Dr. Hurd seems like a very kind, knowledgeable doctor during the consult. However, he recommended we do regular insemination, and then that changed to 50 regular/50 ICSI, and then we were told that really the best case was all ICSI. We wanted the best outcome, and were very confused as to why this changed 3 times during our process.... You will rarely see Dr. Hurd, so during your consult, really take the time to ask ALL the questions you have.
Extremely poor internal communication. I understand this clinic [Duke Fertility Ctr] sees a lot of patients, but they really need to get their processes in place. The first thing they tell you when beginning IVF is that you need to try not to stress. I didn't even feel very stressed throughout the process, except when I had to visit the office. They messed up time after time, making me so upset and stressed.... They do not give great medication instructions. When you are sent 3 different needles, it would be great to know which one goes with which medication.
How was your experience with William Hurd at Duke Fertility Center?
Dr. Hurd seems like a very kind, knowledgeable doctor during the consult. However, he recommended we do regular insemination, and then that changed to 50 regular/50 ICSI, and then we were told that really the best case was all ICSI. We wanted the best outcome, and were very confused as to why this changed 3 times during our process.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of William Hurd at Duke Fertility Center?
You will rarely see Dr. Hurd, so during your consult, really take the time to ask ALL the questions you have.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with William Hurd at Duke Fertility Center?
I only saw Dr. Hurd at the initial consult, and then again during my egg retrieval. I probably saw about 15 other staff during my IVF cycle, and they usually didn't seem to remember who I was or didn't bother to read my charts.
Describe the protocols William Hurd used in your cycles at Duke Fertility Center and their degree of success.
We were first recommended to do regular insemination, then that was changed to 50 ICSI/50 regular, and then all ICSI. We did a regular IVF cycle, which resulted in retrieving 24 eggs, and 5 made it to the blastocyst stage. 1 was transferred, and a positive pregnancy test was confirmed. It's only been 5 weeks so it is still early to know the final result.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Duke Fertility Center. (Assigned nurse: Amanda)
At my first nurses appointment, I thought Amanda was great, and then all went downhill after that. I had issue after issue trying to get my medications, when she needed to provide information to the pharmacy. I actually had to have my husband go into the office, and then I had to go in myself, because phone calls weren't resolving the issues. She also called in a wrong medication, but she did at least fix that situation, and got the pharmacy to return it. When I would leave messages with questions for Amanda, she would always return my phone call within a few hours, however, half the time she didn't even look at my chart or ask the doctor questions when she did not know the answer. For example, when I went off birth control, and I was starting my cycle, she told me that shouldn't happen, and then she called back the next day and said she had checked with the doctor, and that it was actually OK. She also continued to instruct me to use a medication that I wasn't prescribed, rather than changing my chart.
Describe your experience with Duke Fertility Center.
Extremely poor internal communication. I understand this clinic sees a lot of patients, but they really need to get their processes in place. The first thing they tell you when beginning IVF is that you need to try not to stress. I didn't even feel very stressed throughout the process, except when I had to visit the office. They messed up time after time, making me so upset and stressed. My husband and I eventually sat down with the office manager, because we could not believe the amount of issues that had piled up, everything from wrong financial information, to prescription issues, to having my records wrong, to not even looking at my records. It's also important to know, I have had a positive pregnancy test, and I'm waiting for my first ultrasound, but even with that result, I would never want to recommend this clinic to anyone and have them deal with the stress the staff put me through.
Describe the costs associated with your care under William Hurd at Duke Fertility Center.
Under my husband's insurance we had a discounted flat rate, and this is why we had to use Duke. 50% off all medications, medications totaled around $4,000. IVF cycle (including monitoring, egg retrieval, transfer) = $4500 and additional $450 to wait until Day 5.
Describe William Hurd's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Duke Fertility Center.
Multiple embryo transfer was not even discussed for me. I don't believe that Dr. Hurd or the clinic would do this for someone under 35, unless they really did not see 1 being successful.
What specific things went wrong at Duke Fertility Center?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to send your chart to another clinic
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Duke Fertility Center.
1. Incorrect medication was ordered, and the doctor's office delayed my medications from being sent because they were not following up with the pharmacy's questions. I started trying to get my medications on January 2, 2018 and did not receive them all until January 26, 2018 and my first baseline appointment was on January 29, 2018.
2. They do not give great medication instructions. When you are sent 3 different needles, it would be great to know which one goes with which medication. They also told me to watch the Freedom Fertility videos, but some of those differ from the amounts they wanted me to use.
3. Staff do not look at charts/records when prior to seeing a patient. At my baseline ultrasound I was asked multiple times what day of my cycle I was on, when I explained that I wasn't because I had been on birth control. Both my husband and I were so confused/concerned after that appointment, thinking we had been instructed wrong.
4. Some staff are not sure of themselves, I even overheard some in the hallway while waiting in the ultrasound room about how follicles were written and recorded on one side, but the actual photos showed it was the other side. Really concerned hearing this, when I was waiting for an ultrasound.
5. During my transfer, the Doctor asked if the Fellow could do my transfer. I agreed, and the Fellow was asking for something, but the embryologist came over the speaker saying she didn’t need that, and she said Oh I mean this instead. At that point, I felt the Fellow didn’t know what she was doing.
6. Incorrect Information Provided - Shortly after my baseline ultrasound, when I was instructed to stop birth control, I felt I was getting my cycle. When I called the nurse to ask if this was normal, she told me I should not have a period, and that if I had heavy bleeding to call back. The next day I got my period and called back and that time I was told that she checked with the doctor and it was normal.
7. Financial staff were often not in the office during our visits, and when they were we were only able to talk to one staff member who was brand new and not able to answer our questions. This led to a surprise on our Day 3 visit when we were told we would owe $450 more if we waited until Day 5, which was never told to us in the beginning.
8. Told 3 different things by Dr. Hurd, and I mainly believe this was due to him not looking at my husband's records to be able to make the right decisions. We were told there was no need to do ICSI, and then recommended we do half, and then full. And during all of that we were told by the doctor in a MyChart email that half ICSI would cost the same as regular...but after we looked into this further, he said that was not the case, and he meant that if we did half ICSI it was the same as full ICSI.
9. During my first follicle ultrasound, I had to wait 45 minutes for blood work, after asking the front desk multiple times. When I finally got my blood drawn, the phlebotomist told me that she had tried to go look for me in the back because she thought I was at my nurse's appointment...when I wasn't even there for a nurse appointment I was there for an ultrasound.
10. I had an allergic reaction to my shots, and when I called the REI Fellow on call, she called me back and told me she would check with the doctor and call back in the afternoon. I never received a call, so I called the on call line back, she called me back and said she had totally forgot to call me back.
11. During my first blood test to see if the transfer had worked, I was told I'd received a call between 12-3 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., still no call. I called the office, and they had the nurse call me. The nurse rudely told me she had left a message on my phone at 1:40 p.m. I had been anxiously waiting near my phone all afternoon, and did not have any missed calls or messages, so I'm not sure who got that message.
1
Clinic
Duke Fertility Center
Durham