Brown Fertility

I am writing this review after 2 failed IUIs and 1 chemical pregnancy after IVF fresh transfer trying to conceive as a single mother by choice. While I understand infertility is highly variable from patient to patient, the basis of my poor experience has more to do with the utter lack of patient care. The recording you listen to while on hold says “personalized patient care” yet I rarely saw the same person for my ultrasound appointments, IUI procedures, or retrievals, least of all the actual physician meant to be treating me. This year after my first failed IVF, I had to wait to acquire funds for another attempt since I was now paying out of pocket after maxing out my insurance fertility benefits. I put up over $13,000 to Dr. Brown’s clinic for a retrieval, not including medications (another $3500). At the start of this cycle I did the normal lab work for baseline. I was advised I had a high thyroid TSH level of 11 and was immediately prescribed levothyroxine and given a referral to an endocrinologist. Because I was a new patient for the endo, I had to wait for the first available which was almost two months, and ended up being the same week as my retrieval. In the meantime, I had a second set of labs to check my thyroid for Dr. Brown and they came back at a level of 8. At no point throughout this process did I get any information as to why thyroid levels are so important, nor was I advised to postpone fertility treatments. Upon meeting with the endocrinologist, it was explained that the most optimal thyroid level for conception is 2.5 or less. The doctor said I should postpone a transfer until I get to that level. By this point, I was already through my medications and waiting for my retrieval appt. I reached out to the IVF nurse email group. The nurse said she spoke to Dr. Brown and was told he didn’t think it was necessary to delay a transfer but would do so at my request. I then asked for a call from the doctor so I could discuss in more detail what all this means, the decision to change to a frozen transfer, etc. I got no reply. I went to my retrieval appt, and still was not being given the information I was asking for so I had to explain I wanted to speak to the doctor before my procedure. Yet again a different doctor than I’ve dealt with, however, she wholeheartedly agreed with my endocrinologist that I should wait for my TSH to decrease substantially. Not only does the clinic choose to ignore the advice of the physicians they refer their patients to, but within their own clinic physicians are giving conflicting medical advice. And now that I’d be forced to complete a frozen transfer, I would have to pay an additional $1500 for “conversion”. Why would I pay for a conversion when it’s not a flippant choice and the conflicting argument between medical providers that cannot be trusted? By this time, I was so frustrated with receiving poor quality of care and communication I asked to speak with a manager. The communication between offices and departments is appalling. It was explained to me that I did not receive a response to my request for a consult before the retrieval due to my assigned nurse being on PTO. The email address goes to all the nurses so clearly there is no adequate coverage to respond to patients in a timely manner. I learned to verify my appts in triplicate since two occasions I was told to go to one office when I set my appt but it ended up being in the other. I submitted a request to the medical records department twice without receiving so much as a confirmation of receipt. By calling to check status I was advised there was a form I needed to complete. I did that and sent it and still have yet to receive anything back. I spoke with the manager Denise who continued to say thyroid levels don’t matter and I was referred just to get them managed by another physician. Seeing how volatile the infertility process can be and how hormones play such a vital role in conception, I would expect medical professionals to agree on getting a patient into the MOST optimal state before moving forward with treatment. My second retrieval was an epic failure having retrieved 3 eggs, none of which survived. Luckily, I have one in storage from my earlier retrieval. Because I still feel the need to pursue this journey, I moved forward with having a FET training only to be called 15 minutes ahead of my appt to say my appt was no longer needed. When I said #1 I’m already on my way to your office for my appt in 15 minutes, but it should be my decision on whether or not my appts are necessary. I was told it was because I had no embryos. Again, a complete failure on the office’s part to read my chart and see that I had an embryo in storage. I was told I could keep the appt after they confirmed. During my cycle, I had to “borrow” meds because I was short one injection and couldn’t get a delivery until the next day. During the same FET education appt I tried to return the meds and sat in the office listening to at least three nurses say they had NO records of me borrowing medication. I still had to leave it there for fear of getting a bill for the full cost of the meds. Concerning that a medication that costs upwards of $2-3000 per pen would be so poorly documented. Oh let’s not fail to mention overhearing a nurse complaining about a patient not following medical advice ending with “people are so dumb” within earshot of the waiting room. Aside from all this, the office just practices poor management of such mundane things as HIPAA, having patients’ blood samples, and having patient names scrawled on test tubes sitting directly across from where vitals are taken. I’m beyond my limit in dealing with such horrible practices and now out more than $16,000 (of which Brown prices are considerably higher than other clinics), can’t afford any more treatment, and no one wants to give me a straight answer or return my calls/emails. This office needs a serious management overhaul and to do better. This process isn’t easy just having your own body work against you, the last thing we need is suboptimal care and medical advice.

Dr. Brown couldn't even fake remembering us during our 2 failed FET transfers by just quickly looking at the chart for reference. After nearly 9 months of being a patient at their facility by the way.

When you are with Dr Waldman on the phone or in the room you feel like a human and that he does listen to you, however the practice he is worth often makes you feel like a number and it is hard to get answers and you see many drs in the practice

He never remembered who we were or what our situation was. He changed his treatment plans on a whim without saying it was because this didn’t work. It was never cohesive.

The doctor kept making me feel like I'm a new patient cause he couldn't remember my name even though I was a patient with the clinic for 2 years.

Dr.Rose asked me questions, considered my emotional state as well as physical health, and let me actively participate in the consultation.

He first and only threw statistics at me about how I had less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant without explaining other options I had other than donor eggs.

No one ever knew my case or even took a minute to review my file before entering the room. They were misinformed about medication THEY prescribed me and it was always impossible to get in contact with anyone. I think they have too many patients to provide quality care.

Dr. Brown was extremely nice during our phone consult and our first in person appointment. He did not do my monitoring in advance of the ER or my first FET, but was the doctor that performed my transfer. He felt like a completely different doctor at transfer time. We were just a number in the cattle call of patients that day. He wasn't familiar with us or our situation. I was the last patient that day and I'm sure that attributed to the attitude, but it was definitely disappointing. So much so that when I called for a follow-up a requested we see the doctor that had done our monitoring and ER.

The first cycle I felt a bit more like a number (many women experience first cycle success), but with the failure for any eggs to fertilize it was he who called me with that news instead of a nurse which I respected. With each subsequent cycle we've become even more acquainted and he really respected my opinion and research. I appreciated that he was willing to be as aggressive as I was willing to be. To the point the last cycle protocol was one I developed.

I felt like a number in this practice, when they told me they take 40 girls at a time, and you have to “pay” to reserve your spot. Also it’s like a cattle call on retrieval and transfer days. One girl after the next, in and out of the OR. You can hear the nurses calling out bed numbers and changing the OR out after each person is done. I saw Dr. Brown only twice, and he didn’t show up to do the transfer, even though he told my husband he would be doing it. They have too many patients and you’re just one out of 40.

Sometime he’s more personal then other time the group treat me like a number. I do feel all Fertilty clinics that I go to doesn’t really look at my history just my age

From the moment we walked into the office for our initial consultation, to the day we "graduated" to a regular OBGYN, our care staff doted on us. My nurse held me while I sobbed after getting poor test results, they called us after hours to make sure our first injections went smoothly and to ask if we had any questions or needed help. They were flexible with their schedule, they explained everything a million times so we completely understood what was happening, or what our tests results meant, and they were always positive, while being honest and realistic. When it came down to choosing a "package," they didn't recommend the biggest one (in terms of cost), instead they looked at our health and fertility situation, and guided us to one that fit our needs. They truly cared about us, mourned with us, and celebrated with us when we found out our transfer of two embryos resulted in the birth of our sweet fraternal twins.

Dr. Brown and Dr. Rose, both treated us during our IVM cycle. Being experimental, we knew IVM was not 100% chance of success. Although the transfer was not a success, we decided to move forward with IVF with Dr. Brown. During our IVF cycle, we had constant long wait times and realized he batch cycles patients. He requires a $375 non-refundable deposit for each cycle and that amount does not include the total cycle cost. We ended up paying out of pocket due to his insurance/finance coordinators incorrectly explaining what our insurance did and did not cover to us. We also paid out of pocket for medications because the finance team failed to explain that I had insurance coverage via CVS for medications. The doctors failed to diagnose me correctly with silent endometriosis, instead labeling us as "unexplained with PCO like ovaries". Since this office batch cycles, you do not receive an individualized treatment protocol and are forced to have appointments, retrievals and transfers on the same days as the other patients in that month's cycle. Dr. Brown would re-introduce himself to us during retrieval and transfers and there was never a sense of having a good relationship or bedside manners for his patients.

The wait times were never under 30-45 minutes. I spent a total of 30 minutes total if that with Dr.Brown since beginning treatment. The doctor who came to do my egg retrieval and transfer was a man I never met and he did not know me or my situation. I did not feel like he cared. When we were there to do the transfer we only had two embryos left and out of no where he goes I would go ahead and transfer both even though for your age we only do one because you might have poor ovarian reserve. I had never heard that before and he didn't even have my chart. So he added all this worry and without any facts. Luckily the embryologist spoke up and said to just transfer one due to it not increasing chances (only 5 percent) and being more of a risk. No one ever called to follow up unless it was to ask for more money.

The office was always crowded. Dr.Brown was always rushed. We waited once 2 hours for a follow up appointment after a failed donor egg cycle where he basically said "I don't know why this didn't work? Let's try again." There is no personal attention at this office. Everyone is a number. They even make everyone start meds at the same time each month so that all the retrievals and transfers are in the same week.

The entire process felt like I was in a baby farm. From the over crowded waiting room to the money demanding receptionists. Dr Brown seemed only interested in the end results when what I wanted was a diagnosis. He never offered testing for endometriosis, he just declared that I must have it. When I asked for PGS testing he said I didn't need it because I was young even though I wanted it. It turned out later that I have poor egg quality and could have avoided 4 emotionally draining, expensive and ultimately useless embryo transfers. I left that practice feeling like I wasted a year of my life with a dr who didn't really care about me as an individual but rather as a potential number in a record book.

I felt Dr. Brown took his time with you and explained in detail. Also, he had a positive attitude.

Ian Waksman thoroughly goes through numbers and does not makes you feel dumb especially early on in the process - clearly explains things

From the time that we called Brown Fertility, I felt as though everyone we spoke to spent time answering our questions and explaining the process. They have been competent and understanding. They have encouraged us to ask questions and seek more information, and I feel as though we are being heard.

The staff were very friendly and remembered me by my name. They all showed that they truly care.

Dr. Brown is amazing. I always feel like he presents me with all of my options and doesn't pressure me to come to any one decision. He has employed the most amazing team of nurses. These women were happy for me with my first pregnancy, and called me when they discovered I had miscarried. Every time I see them I feel like they are truly vested in what happens with me. My only regret is that Dr. B is not a regular OB and that once I get pregnant I will have to stop going to his office.

Focus was more on what my insurance covered than what was best for me

With the doctor, I felt treated like a number but with the nursing staff, I felt that I was treated very individually and felt special.

He is an amazing doctor. Explained everything in details.