Joseph Sanfilippo

I only saw Dr. Sanfillipo once during 3 years of treatment. Everything was automated. I felt like they were running a machine and I was just another part going through the steps.

Dr S. seems to read from a script every time he talks to me, and that is when I actually get to talk to him. You never see the docs , except at the start of a protocol cycle and sometimes for procedures. Otherwise you see the phlebotomists, ultrasound techs pretty exclusively. You do talk to the nurse team, but never see them unless you are signing consents. Its really not a personal process so I know you have to advocate for yourself, but when you do have a doc. for a tele-med apt or a call, they should take the time and answer all your questions. I don't know if it is because he has been doing this for so long that he has forgotten how emotional this process is for patients, or he is frustrated because I ask so many questions (I really want to understand everything to make sense of the process and procedures, medicines, protocol, etc.) but he never fully answers questions, I've always felt like he just sort of brushes concern off without fully explaining and helping me to understand. He is the "OG" of fertility and RE here in Pittsburgh. The best of the best, for sure. He has trained everyone in the practice, but his beside manner left me wanting more. I have been with him for 7 years (two rounds, the first was egg freezing as an insurance policy) and then went back in 2021 to actually get pregnant. I felt much more "taken care of" in 2016/2017. It could be a combination of things, it wasn't as emotional, it was pre-covid, etc. but I have decided to switch docs at the practice in hopes for better communication.

Dr. Sanfilippo has always been straight forward with me about everything. He is understanding and really listens to my concerns. He gives me options but also gives me direction at the same time when I don't know which way to turn. He understands when I don't want to go a certain way with treatment and has never pushed me to do something I didn't want to. He shows compassion, empathy and it is easy to see that he truly just wants to help people achieve their dreams of being parents.

Dr. Sanfillipo and his staff have always been wonderful. Dr.Sanfillipo is always kind and takes the time to make sure he answers any questions you have.

He did not take the time to review my extensive infertility records prior to our visit. Despite my going through IVF elsewhere 6 prior times (I had moved from another state), he went the basics of IVF with me. He did not provide any personalized care and I felt he was reciting a script that he uses for all his patients, but especially for first time IVF'ers. He was a poor communicator and I would not recommend at all.

Dr. Sanfilippo is always very attentive to us. He sees hundreds of patients and had never treated us like a number. He realizes that each case and couple are unique and different in their needs/treatment and you can see he truly believes it.

The entire staff tgere is so caring, and explains everything in great detail.

When I would meet with him, he always had a good handle of my diagnosis and never confused me with other patients. He never seemed rushed to leave and move on to his next appointment. He is always willing to listen and answer all of my questions.

There were so many nurses on staff nobody had any idea who you were even though I was in the clinic all the time. If you wanted to get in contact with a nurse, you had to call the "nurses line" and leave a message and wait for a call back from whichever nurse decided to call. The nurses never knew who you were, so if you don't keep detailed notes on your cycle, medication, ultrasounds, etc., the probability of the nurses knowing where you are in your cycle is slim.

It was more with the nurses not being on the same page as Dr. S.. When this would happen I would get conflicting information which then made me feel like my specific case was not being taken into consideration. From this, I felt like I was receiving generic treatment.

Dr. S clearly has a very busy schedule. My partner and I felt very rushed through our consultation and did not get thorough answers to any of our questions. I felt like rather than explaining treatment options to me and tailoring treatment to me as an individual, we were given binders and pamphlets to review on our own-with no opportunity for follow up.

Dr S took his time to explain every detail of our diagnosis and our best options. He was not in a rush to get out of the door. He was there to answer all questions and was very compassionate towards us

Depending on the fellow assisting Dr. Sanfelippo I felt more like a human. However, the entire proves was very much impersonal.

Joseph Sanfilipo took time to explain my diagnosis and gave me the treatment options. He gave me time to ask all my questions and heard what I said and cleared all my doubts.

I had scheduled a consultation, but with vivid19 was worried that it would be stalled indefinitely. I got a call from the nurse to set-up a video appointment even early then the originally scheduled. The dr was knowledgeable and was able to walk me through the process including the next steps with us being in the current situation with covid19 and the stay home order in my state.