We just got back from Dr. Bentolila's office and are very dissatisfied with the way things went. Would recommend caution if you choose this doctor.
My wife is pregnant with triplets and Dr. Bentolila came highly recommended; our first few visits with him were great, he had a pleasant personality and was very reassuring to my wife, who was nervous about carrying a high-risk pregnancy.
Since that time, we've had a number of troubling interactions with Dr. Bentolila:
-Today (the reason for my writing of this review), we informed Dr. Bentolila that we were moving to be closer to family who can help us with the pregnancy and with child care, etc. once the babies arrive. Related to this news is the fact that we'll need to see a new doctor. As soon as he heard this, the tone of our visit changed and we were rushed out of the office in a very unprofessional manner
-My wife needed some disability paperwork filled out for her job and he refused to fill it out with his prior recommendation that she stop work at 18 weeks, insisting that it was only a suggestion. My wife is a physical therapist who routinely lifts patients and he has advised her to be careful lifting household items, let alone a patient. It was clear to us that the change was related to the news that we were changing doctors; at this point my wife has begun her disability term, but it is now unclear whether she'll receive a disability benefit despite his previous recommendation that she stop work at 18 weeks
-There are posters in every examination room proclaiming the fact that Dr. Bentolila doesn't want anyone to feel rushed, or leave dissatisfied, but when we asked to speak to him prior to our departure (I cited the poster), he refused to come out and told me via the receptionist that I should make use of the cell phone number. It seems that Dr. Bentolila is a coward who would rather hide behind a cell phone than speak to the patient directly. I was so impressed with this poster when I first saw it that I felt compelled to take a picture of it. I wish I could post that picture here, as our experience today was in direct contrast to the poster.
-Dr. Bentolila's electronic record keeping system appears to be a good thing, but for the last few visits he has asked basic questions such as whether or not this is my wife's first pregnancy; it seems that either there are no notes in the system regarding my wife, or they were reluctant to share notes, lest we see his prior recommendation that she stop work at 18 weeks. Also, we were requesting records to be transferred to the new doctor and all we got was information that was provided to Dr. Bentolila by other offices, not his notes
-Last week, we went to see him at his insistence for an emergency visit regarding sinus and chest pain my wife was experiencing; when we came into the office, he didn't know why we were there, and essentially dismissed the pain that he called her in to see. The visit was no different than the phone call the previous day, except that in person he seemed confused as to why we were there, and not concerned regarding the reason for the visit
-Because this is a high risk pregnancy, my wife is also seeing a high-risk specialist; there appears to be little coordination between Dr. Bentolila and the other doctor, with my wife often acting as the go-between to resolve conflicting advice between the two
While I'd like to believe that Dr. Bentolila is a qualified doctor based on the recommendations we received prior to going to his practice, his recent treatment of my wife has left much to be desired, and has left a bad taste in our mouths regarding his professionalism. I'd urge you to be cautious if you're considering him as your doctor.
by jskjsk
December 23, 2010
