Gynecologic Specialists of Northwestern

Have you ever been completely betrayed by someone? A betrayal so incomprehensible that it makes it difficult to breathe? That describes my recent office visit to Dr. Snow.
I have never posted anything to Unilocal before. But the serious breach of trust I experienced was so disturbing that I felt compelled to post a public warning.
Shari Snow has been my doctor for over 12 years. I trusted her. I believed she cared about me.
She listened to me and seemed genuinely concerned about my wellbeing. She was a rock for me through an illness that resulted in her performing urgent surgery. It was terrifying and she got me through it with grace. I was and remain truly grateful for that.
Her office staff on the other hand is rude, dismissive and condescending — consistently over all those years. They are completely unorganized. Scheduling an appointment, dealing with insurance or test results is a nightmare with them. But I overlooked it to see her, my trusted doctor.
Since the surgery, I am on medication. She renews my prescription every year after my annual exam. Every year I have the same problem. The prescription unknowingly expires — no expiration date — no warning, no notice — the pharmacy calls unable to fill it precisely when I need it because insurance will not refill prescriptions in advance. I call her office, they refuse to refill it until I come in for an exam. I have no issue coming in for an annual exam, happy to do it. But they handle it so badly that you literally feel held hostage for your required medication. With a crazy busy schedule, it is extremely stressful and frustrating. And completely avoidable. Every year I complain and plead for a call, mail a notice, text, email, anything. Nothing. They claim they send notice, ‘it must have gone to spam’. No, I checked. Or they insist they called. Who did they speak to? Not me. No message. They are rude and completely unsympathetic knowing that you need medication. Every year I tell Dr Snow and express frustration at the unnecessary stress. Certainly there must be some way to coordinate notice with patients. She says she will speak to the office manager. Every year. And I overlooked it. This year, once again call from pharmacy, can’t fill prescription, office won’t refill it, I try to schedule an appointment but her schedule is full until 2 weeks after I run out of medication. Completely rude office nurse says she supposes she will have to provide a temporary refill to get me to the appointment but then threatens me stating ‘if you don’t show up, too bad, no more refills’.
Which gets me to my recent appointment. I take a half day off of work, it takes an hour to get there, it is inconveniently located. Walk in, asked for my insurance card — same insurance for years — and am promptly told that they changed their affiliation to a different hospital three days ago and they do not accept my insurance and can no longer treat me. There are two major insurance companies in Illinois, I am covered by one of them, not some unknown fly by night insurance. What?! She tells me that there have been a ‘few kinks’ in the transition. This is not a kink, this is refusal to provide healthcare! I am stunned, not knowing what to say. I ask why they didn’t notify me before I took time off work to show up? I am told they sent a notice. But I didn’t receive a notice. ‘It must have gone to your spam.’ You always say that! Dr Snow appears from around the corner. She says ‘it is unfortunate’ but she would happily refer me to another doctor. Really? I ask about my medication. She offers to provide a temporary refill for a month to give me time to find another doctor. I want the refill — for required medication! And for more than one month! On my way out she actually scolded me for not thanking her for refilling my prescription — for required medication! Seriously?
This is someone I literally trusted with my life. Today I was reduced to a kink in her new business plan and kicked to the curb without a second thought.
I get that our healthcare system is broken. Something may have forced this change on her. But it is the callous disregard with which this was handled that made me suddenly realize that all along her completely disrespectful office staff is a direct extension of her.
I own my own business. I chose to own my business to have some control over the work that I do. Circumstances arise that can interfere with that. I get it. But my business has survived and thrived because of long term clients who return because they know I care about them. If something prevented me from rendering service to any of them, I would personally reach out myself to explain and provide assistance in that transition. We don’t have control over everything, but we always have control over how we choose to deal with it.
Dr Snow does not deserve your trust. Your care is not her priority. And because it is what she cares most about, she certainly does not deserve your business.

Dr. Snow, at Gynecologic Specialists of Chicago has been my gynecologist for over eight years. While I enjoy having such a highly specialized and accomplished doctor, the office staff are something to be desired. I went in today for my annual check up, only to be informed that the office stopped taking my insurance (Humana); effective June 9. They notified me that a letter went out on June 9. My appointment was today, June 14 and upon returning home, my mailbox did not contain said letter. The hour long commute and parking fee could have been easily avoided had I known this information. The office administrator should have personally called anyone that had an appointment near to the cut off date/​insurance change. This entire situation is very unfortunate and on top of all of this, I now need to find a new doctor.

This is business, not an patient-​care oriented establishment. I was given the wrong tests when I came in for my annual, overcharged; accounts-​recievable took over a month to issue me a check and 16 days to send my details to insurance– I was told this was because someone was on vacation.
This was not just one incident of unprofessionalism. I have been coming to this office for two years now and within the last 6 months I came in for three visits, all of which lacked attention and results. I am taking my health and business to a different physician now. I highly recommend you take your health and wellness elsewhere.

Let me start out by saying, yay I’m reviewing my Gyno. So like that’s where we’re at. I really like Dr. Beyer. I’ve been seeing her for a year and a half and she’s sharp. She’s incredibly intelligent and offers real tangible advice on any issue presented to her. If what you’re looking for is a doctor who small talks and mingles in excess, she’s probably not for you. If what you want in a doctor is someone who enjoys problem solving and is sharp as a whip– Dr. Beyer is the best in the city. I’ve never waited long to see her (max 10 minutes) nor have I been in the room longer than 40 minutes so it’s incredibly quick but comprehensive at the same time.

I’ve seen Dr. Blumenthal twice. Both visits were very rushed and I felt that she did not care or listen to my concerns. November 13^th, 2015 I had an IUD placed. On the day of the placement nothing was really explained to me before insertion. Dr. Blumenthal tried to get me to change the IUD I was having inserted right before the procedure to another kind. I had already done research on the one I was having placed and thought it strange for her to try and change my mind moments before the procedure. I also asked to have my annual exam at this time, a request she ignored. Dr. Blumenthal inserted the IUD very quickly and cavalierly by hand without the use of an ultrasound machine. When removing the tool used for insertion she tore my cervix, which started to bleed. She also cut the strings to the IUD and forgot to remove them from my vagina, saying they would come out on their own. Both things she was very flippant about, as if they were no problem. She tried to stop the bleeding from my cervix for a minute or so then just handed me a pad saying it would be fine and left the room. She did not tell me to schedule a follow up appointment within the next month to insure that the IUD had been placed correctly and to see if there were any complications, as is protocol. She did no follow up with me what so ever after the placement, she just left the room. I was made uneasy by this encounter so I decided to switch to another gynecologist. Today I began treatment with the other gyno who had an ultrasound done to check on the IUD. The IUD was placed in my cervix and not in my uterus. My gynecologist could actually see the IUD without any equipment, which you should not be able to do. The placement essentially rendered it useless and luckily I did not get pregnant. There could have been other complications from the wrong placement as well, which luckily I caught by getting a follow up with another doctor. I now have had to have my IUD removed and will have to have another placed, which is painful, time consuming and may potentially cost me a lot of money. I feel that Dr. Blumenthal acted very irresponsibly and unprofessionally.

1 hour 15 min wait and no apology. Ridiculous. Reviews are right always and one should never go with a lousy rates place. Regret it.

I chose this practice a year ago when I relocated to Chicago. I researched and found that their doctors are acclaimed. The location was perfect for me due to I work in the area and never have time to make it back to the burbs.
Initially I was excited and optimistic. Well a year and a half later I am very disappointed. Although they do see their patients in time, they treated me like a number. They did not listen to my concerns. It seemed as if they were more concerned with quantity rather than quality. I left feeling as if they did not care about my well being. I still have the same issue a year ago. I have asked for alternative treatments and other tests and was treated like I didn’t know what I was talking about. When I strongly voiced my concerns about my treatment failure, they insisted I probably was not following doctors orders.
Needless to say that was when I decided to find a different gynecologist in the area. They never took the time to read their own treatment files and would always ask me things that were on file like «Have you tried. .» In my mind I would feel like just please take time be thorough when treating me.
Perhaps they have too many patients, and for these reasons I decided to go elsewhere. I was tired feeling like a number and uncaring treatment. I have great insurance so there should have never been a delay to look extensively into my condition as I repeatedly requested.

3 years after the initial appointment I am still having problems with their billing. The initial service was, at best, «cold». We switched obstetricians immediately. Little did I know we’d still be fighting over 289 dollars 2.5 years later. After paying our initial fees, GSofN was unsatisfied with what Blue Cross covered and tried to balance bill me 1.5 years after the initial service… and after we had our baby, met our deductible and switched insurers. Additionally they sent our diagnostics out to an out of network service causing us vast Insurance red tape complications… We thought labor would be the toughest part of having a baby…

After being a patient for 11+ years, I’ve been canceled on twice in the past two weeks. While they are accomplished doctors, they do not listen to their patients. I’ve asked for several tests regarding my health and their response was «no» because «I was too young.» As a result, I have been still concerned with my health. Thankfully I talked to my GP and she addressed the issues and guess what?! There in fact was an issue, that the tests I asked for revealed.
Perhaps they’ll be a better fit with someone without issues.

This practice is in a convenient city location. Dr. Lauren Streicher is a noted author and top in her field but very busy. Unfortunately, I was assigned Dr. Christy Beyer who has terrible interpersonal and patient communication skills. She is cold and indifferent to patients which I have heard from others as well. If you come here, I recommend you request one of the other doctors who are more patient-​oriented.

First of all, I don’t normally write Unilocal reviews, but I am very upset with this practice. Secondly, I have been coming here for about three years now to see Dr. Baer. Normally, I would be giving this place a five-​star review, and for the record Dr. Baer has always been great and I am sure she is still a fantastic doctor. I am writing to complain about the staff, which may be new for all I know, but this year trying to get an appointment here has been an absolute nightmare.
I went to college in Chicago, which is why I started going here. I now live halfway across the country, but I was in the suburbs for a week to see my family. As soon as I knew which week I would be in, I tried to call to make an appointment. Dr. Baer was already booked for the week, but the receptionist told me that if I called close to/​the week of, people may have cancelled and I could try to snag a spot. I started calling back around that time, and every time the receptionist was unbelievably rude and snarky with me. I was baffled, because all the other years I have come the receptionists have always been pleasant. There was one point when I called, explained that I was wondering if anyone had cancelled and got no response whatsoever. After almost a minute of silence I said «Hello?» and the receptionist responded with «I’m LOOKING.» Unreal. Anyway, I finally realized I wasn’t going to get in with Dr. Baer so I asked if any other doctor was free that week and they told me Dr. Buyer was. Great. So I schedule an appointment with the Dr. Buyer and no longer have to deal with the rude receptionist.
On the day of my appointment, I took the bus (since I don’t actually live in the city) but a bad accident caused me to be late, even though I thought I had left with plenty of time. I was about ten minutes late when I got off the bus and five minutes from the office. I called, explained, and said I would be there shortly and they said great, see you soon. I get there five minutes later, as said, and I’m told that because I was so late they wouldn’t see me. Really? I know I was late, but I have had these appointments before, they take ten minutes tops, and if they take any longer it’s because I’m chatting with Dr. Baer. They refused to be accommodating, but they told me if the next person was a no show, the doctor would be see me. The next person did show up, also late (and only by a few minutes less than I was) so I didn’t get to go to my appointment at all, even after explaining that I no longer live in the state and my birth control prescription was about to run out. They finally agreed to add a month extension to my birth control, to my relief. I ask them to send it to the CVS on State and Congress, which they say they will do. I leave, spend the rest of the afternoon at a friend’s, and then go to the CVS to pick up my prescription. This is several hours later, and I am told that no prescriptions were sent in for me. Seriously?! At this point, the office is closed. I had to call not once, but TWICE the next day for them to finally send in my prescription. Even though Dr. Baer is a great doctor, I can definitely no longer recommend this practice to anyone and will gladly be taking my business elsewhere.

Friendly staff. Doctor was on time. Listened to my concerns and offered suggestions. Very professional. I was very pleased. I think this will be my new gyne home!

I was already impressed with Dr. Desapri’s academic background and experience. She was everything I expected and more. I can’t begin to describe how thorough she is. She covered every concern I had in particular detail, and even asked important questions I hadn’t thought of. She’s very professional with a very warm and personable mannerism. She is a stickler for details, and I love that about her. I had several issues, and she didnt rush me, and she wasn’t overwhelmed. She took time with me and showed genuine concern. She sent me home with «homework» to do: no excuses allowed :-) I like her style… I traveled 40 miles to see her, and have no regrets… highly recommended! The office staff was great too!

I saw Dr. Christy Buyer and I have never been so happy with an OBGYN in my life!!! The office is very comforting, the staff and the nurses were so nice. Since it was my first time they had to go through all the medical questions for your history, the woman who worked with me so funny! She made me laugh and joked with me over some of the questions which put me right at easy. When Dr. Buyer came in she made me feel, instantly, taken care of. She is so on top of everything! She gave recommendations when needed as well as answer any and all questions I had. I am will absolutely reccomend Dr. Buyer for any woman, she is a gem!

10yrs ago I was referred to Dr. Beyer by a few of my girlfriends, it’s now 2014 and she’s still my favorite doctor. Not only is she knowledgeable and connects with you as her patient, her general personality is A+. Life has evolved, I was a twenty-​something when I started seeing her and have since married, had a baby and she has done the same. When I separated she gave me a somewhat sisterly speech that really helped me when I thought my little world was falling apart. If you want a great doc in this practice, go with Dr. Beyer — she’s the
!!!

Dr. Snow is amazing! She’s very down-​to-​earth which I like and she is very big on preventative care which I think is also great. I did have an issue with rescheduling an appointment once where I was going to be charged a $ 35 fee. I mean I get it but come on, isn’t that a little ridiculous? But Dr. Snow herself I couldn’t recommend more highly.

I recently moved to Chicago and have had to find new Drs, which can certainly be a struggle. Dr Snow was referred to me by a coworker and a friend. When my insurance changed to one accepted by this practice, I made an appointment with her.
I have had positive experiences on the 2 occasions I have been to see her. I’ve found Dr Snow to be thorough, knowledgeable, professional and trustworthy. She recommended different health tricks and benefits that no other Dr has ever brought up to me; she really knows her stuff.
The office staff was helpful over the phone in terms of billing, all my charges were exactly how they stated they would be and there were no surprises.
In terms of other people’s complaints about the nurses or Drs typing on their laptop during the visit; I would say that’s standard practice to document on a laptop… and in terms of a Dr, I appreciate when they can utilize technology-​electronic charting should be the standard.
The only negative I would say is that I have waited about 20 – 30 minutes on both visits even though I showed up early for my appointment. Unfortunately, wait times at dr offices also seem to be the «standard» now so this didn’t surprise me.
I’ve referred Dr Snow to a few of my friends and would strongly recommend her.

Dr. Baer and Dr. Snow have been nothing but professional, honest, straight forward and supportive over the past 2 years. Dr. Snow also removed an ovarian cyst for me earlier this year and did an amazing job — saving 100% of my ovary and leaving me with very tiny, tiny scars below my bikini line. She had great bedside manner and I felt as comfortable as anyone can going into surgery. Thank you!
However, their office waiting area needs a major makeover — really outdated! haha :) Sometimes the nurses can be a little curt, and I can’t speak for the other physicians, but I would recommended giving this practice a try.

Really use to love this place but the customer service has gone downhill. First off I’ve been waiting more than 2 weeks for some test results and still have not gotten them. I try calling to follow up but their front desk doesn’t seem to care and tells me that I should get a call within the next two days. Not feeling confident about that. I’ll probably start looking for a new doctor now…

Just plain horrible. There were a number of errors that I experienced upon entering this practice. 1) Privacy — Let’s start with HIPAA, they need to review the concept of patient privacy as I overheard the very personal details of another patients visit. If you decide to spend your precious time waiting to be seen at this practice make sure you read every single document that they ask you to sign, seriously you will have time. 2) Electronic Records — okay great they are transitioning to an EHR, kudos for attempting to evolve with the healthcare industry, or is it perhaps the federal EHR incentives? It does not matter, neither is an excuse for an inability to process basic insurance information. There are a number of practices that are transitioning to EHRs and it’s definitely not rocket science 3) Patient Care — Unfortunately, I am unable to attest to the ability of the physician that I was scheduled to see because she never showed up. I spent an hour in the exam room waiting and finally gave up. Please note that when I was brought into the exam room I asked the nurse if the physician was running behind and she informed me that the physician was on her way to my room. Perhaps there was an obstacle course placed in the hallway because an hour later there was no doctor, no nurse, and definitely no service. Finally, I had no choice but to get dressed and return to work. However, during my lengthy wait I was able to schedule an appointment with a gynecologist at a completely different practice.
My recommendation is go to the gynecologists at NMFF at least there is some accountability for patient service. I do not mind waiting and understand the time constraints of a medical practice, but staff should take time to update patients as to the status of their pending exam instead of wasting a patient’s time. This was such a terrible experience I have never been treated in such a dismissive manner in a medical practice. The Gynecologic Specialists of Northwestern should be embarrassed… wait they would actually have to care in order to be embarrassed. There are practices that treat patients well and provide excellent care, ladies please take the time to find one because Gynecologic Specialists of Northwestern is definitely not patient focused.