Joseph H Avery III, MD

I’ve been having problems with sinus issues forever and I found Dr Avery took a lot of time to breakdown the cause of my symptoms and more importantly, why the traditional medicines I’d been using (Dayquil, etc) were not working very well. After my visit, I found his advice easy to follow and implement and my symptoms improved — quickly. I also found his staff to be easy to work with for scheduling appointments and handling admin matters.
It’d be helpful if his office offered Saturday appointments and if he did a minor update to the office’s décor — it looks a bit run down. A fresh coat of paint, a deep cleaning and some minor updates would do wonders. I realize this isn’t a spa but it’s hard not to equate «nice office» to expectations of high quality care.

Wow. I have had absolutely no problems with Dr. Avery. My health issues are typical and not out of the ordinary but he’s always been personable, knowledgeable, even stern when I don’t do what he’s suggested, prescribed, etc.
If I had any complaint it would be waiting to be seen after I get there.
Based on my experience with Dr. Avery over the years I would definitely recommend him to my family and friends.

DO NOT GO TO THIS DOCTOR!
Before reading the below list of examples of problems I have encountered, please know that I am a very laid-​back and rather lazy person, so I have managed to just brush off the bad experiences each time until after 2 years of terrible service, I could no longer bear it.
Here are some examples of what I have encountered:
1. The office does not accept credit cards for co-​payments under $ 20.00 and my co-​payment amount is $ 15.00. They do not make this information readily available at all, but instead tell you at time of payment. On one occasion, the receptionist told me that I had to go down the block to an ATM to take out money (neglecting to look at the fact that I came into the office because of pains in my leg). I returned 2 minutes after my scheduled appointment because I had to run and get cash to pay, then was placed at the back of the line for waiting patients and was not seen for another hour, while watching the patients scheduled after me being seen first (even after repeated complaints).
2. The doctor has by far the worst bedside manner I have ever seen from a doctor, and that says a lot since my mother worked for a local health care system while I grew up and I have known many doctors. He comes into the office with a grimace on his face, often walking into exam rooms without knocking, then proceeds to make you feel bad about even coming into the office (usually demining you for wanting to see him).
3. I have been misdiagnosed on multiple occasions. One example included the doctor telling me that boils I had growing were no problem and that there was no need to pop them even though I told him it hurt a lot. When I went to a specialist for a second opinion, instantly he popped them and told me it was dangerous not to. This is not the only example however.
4. Finally, the most recent experience is a clear violation of HIPPA policies and is what is finally driving me to go without a PCP for a while and just wait for a new one (as well as to finally send this email) — I recently injured my ankle and after a week of no improvement and increasing amounts of pain, I went to see the doctor. He provided 2 referrals — one for physical therapy and one for an x-​ray to ensure the problem was not just with my tendons. He specifically told me to not begin physical therapy until he reviewed the x-​rays. After not hearing from the office for 4 days, I called to ask the status of his review. The receptionist then proceeded to tell me that I was wrong and that they had never received any x-​rays (and apparently she had no idea they had even requested them). So, she told me that I had to call the radiology clinic and figure out what happened. After I called over, the radiology clinic provided the date and time listed on the time stamp for when they were faxed to the office. I called the office back to only get yelled at again by the receptionist and told her that the x-​rays were being re-​faxed. She said the doctor would review them and call me back that day. So, three days later, I called the office back and ask about the status of the review. The receptionist had no idea the doctor had been asked to review the x-​rays and presented him the records that morning and would call me back. I never received a call back and I called the office back in the afternoon only to receive a message that it closes at 2:00 PM. It has now been over a full week since I took time off to see the doctor initially because the pain was getting unbearable, and due to the incompetency and the blatant disregard of patient records through losing my x-​rays, my ankle is hurting more and more, but I am afraid to start physical therapy until a doctor tells me that I am ok to do so.

Dr. Avery is one of the worst doctors I’ve ever seen. I injured my hip a while ago while playing softball, to the point where it hurt to walk. He examined me and decided that I had some sort of problem with the nerve endings in my hip (never mind that this condition was extremely rare and was characterized by symptoms that I did not have). He didn’t know enough about what he diagnosed me with to tell me about it without looking it up – and then instead of telling me what I should do, he made copies of a medical book for me to take with me.
He also has misdiagnosed not one, but two of my co-​workers, who have seen him.
I have not heard a single positive review of him, and I’m honestly pretty concerned about his capability as a physician.

Hmm… I came in with medical issues that needed serious treatments. Dr. Avery would keep giving me sample medications to see how they worked. Nothing he gave me worked to manage my blood pressure which was always through the roof. He is so rude as well. Everytime I’ve walking in there the staff was half way decent but I was always waiting for more than an hour past the time I was to be seen. He would always give me whatever medicine some company sent him to give out samples. He never tried to give me a legit prescription to treat my issues. He also bragged about be hated ao much by patient’s. He is a piece of work.
The last straw was when I waited 2 and a half hours. At this point I knew it would end bad because he would rush through and not answer my questions. Apparently he had a clause where you can only see him for one issue at a time. I came in, i told him my issue, and I asked him to just look at my foot because there was a dark spot on the bottom being diabetic i was concerned and didn’t think it was a big deal. He then proceeded to tell me «i’m on of those people»…i looked at him and asked what he meant. I said, I need to make a new appointment just to have you tell me if this is dangerous or not?!
I started grabbing my things because after almost 3 hours of waiting for him i was pretty pissed that he would go there. I said, is this how this is going down?! I said i didn’t have time for this mess. He followed me through the halls yelling. SO THIS IS YOUR LAST TIME COMING?! …SHOULD I PLAN ON NOT SEEING YOU AGAIN? mind you ther was a room full of patients, and this man was now yelling at me down the hall.
I said… well with this service maybe this will be the first time. I walked out to the waiting area. He loudly told him nurses I won’t be back and talked more trash as i left. He mumbled something about my fill needing to be ready to transfer to a new doctor. I haven’t been back and i’ve considered pressing charges for neglect to properly treat me blood pressure. I ended up going to GW who have been great at making sure my Blood Pressure came down to safe numbers and constantly checking in on me.

I was totally happy with Dr. Avery up until I encountered his staff once again today. I only needed an update on my blood tests and filling out forms for a diving class. I waited an hour with no update from staff on how long I might wait. I do work for a living and can not wait beyond a certain amount of time. I asked several times for how long it might be before I could be seen — no good answer was ever given and in fact medical staff were unpleasant to me. I am now committed to finding a new doctor which is sad because Dr. Avery is a good doctor — who needs a new staff.

Wow, wish I had checked Unilocal before seeing this doctor. Dr. Avery wins the award for worst «bedside manner» I have EVER seen in a clinician.
I went to Dr. Avery for my first physical in a long time. He did a pretty thorough examination, and then told me to come back for my blood work.
Upon return, I was treated to a review of my blood work where he essentially rushed through everything, and didnt give a damn about me. As I was asking questions about it, he scolded me for interrupting him to ask about the connection between cholesterol and weight. And toward the end of the appointment, he repeatedly tried to leave. Until — in the middle of a question — he simply did! He just lectured me about provider reimbursement rates, said that he only had to address one issue per visit, and showed me the door.
There are lots of doctors out there. Fewer primary care physicians — i know — but i did still have to wait a few months to get an appt. with Dr. Avery. So there are lots of people who can do a basic examination. But NOBODY deserves to be treated like this. As a co-​worker of mine rightly said to me, «he works for you.»
Dr. Avery you are old, and your time has passed you by. Time to retire, for the good of the Capitol Hill community.

My experience was two years ago but it was bad enough that I want to note it here. However, I’m giving two stars instead of one because I ended up going to a specialist for my specific problem, and I don’t want to totally fault this doctor for not recognizing my specific problem.
I was having problems with my ears popping, and it continued for a few months, so I finally made an appointment with the closest doctor I could find who would take me quickly, and even though I had an 11 AM appointment, I had to wait for nearly two hours before the doctor could finally see me. I had to fill out all my medical information on an electronic pad, which seemed great — reducing paper and all — but then apparently some/​most of the information was not transferred into the system because the nurse who weighed me and took my blood pressure had to go through several of the questions again with me, and she was entering the information into a computer as she went through everything.
Finally the doctor came in, and I described my problem, and he said it must be allergies because I had lived in DC for five years and it’s common for people who live in DC to develop allergies. I explained that I hadn’t lived in DC consecutively — I worked in DC for four years, then worked in another state for two years, then moved back to DC about four months before my ears started to act up. He still thought it was allergies. I told him I didn’t have any other symptoms of allergies (ie no runny nose/​sneezing/​itchy eyes, etc.), and he said it was allergies. He «prescribed» over the counter allergy pills, and since I felt strongly that it was not an allergy, I asked for a referral to an ENT. I took the medicine just as he advised, for an extra week to be safe, but it did nothing, so I visited the ENT, who diagnosed me with Eustachian tube dysfunction (not allergies) and explained why allergy pills didn’t help. After eight weeks on a new medication, I felt much better.
I do not have a medical degree, and ultimately Dr. Avery’s advice did not hurt me, it just took longer to figure out what the real problem was (and it cost me a little extra money for the medicine he suggested). Also, I generally felt the office staff was nice enough, and I felt comfortable with the cleanliness of the office. However, the lack of efficiency/​timeliness, as well as Dr. Avery’s bedside manner (I felt like he just wasn’t listening to me) left something to be desired, and my insurance is accepted at several other doctors, so I am exploring other options.