Columbia Fertility - Bethesda - how bad is it?

[Anonymous]

This clinic is so convenient to me, but most of the feedback on this site is not very positive. The few positive ones seem to be bogus, especially when it comes to the one doc. in that location Abbasi. Almost like they were written by the staff. Billing issues and disorganized admin staff is the big issue. Some doctors get raves, but not the one in the Bethesda office. I couldn't find any reviews elsewhere by googling. My only other option is SG in Gaithersburg - but that is about 20 minutes away. Not to mention that reviews are all over the place for this clinic.

I am looking into doing IUIs and am not expecting anything complicated when they do the diagnostics (I hope). I had a succesful one done 3 years ago and hope that it works again.

So...would you go to a clinic that is unorganizedin the admin department, with mixed reviews on the staff, but is 5 minutes away...or would you go to one that is 20 minutes away, also with mixed reviews on the staff.

[Anonymous]

If you already have an antagonistic feeling towards a practice why would you go there (this isn't meant to be a sharp reply -just some food for thought).? To me, if I thought I would get better service at SG, I would do the extra 15 minutes of driving. FWIW, I went to Columbia (DC office with Rifka). I had a very positive experience (no real admin problems, but I also paid out of pocket, maybe different if you had to deal with insurance pre approvals), but I also think you need to feel you can trust your clinic -otherwise, you are going to add a lot of stress to the process. If you have a better gut reaction to SG, then that might be the better choice for you. In general, the feel of the two clinics is vastly different. Columbia was a better fit for me.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why you think the positive Abbasi reviews are bogus. I know people who were very happy with her. I wouldn't make either anonymous internet reviews or 15 minutes of driving the primary driver of my choice of an RE.

[Anonymous]

I got pregnant with an IUI at behtesda location. Yes, there were some issues with billing using my insurance company BUT an acquaintance had the same type of stuff happens at another place. In fact, it happens with my doctor and our pediatrician so I don't think you can totally escape this.

We used Dr. Abbasi. She was fine and straightforward. I really didn't have any issues with her although I questioneded one IUI we had that I felt was scheduled too soon (and it turned out to be a bust). But, my friend had similar issues at another clini so if you don't agree with something, it is within your rights to challenge it, which I should have done. But--she recommended I try back-to-back IUIs, which I never heard of and it worked.

Personally, you can always start with the closer one and then switch if things aren't working out.

[Anonymous]

I'm currently a patient of Dr. Abbasi's in the Bethesda office. I've only done two natural cycle iuis so far and am not pregnant, but I've had a wonderful experience with Dr. Abbasi thus far. In all honesty, I don't understand the negative reviews. My partner and I are very involved in working with her to determine the course of action we take with each cycle. Dr. Abbasi always responds to my emails within a few hours and went out of her way to make herself available for the wonky timing of one of my iuis. The office staff has been great to work with too, nurse Crystal especially.