Picken Catherine A, MD

She seemed too busy to do a thorough exam, but did so reluctantly. She had no other options for a hearing issue other than seeing her buddy in Geotown for experimental ear surgery.

I switched from a large, impersonal ENT practice and just love Dr Picken. She is caring and personal. She got me in same day yesterday when I was having sudden ear trouble and assessed the problem. Office is nice too.

I came to Dr. Picken for a 2^nd sinus surgery in just a few months. My first «Doctor» botched the work and I was unwilling to return to him. It’s now been a year and I’ve had no problems. The followup visits are easy to schedule and I’ve never waited more than 15 minutes to be seen. In fact the 2^nd surgery was much less painful and the recovery time was less too. It had something to do with packing which is highly recommended.
I would truly recommend her as the BEST!

Dr Pickens was recommended as one of the best in DC. She was wonderful. She has a very calm manner and explains exactly what she will be doing during the exam so that her patient knows exactly what to expect. Her staff was disorganized, I agree, but I was there for her expertise and I was extremely comfortable with her. I think she’s great and would recommend her to anyone, especially if you have anxiety about doctors.

I had a great experience with Dr. Picken. She treated me for a terrible sinus problem and ultimately operated on my sinuses. She had a great demeanor, I never had any problem reaching her or getting an appointment. My surgery went perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier with her follow up. It was a very stressful undertaking, but she was awesome all the way through. I was very comfortable (as I could have been, getting wheeled into surgery) with her in control of the situation. My recovery went perfectly and I was back to work after just a few days.

So one person had a bad experience with Dr. Picken and goes online and floods the interweb with poor reviews .
Maybe there is complete legitimacy to their complaint. I haven’t had that experience.
I’m a big fan of Dr. Picken.
I first went to her a few years ago with symptoms that potentially indicated a scary condition. I went through all the tests. She explained everything in advance, why the tests were being done and what they would indicate. She was not alarmist at all, and her calm demeanor resulted in me being calm as well.
I returned more recently with a condition that two other doctors failed to diagnose. Dr. Picken was very thorough and was able to make a diagnosis.
What do I know about rating a doctor. But she strikes me as being knowledgeable and professional. And very personable.

Long story short… well i’ll try to make it short… I had left my original doctor for poor communication and even poorer administrative confusion and found Dr. Picken thru some random website while searching… i came across a page that had some pretty rave reviews… great bedside manner etc… so i made an appt. Upon meeting her i felt she was a professional… nice and knowledgeable… and seemed a great choice to perform my surgery for sleep apnea plus it would be at Georgetown Hosp which i preferred over Shady Grove Adventist… i was having 5 procedures in total. Tonsillectomy/​Uvula removed and Deviated Septum with reduction of turbenoids fairly basic surgery for ENT’s
Well…i had a window of time that i needed to have the surgery performed because of work… these days with insurance companies when you are dealing with non emergency surgery… you (meaning doctor) needs to have competent staff in place to make sure that all loose ends are straightened out with insurance carriers.
I was told that her surgical coordinator Carmen… was a total genius/​guru at handling that… so i set up for the surgery with Dr. Picken. In the following days/​weeks i was dealing with Carmen who had assured me she understood what they needed and would take care of everything…
This was not the case… i rarely reached her when calling… her voicemail was always full… when i did speak to her she barely knew what process/​stage we were in with insurance approval… after 2 – 3 weeks of lettering her deal with them… i finally get a call from the insurance company stating that they have only approved 2 out of the 5 procedures… granted the two they approved were the bulk of the work… but still… every ENT will tell you which i know now… you want to have all of the procedures done at the same time… LET IT BE KNOWN that after my first appt with Dr Picken not once did i EVER here from her again… she doesn’t even have an email address on her card… when i did luckily catch Carmen or she did call me back… when i would ask for the Dr. she always coincidentally JUST left for the day.
I then agreed to have the 2 approved procedures completed and showed up at the hospital that Monday… to my dismay… having not had surgery before I mistakenly drank a cup of coffee the morning of my surgery… when i got the call from the hospital maybe i wasn’t paying attention to the exact directions but all i remember was no alcohol 48 hours prior and no food after 12am the night before.
Either way… because of that Dr. Pickens cancelled the surgery once she was notified by Anesthesiology… the interesting thing was everyone in the surgery ctr felt that it wouldn’t be a huge problem they said that i may just have to wait a few hours for it to digest… however, Dr Picken just cancelled it… she never came in to see me or talk to me… even that day… and here’s the kicker… i STILL have not heard from the office staff or the DR to this day… not one phone call…
Now in no way am i blaming the dr for me drinking coffee… but it actually turned out to be an omen… a good one… i went back online and found more reviews even on Unilocal for Washington ENT… apparently the communication level of Dr. Pickens office is worst EVER… there is none basically… she is completely dis-​associated with what is going on in the administrative part of her practice… she has an incompetent staff and she does zero follow up or heads up for patients… THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE… My first instinct is…“HEY she doesn’t care about people she is all about the money” but its not even that… its really that SHE doesn’t care…
In the end… i found a new doctor with a staff i love… turns out this doctor did his due diligence… actually did a thorough exam of me… and recommended a CAT scan as proof of the deviated septum which is all they (insurance co.) had originally been requesting… to WHICH DR. PICKEN never thought of… nor did her so called Genius surgical coordinator who every time i spoke to her all she would say is «I don’t know why they aren’t approving it… why don’t you call them» ARE YOU KIDDING ME… I personally feel Dr Picken has no clue what is happening on the business side of HER business…
Now my entire surgery is approved… i had to push it forward to March… i love the staff of this new Doc… and the doctor just makes me feel soo much more comfortable… thank god i found him… to think i was gonna have to go under TWICE for a procedure that should only be done all at once…
My suggestion… steer clear of this office and Dr… she is asleep at the wheel…