National Center for Advanced Pelvic Surgery

Tried for 3 days to make an appointment here to see Dr. Gutman. Every time the phone either rings and someone hangs up on me or I am transferred to another department where they claim they can’t make appointments all with with zero explanation. Same answer from the Maryland office. Actually she told me they were too understaffed to answer their phone. Really??? I will be finding another Dr.

Medstar’s billing is absolutely atrocious. You receive so many different bills that keep coming months after your appointment. I’ve literally received ¾ different bills from ONE visit, over a matter of 3 – 4 months. That to me is so irritating and completely unacceptable. Based on that and the fact that I had to pay a very high copay (my insurance only covered so much and their office refused to adjust their cost), I would really not go back to see Dr. Sokol.
Overall, my experience with Dr. Sokol was not great, but much better than others. He is very kind and doesn’t rush you, which is a big plus, especially with the kind of issues I was dealing with. On my first visit he did a really thorough assessment, which i really appreciated. However, I did find that once he was not able to explain a problem I had, it felt like he kept minimizing its importance and gave up on finding a treatment for it. He also rejected a diagnosis I got from 4 different doctors, but offered not alternative diagnosis or really any alternative treatment for the symptoms I’m experiencing.

I was referred to this clinic by a friend who is a patient of Dr. Andrew Sokol. In order to get in for an earlier appt. I scheduled with Dr. Robert Gutman. He was by far one of the best doctors I have seen in the Washington DC area. Professional, knowledgeable, personable bedside manner, great treatment plan. I was really impressed with his expertise regarding his specialty which is Urogynecology. I have had a few Obgyns in the past who never considered my reoccurring health concern a priority even though it was really painful and debilitating at times. He put me on a treatment plan that has given me a pain free healthy experience for over a year.
During my first visit, he met with me first in his office so I would be comfortable with him, then did an examination and testing in a patient room, and then followed up with sharing his knowledge, medical opinion, and treatment plan in his office. I had never seen this approach before. It was refreshing to get such a quality in person experience. The customer service was impeccable.
There were two concerns I had with this practice. My second visit was with a residency doctor. At first I thought she was the nurse. She was a bit abrupt and crass in her delivery. There was a medical student that was shadowing her. I asked if and when I would be seeing Dr. Gutman. She said he will be in later. All three of them were there for my exam. They gave me the choice, but it was a bit uncomfortable since I wasn’t a big fan of the residency doctors bedside manner, unprofessional.
Also, if you go to the facility that is linked to the hospital in DC the hospital may charge a facility fee even though you are going in for a doctor’s visit. I had two co-​payments, a $ 40 specialty doctor visit and $ 100 hospital facility fee. The front desk let me know that there was a sign at the front desk that stated that the hospital may charge this fee. I let them know that the sign was not at eye level and was out of sight because it was behind a door as well. It would have been nice if someone had mentioned this as it was an anomaly. The office manager said if I went to the other locations I wouldn’t be charge this fee. That seems a bit ridiculous. The DC office is close to my work, the MD offices are far away from my work and home.
Overall, the front staff and nurses are really nice, the wait time is minimal and the doctor is amazing and this is what all private practices should aspire too.