a try; I would highly recommend him.
     
  12. mckmak23

    mckmak23 New Member

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    My husband and I also see Dr. Cohn. Fabulous doctor! I saw him a few weeks ago for a terrible neck/back issue. He treated me for the pain and I was feeling better before I even left the office. It still took a week to heal, but I followed doctor's orders and have been fine since.

    Broadlands Family Practice as a whole is great - from doctors to nurses to staff.

    I couldn't be happier with them.
    Karen
     
  13. gb10

    gb10 General Lurker

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    He was Dr. Kolpilai (sp?) and he was very good. Dr. D was very sorry to see him go and so was my family. If you haven't seen Dr. D himself, Dr. K's demeanor is comparable to Dr. D's rather than this female asian Dr. In fact, we saw her last week about my daughter nad weren't particularly thrilled with her manner and how she handled things either.

    But, I have to come to Dr. D's defense because he himself is an EXCELLENT doctor. I could tell story after story of his diagnoses and his bedside manner but I won't drone on in an online forum. You couldn't pay us to leave his practice after everything he's done for us. The trouble, admitedly, is getting in to see him. He is very busy, very in demand, and very active in the local and medical community.
     
  14. joy

    joy New Member

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    To clarify, my experience was also not with Dr. Ditaranto himself. It was with the female Dr. and the physician's assistant. I was told Dr. D was monumentally unavailable.
     
  15. whitney1125

    whitney1125 New Member

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    My experience with Ashburn Medical was similar to stories I've read here. I saw Dr. Lee for a physical, and her bedside manner was lacking to say the least. She was in for less than 5 minutes, when I had waited for over an hour.

    Then the trouble began with their billing department. They never filed the claim to my insurance, then said they needed the information again. I received a bill every month for $750, and each time called them so they could tell me that my insurance was denied. I asked for the paperwork to prove it, they won't send it. I called the insurance company, and they said a claim had never been filed, much less denied. They cannot pay for a claim that has never been filed. So now I am stuck with this bill for $750, since my husband switched jobs and now has new insurance. The office still wants their money, and the insurance has no desire to pay on something they no longer are required to deal with.:censored:
     
  16. Sunny

    Sunny Chief Advisor

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    you were covered on the date of service. have the billing dept at the dr. call the ins. company with you on a conference call and work it out. the mistake is not yours to deal with and you payed to be covered during that period.
     
  17. jjenkins

    jjenkins New Member

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    Ditto - the entire office there seems to be very professional - while making you feel at ease.
     
  18. joy

    joy New Member

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    I very much liked Dr. Cohn's office too. Unfortunately, I switched insurance and they aren't on the Aetna HMO plans. That's how I ended up with Dr. Luong. I use the Nova Medical Office on Beaumeade now. No problems so far.
     
  19. TONYG49

    TONYG49 New Member

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    Re: Good Experience w/ Local Dr.

    Our Family and more than half of our block sees Dr. Ditaranto and his staff. They have always been good to us. From what we've heard, people are on a waiting list to see him. What other office gets their patients appts with specialists so they can get in right away and also gets them appts for Cat scans and MRI's etc.....no other place does.....but Dr. Ditaranto's office always lends a helping hand. We will never switch practices.
     
  20. cindyb

    cindyb New Member

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    Re: Good Experience w/ Local Dr.


    That certainly hasn't happened for us at Ditaranto's office. It was recommended that my husband start taking cholesterol medication. After he did, he started having leg cramps pretty seriously. He called their office and the Dr. told him it was no big deal, to stay on the medication anyway. I did a little more research on the medication and found that the muscle cramps were a sign that he was having muscle damage. This muscle damage could include damaging the heart. He went and had a blood test and sure enough, he was having some pretty decent muscle damage from the medication.
     

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