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Reply to "Dr Barbara Stevens"

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[quote=Anonymous]5/10/12 poster again. I've had my daughter in Dr. Stevens' care for over 9 months now. Here's a review that I wrote for another site recently with more details, in case this helps anybody else!

MY REVIEW:

Dr. Stevens has been our infant daughter's primary physician since her first appointment a few days after birth (3/30/12). We visit at the regular intervals (2wk, 1mo, etc) as well as having had a hospital visit (jaundice immediately after birth) and a handful of after-hours calls (temperatures, and a stomach bug).

In regards to our regular visits: As I write this, my daughter is 7mo, so we've had at least 6 or 7 regularly scheduled well-baby or vaccine-related visits, and in most cases, we have been seen within 5 minutes of our scheduled appointment (note: we also have always arrived at least a few minutes early or on time.) I had *one* of these appointments where I had to wait 15-20 minutes. For these well-baby visits, I've never felt rushed, and am sure that most appointments last at least 15min (not including the Phys Asst initial weighing/measuring of baby, before Dr comes in).

Our hospital visit: I gave birth at another hospital in DC (Dr. Stevens didnt have rights there), so we didn't meet her until the baby was a few days old. Due to various risk factors (parental age/parents had jaundice at birth), baby was admitted to VHC for overnight treatment under lights. Dr. Stevens did her rounds that morning, and helped us get released as soon as possible. Note: NOT a fan of VHC itself, but the treatment did appear to clear up baby's jaundice.  After hours calls: Dr responds very quickly to these calls; in case of temp, that was post-vaccine, and (in hindsight) my over-reaction, but Dr Stevens talked me through and provided the correct acetaminophen dosage based on baby age/weight. In case of stomach bug, Dr spent at least 10-15 min going over symptoms and at-home treatment options to help me get baby to keep down some breast milk, and also scenarios in which we'd need to take baby to ER. Luckily, we were able to follow her instructions (exhausting but effective) overnight, and keep baby hydrated with small doses of breastmilk, and (as instructed) called in to set up an appointment for that next day.

Quick overview: this is a small practice with just Dr. Stevens, and her front office is run by Lisa, the only person that I've ever spoken to on the phone or seen at the front desk. In a town as transient as Arlington, VA, it is a real treat to go in to see our daughter's dr office and see the same faces, and recognize (and be recognized) by the doctor and staff.

I've overall been tremendously happy with this practice. The dr does tend to check for worst-case scenario health issues to rule those out (and I think that scares or frustrates some people in other reviews that I've read), but I am so grateful that she does this - for example, during the stomach bug scare, she made sure to palpate our baby's abdomen (I believe to check for kidney(?) pain, which could have signalled another, more significant issue??). So, this might be a negative for some people, but for this first-time mom, I'm *very* pleased with this aspect of this doctor's practice. She's very supportive of breastfeeding (although I went with information from La
Leche League or lactation consultants/experts when their/her suggestions conflicted.) She just seems tremendously knowledgeable and up to date on her education, and I find her very easy to talk to, and she seems to operate a genuinely pleasant and happy office. Parking is easy - on-street and in a lot are available (both paid), AND this is metro accessible (VA Square).

I'd given the practice a "B" rating on communication - in the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of this category, the office is an "A" (they get back to after-hours calls reliably and quickly), I have gotten used to other offices that offer online options for scheduling as well as health information, and there are NO email, or other online options for this office. As a small office, I understand they may have limits on how much money (and time) they can spend on these features, and it is a SMALL sacrifice in convenience in exchange high quality of care.[/quote]

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