Mark Sauer

After going to other RE's I can honestly say that I have never been to such a terrible doctors office. It felt more like a factory or meat market then a doctors office. I was treated as a number and received a pager that would beep with instructions when it was my turn to pay or see the doctor. It is the same kind of pager that they had at my local fast food restaurant. No one bothered to learn my name and there was very little follow through on the part of the doctors. I saw a different doctor each time I came and they were not familiar with my case. Most of the time it took them multiple days to get back to me and the nurses were the only ones to call even when a specific request was placed to speak directly with Dr. Sauer. Other than my first consultation I never spoke or heard from Dr. Sauer until I complained and told them that I was leaving to another RE. I only stayed with them for 3 cycles 1 medicated colmid and two clomid IUIs. After my first clomid IUI cycle I expressed concern to the doctor I saw at morning monitoring about my heightened side effects that I was experiencing. She brushed me off and asked if I wanted to have a baby or not. And there was no follow through or attempt to switch my medication to other stimulants.

I recommend that each patient is on top of their treatment plan and asks many questions before undergoing treatment to ensure it is the most appropriate plan.

Other than my first office visit I never saw Dr. Sauer. I saw a different doctor at each visit each of whom were cold and made no effort to connect on a human level. When entering the office I would sign in and receive a blue pager identical to the kind I get at my local fast food restaurant. At the fast food restaurant I don't need them to learn my name but at my doctors office I expected them to take enough interest in at least momentary learning my name during the time that they are treating me. It made the whole experience feel like a factory or meet market.

The treatment plan was 6 clomid IUIs before looking to change the protocol because that they said was standard practice. I was not treated as an individual I was treated as someone who was infertile the same way it appears others were being treated.

The cost was $500 to speak with the Doctor and $5000 for IUI.

He was honest and forthright. I had seen other doctors before and his manner was much softer and gentler. As the leader of the practice, he set the tone. There was no "wall of shame" to look at. There was no cattle herding. There were no awful voicemails left. People talked to you gently and with respect.

He is VERY smart. He has seen a lot and done a lot. Ask questions and you will be answered.

They talked to me. I was a person - not a uterus. There were choices to be made and my opinion was solicited. Words that echo in my ears to this day "We can do a lot with technology but after the transfer, which embryo will become a person is left up to G-d."

Lupron - Stim - HCG shot - Retrieval. That is all I remember... my children are 10 now so this was 11 or 12 years ago.

They were busy but they always knew your name and what was happening with you.

The billing was chronically a mess. The whole situation is sad and frustrating but compared to other clinics, it is cheerful and efficient. The embryologists are good. The doctors are kind. They helped me become a mommy

It was as pleasant as it possibly could be. You weren't there forever. It was at these monitoring appointments that I discovered that the intrauterine ultrasounds did not have to hurt.

It was totally covered by insurance

The normal protocol was to transfer up to 2 day 5 blasts. I had two good looking ones (undifferentiated cells) and one not so good looking one. He knew this was my last cycle and asked about the 3rd one. Since I had been trying for 9 years with no success, I said sure put it in - you couldn't freeze just one so there was no point. I have triplets.

He's a nice guy, but he seemed too busy to be hands on with patients at the time. I was excited when I learned that I would be working with the director of Columbia, but I later learned that some of the other doctors were much better and much more compassionate.

Check out some of the other doctors available at the clinic

As the head of Columbia, he was very rushed. Very informative, but not very personal.

Columbia has changed their procedures within the time that I've been with them. It has been night and day! So much better! I am typically in and out of morning monitoring within one hour at the longest. Their new billing system is extremely organized and I like how they assign a billing person to each patient for direct communication. They also provide additional services such as a support group which I found helpful as well

He urged us to transfer two