Experience at GW?

[Nvam]

I had to schedule two+ months in advance to get an initial appointment at GW and I’m starting to wonder if this is a sign of how it will be as an established patient. What are your experiences there? Is it hard to get in touch with someone? I had to leave messages on the appointment line since no one ever seemed to answer.

[Anonymous]

As a patient you do not have to wait this long, though I had to make an appointment post failed cycle and the earliest one was three weeks out. On the other hand, during the cycle I had some very time-sensitive questions that I only wanted to discuss with the doc and my nurse arranged for her (Dr Humm) to call same day amid a really hectic day for her (doc). I also initially had a hard time getting through to a human when choosing the new patient option, but I got someone right away when I selected returning or have a question for the nurse options. And Dr Frankfurter has longer waiting periods from what I understand. Finally, I'd say the wait is worth it, I have found the practice to be really top notch. For example, from their website: "We were the first IVF center in the Washington DC metropolitan area and, in 1987, the first to achieve a live birth through IVF. We were the first to perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and first to offer blastocyst embryo transfer."

[Anonymous]

The appointment canned hotline thing is new (like within the last few months) probably because of the volume of new patients. IF you want to speak to a human, press 0 or stay on the line.

Overall I've found their responsiveness pretty good; it's a small practice so you might not get the same cookie-cutter but expedient service you might get elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Nvam wrote:I had to schedule two+ months in advance to get an initial appointment at GW and I’m starting to wonder if this is a sign of how it will be as an established patient. What are your experiences there? Is it hard to get in touch with someone? I had to leave messages on the appointment line since no one ever seemed to answer.

Great experience at GW, a couple of years ago. They were very patient-oriented, each protocol was planned/customized carefully.

[Anonymous]

I found that after the initial wait, things moved much more quickly. After I had a failed cycle, they gave me some nonsense about a 3-4 week wait for the next appt. I emailed Dr. Lalawani directly and she got me in that week.

[Anonymous]

It took me 2 weeks for them to call me back with an appt time. I ended up meeting with two other clinics in the meantime and went somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

After your first appointment it is much easier to get in. There was one time where they could not schedule me in a timely manner (I needed to get in before the end of the calendar year for insurance reasons) for a follow up appointment, and I emailed my doctor directly and he took care of getting me in. I had a wonderful experience at GW. I found the doctors and nurses to be generally very kind, helpful and responsive.

[Anonymous]

I will echo what others have said...long wait to get that initial appointment but they are well worth the wait. I found the practice to be very responsive and they helped me get pregnant with both of our children. I especially appreciated Dr. Frankfurter's communication - he called me a couple of times after I had a m/c to see how I was feeling and was very sympathetic.