Heather Hipp

Dr. Hipp was my personal choice having met with her for the various procedures that began my treatment. We immediately built a report. She is always willing to support our choices - as long as there are still options on the table. I have never felt left out of the conversation or the decisions we have made in my treatment and surgical plans. While still in the burgeoning years of her career, Dr. Hipp is knowledgeable, confident, and compassionate.

Dr. Hipp is willing to advocate for your care to fit you and your needs - all while competently addressing the issues at hand. She is willing to look under all the rocks for possible adjustments or procedures and is willing to allow your body to work hard in its own unique time.

Dr. Hipp is warm and friendly. She is realistic and gentle-of-spirit - even when the subject of conversation is not the news you'd like. At one point in my treatment, Dr. Hipp called me personally to share some troubling news and immediately went to work to have my tests reevaluated so that we had plenty of options and information to work with. She is so caring and hopeful for us, with us, and is always direct without being unkind.

We have worked hard for years combating unexplained scar tissue - pills, injections, tests, surgeries, balloon catheters - together we've thrown out the rule books and have made tremendous progress. We've had varying levels of hormones serve as roadblocks along the way and through Dr. Hipp's guidance, have corrected and been able to keep moving forward. And we haven't stopped yet - we finally got the last surgical procedure aligned with the right combination of injections, acupuncture, a proper cath... - and low and behold, my cycles even came back unassisted for the first time in years! Dr. Hipp's recommendations have been strategic and considerate of my unique circumstances. We will likely move forward with IVF in the coming weeks and I know that I am in good hands as we attempt this next phase.

ERC is a teaching environment and not all of the nurses have the same approach to sharing treatment results. As an example - follicles like mine respond very slowly - but they are responding. Some nurses see the slow response not match what is considered to be large enough to get excited about. Some tell you every detail. For me, I want and need to know that I have growth at xx size and at xx amount on each ovary - as opposed to being told there has been "no response" simply because the sizing hasn't reached the size that nurse has been trained to disclose. So, I've had to say - "Put it in my chart that I want to know every detail. You can't tell a 40-year-old woman there's 'no response' to 225 daily units of Follistim when what's really happening is 8 follicles measuring at 8s and 9s." For me, any progress is progress and I've been able to take the information and use it to determine if the cycle was still viable for IUI. So far, so good. The staff is open to making adjustments - but you have to advocate for yourself in this environment. Otherwise, the lessons tend to be more focused by-the-book.

This clinic is a teaching environment and that is an environment I've had to make adjustments for. On occasion, I've had the ultrasound tech that is nervous or the nurse that answers her cell phone. There have been some surprises along the way. If you choose to seek treatment here, remember that it is okay to refuse to let 4 fellows in the room for your SHG or whatever heinous and scary test you may have to have run during your journey and take opportunities to share your constructive feedback. You are first and foremost!

My insurance covers a great deal of the costs. My deductible is $2700. In 2018, my IUI medications cost me $5300 out of pocket in addition to meeting my individual deductible.

Dr. Hipp was a compassionate, smart, kind, and generous provider. She went above and beyond when it came to communication and relationship building. She gave us data so that we could make informed decisions, but didn’t treat us like data ourselves. She offered guidance, support, and treated me like a sister. When I needed a surgery that was outside the scope of her practice, she tracked down the best surgeon in the city and consulted with him. I always felt like I had the best of the best on my team, led by Dr. Hipp.

Be honest with her about your questions and fears. No question is stupid, and no fear unwarranted.

Dr. Hipp is extremely personable, remembers details about patients’ lives that are unrelated to fertility. She recognizes that family building is time consuming and stressful, but that her patients have whole lives outside of the clinic. She understood this while being completely committed to patient success.

I worked with Helen, primarily. She was an effective communicator, kind when answering questions, and was quick to respond. Everyone at the clinic was wonderful, though. From fellows to phlebotomists, everyone was a cheerleader!

I had a wonderful experience at Emory. From billing to scheduling to communication after hours, all of my questions were answered and needs were met. The staff is knowledgeable and they truly act as a team to support your care.

IUIs were about $1k with medication. Egg retrieval and embryo with icsi was about $15k. Embryo transfers were about $5k

I had a strong preference for a single embryo transfer. She supported that 100%.

She was very personal and kind. We had to switch doctors after 4 IUI because the previous Dr left the practice, which was very scary, but Dr Hipp picked right up where we left off and didn't make me repeat anything. Treatment continued exactly as planned with the previous doctor and I really appreciated that. When we got pregnant she was so encouraging and made sure we were considering our next steps and answered our questions.

Dr Hipp was very caring and understanding of how hard this journey has been. The nursing staff and the fellows were absolutely wonderful, always compassionate and gentle. It's such an emotional process and they understand that and treated me like a real person with feelings.

The previous doctor helped with most of the strategy (Dr McKenzie), but Dr Hipp allowed us to continue with that plan when we switched to her. We had 4 IUI with Femara and 6 previous clomid cycles. We were allowed to choose to do up to 2 more IUI cycles or change to IVF. The choice was very helpful. I took a 2 month break for emotional reasons then returned for #5 which was successful!!

OMG I loved all of the nurses at this office!!! They were so kind and caring, always encouraging me along the way. They answered my questions via message portal in an extremely quick manner and often called me back in less than an hour when decisions needed to be made quickly. They talked me through timing/schedule options which was very helpful when I was traveling during treatment. When I got pregnant the nurse was so happy for us!

Clean office, friendly receptionists. Most appointments we're very timely, things got backed up on the weekend appointments due to short staffing I think. They have a nice TV Which is helpful for distraction when I got stressed.

I paid for all IUI cycles out of pocket which was about $1500 per cycle after all bills. This was for ultrasounds, IUI and Dr bills

Dr. Hipp is amazing and so educated. She made sure to explain everything so we could understand it. If there were any set backs she made sure to call in addition to the nurses. She is just wonderful and I will definitely work with her again.

Ask as many questions as you need. Even if you feel like you are bothering them.

Dr. Hipp is very sweet. She’s like family. Hurts when you hurt, Happy when things go your way.

Our infertility was due to low AMH and male factor. We did one cycle where we started with estrogen patches when ovulation occurred. When I got my period we did the baseline and started Gonal-f and Menupur at max doses. About 7 days in we did the Cetrotide to prevent ovulation. We did the trigger shot on day 11 if I recall and the retrieval 2 days later. We got 9 eggs, 6 were mature. In the end we had 2 make it. We did a fresh transfer with a 4AA blast which ended in a chemical. We still have one frozen that we will transfer in July.

Helen was the one who called us with updates and told us what to do. She is very good at answering emails and calls you back the same day.

The doctors are Emory’s strength. They are some of the best in the US. I would recommend staying on top of the financial office and make sure your insurance covers meds or you will regret that! Overall, we had impeccable care.

Cost was about 15K for transfer and retrieval without meds.

No

Dr. Hipp reached out to me each time I had questions. She personally called to check on me after my D&C. After losing our baby before my birthday she made sure to be extremely kind and encouraged me to still have a good birthday. After we were in a car accident which I briefly mentioned she reached out to me to check in on us

Never be afraid to email her questions

Dr. Hipp is always very quick to respond to questions and remembers personal details of life

We began seeing Dr Hipp after a miscarriage from an IUI. She encouraged us to do an IUI again with metformin, follistim , and ovidrel and switched me to letrozole. I was then placed on progesterone suppositories and baby aspirin after the procedure. I am now on progesterone oil injections of 1ml

Helen was my main nurse but others would sometimes call. Helen was always very encouraging

Strengths: cheaper than other clinics. Easily reachable Weaknesses: not always organized

Medications sent to discount pharmacy so much cheaper than imagined. Injectibles ranged from $85-$270. IUI procedure around $700 Ultrasounds and visits covered by insurance

Amazing communicator always went above and beyond to call and commmnicate results and info that may not have been clear always called to reassure me the process she was very compassionate and caring thru the entire process

Be optimistic and and remain stress free

Very welcoming cared about very involved in my care. Very compassionate very knowledgeable

She always tried to help me reduce anxiety and stress. By staying informative and telling me to work less because I am a nurse. She indicated stress could cause negative results she recommended massages and breathing techniques

Very knowledgeable prompt compassionate always called back and followed up

Compassion concern always followed up and very polite caring. Made each visit very welcoming for my boyfriend and I. There were no weakness. I just wished the outcomes were better. I had a overal experience

20,000

I wish we could of done mutiple to increase my chances of pregnancy to a vapid having to do the process again. Although my doctor was concerned with my health and the pregnancy I wish it was note that could be done with embryo selection or a better choice

Dr. Hipp explained all possibilities thoroughly, and when things didn't go as planned, she took time to call in person to relay news and discuss possible solutions moving forward. Reviewed messages and answered those addressed directly to her, and answered very thoroughly.

Be honest and relay all your concerns from the beginning

Very supportive and understanding, Dr and staff

Nurse was more pen and paper based than electronic. All staff was always friendly, helpful, professional, and seemed to know what they were doing

Small, but state of the art facilities. Very professional, prompt responses to any questions and appointment calls. Clean. Privacy honored. Ideally located in midtown. Always available to answer questions

They let us choose while also giving their professional opinion

Dr. Hipp is amazing from the first appointment to the last. She was very thorough on what to expect as well as a treatment plan and always willing to answer questions. We some hiccups in treatment, insurance reasons, and she adjusted our treatment so that we would achieve the ultimate goal.

This isn’t specific to Dr. Hipp, but more to Emory that it is a teaching hospital for some things you may see Doctors completing residency or they may shadow Dr. Hipp. This was never an issue for me as I knew they were treating me based on actual research.

I previously went to a fertility clinic and met with a physician that never answered questions then pushed me off to another room with a folder that included pricing hidden in the back without any plan. I left that facility with more questions then when I arrived. I then found Dr. Hipp at Emory and the first time going to the office everyone was so inviting and kind as was Dr. Hipp. She answered all of mine and my husbands questions and was very detailed of what to expect and provided a treatment plan. Her and the staff were always accessible if we had questions. Everyone was respectful and caring at Emory and I am great full for them.

Due to insurance they required 6 failed IUI’s before they would cover any IVF treatment, even though the odds of them working was very low. After the 6 failed IUI’s I completed 1 round of IVF and transferred 1 frozen embryo.

We have only been seeing her for a couple of months, but our first visit with her we already knew that she was going to be the dr we choose. She truly shows how much she cares, and puts everything into the end goal, which is to get a successful pregnancy.

She is such a kind-hearted person. No matter what time of day, if I have any questions, I send her an email and she is super quick to respond. She shows how genuinely she cares about you and the rough process you are going through.

She is very sweet, and if I can't get a hold of the dr, she is quick to respond.

Overall, clinic is great. However, I did have an issue regarding the financial coordinator. I was trying to contact her to ask how much my appt would be out of pocket and she didn't reach out to me until after my appointment.

Still undergoing that process...

We advised us that it would be best to only transfer one at a time. This would benefit from health risks as well as multiples.