Dr. Kipersztok very much cared about me as a patient, but it didn't seem to show until after we failed a couple times. He personally made time to call me, even on his days off, with results and other important news during my cycles...Different REs did my retrievals and transfers, even though Dr. Kipersztok was my primary RE. For the third cycle, it felt much more like he personally cared about my case, especially since we had two miserable failures preceding this. He requested to personally do both my retrieval and transfer, and that was the cycle that worked.
The nurses [Shady Grove - Waldorf] sometimes assumed that you knew what you were doing when you had no clue...Billing can be frustrating to work with...It was very difficult to understand billing statements and procedure codes... I also had to call in to clarify conflicting information between my original med plan and voicemails left after monitoring to ensure that they meant to make a change...Perhaps due to its size, I often felt like a number rather than a patient...
How was your experience with Simon Kipersztok (retired) at Shady Grove Fertility?
Dr. Kipersztok very much cared about me as a patient, but it didn't seem to show until after we failed a couple times. He personally made time to call me, even on his days off, with results and other important news during my cycles.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Simon Kipersztok (retired) at Shady Grove Fertility?
Advocate for yourself. Don't be afraid to ask for the level of communication you need.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Simon Kipersztok (retired) at Shady Grove Fertility?
For the first two cycles, I felt very much so treated as a number. Different REs did my retrievals and transfers, even though Dr. Kipersztok was my primary RE. For the third cycle, it felt much more like he personally cared about my case, especially since we had two miserable failures preceding this. He requested to personally do both my retrieval and transfer, and that was the cycle that worked.
Describe the protocols Simon Kipersztok (retired) used in your cycles at Shady Grove Fertility and their degree of success.
I started with the generic protocol (Menopur + Gonal-F) for the first cycle. We did an eSET on day 5 that was unsuccessful (chemical pregnancy) and didn't have any embryos that made it to the freezer. For the next cycle, we added Lupron to my protocol in addition to the Menopur and Gonal-F. That produced almost double the eggs of the first cycle. We transferred two embryos on day 5 and none made it to the freezer again. This cycle was also unsuccessful. For the third cycle, we kept the same medication protocol, but transferred two embryos on day 3 and had one embryo make it to the freezer on day 5. That was the cycle that worked.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Shady Grove Fertility. (Assigned nurse: Nikki)
The nurses sometimes assumed that you knew what you were doing when you had no clue. It was also a toss-up on when they would call you with test or monitoring results. For my second cycle, my nurse forgot to send my prescription for my medications to the specialty pharmacy. We didn't catch that until my baseline scan and I had to scramble to get my meds in time to start my cycle. Monitoring always seemed very rushed in the mornings and there wasn't always a lot of time for questions or personal care.
Describe your experience with Shady Grove Fertility.
This clinic has a wide network across my larger geographical area. My normal clinic was 45 minutes from my house. It was closed on the weekends, so I had to drive 90 minutes on the weekends for monitoring. Perhaps due to its size, I often felt like a number rather than a patient. Billing can be frustrating to work with, as it is in a separate office and my clinic's staff would simply tell me to call them. It was very difficult to understand billing statements and procedure codes. Since I had to pay a significant amount out of pocket, this was very frustrating.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Simon Kipersztok (retired) at Shady Grove Fertility.
We paid approximately $7500 per cycle for clinic costs plus approximately $3000 per cycle for medication. That was with insurance covering 50% of both the clinic costs and the medication.
Describe Simon Kipersztok (retired)'s approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Shady Grove Fertility.
Dr. Kipersztok highly recommends eSET, especially for the first cycle. He will always recommend eSET, but will yield to your decision if you would like to transfer two embryos.
What specific things went wrong at Shady Grove Fertility?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Shady Grove Fertility.
The nurse forgot to call in my meds to the specialty pharmacy for my second cycle. After my baseline monitoring, I had to spend the day on the phone with the pharmacy and the clinic to make sure everything was getting ordered and approved by insurance in time to start my cycle. There was also a time or two where I was told that they would call that day with results and I didn't hear from them until the next day. I also had to call in to clarify conflicting information between my original med plan and voicemails left after monitoring to ensure that they meant to make a change. Sometimes the change was intentional and sometimes it was a mistake.
7
Doctor
Simon Kipersztok (retired)
7
Clinic
Shady Grove Fertility
Waldorf