Stephen G. Somkuti

Dr. Somkuti is kind, humorous, and straightforward. I appreciate the detail and time that he dedicates to us. Dr. Somkuti personally calls us regarding test results. I truly appreciate this because I know it takes time and patience to give us results and answer questions. Our journey is only beginning, and diminished ovarian reserve is a whole lot to process. With that said, I am hopeful that the care we are receiving will eventually lead to our rainbow baby.

Let your guard down- Dr. Somkuti’s personality will help you do that! Do not be afraid to be confused. Ask questions, and trust that Dr. Somkuti will give you an knowledgeable and honest answer.

My husband and I suffered a miscarriage a year prior. Instead of telling us how common it is and so on, we were comforted. We knew instantly that we wanted to continue with Abington Reproductive because we were treated with such kindness.

Cycle 1: trying naturally with the assistance of clomid and the ovulation trigger shot (ovidrel) Cycle 2: IUI with clomid (because my body responded well the first time) and ovulation trigger shot (ovidrel)

I leave most appointments meeting with a nurse before I leave. All of my questions are answered. There are times when I email a question and get an almost immediate and helpful response. I have had a lot of questions and nerves about the IUI procedure. Susan took her time to give me the peace of mind. I feel so comfortable talking to the nursing staff.

I could go on and on about the strengths of this clinic. Being a school teacher, my schedule is very limited. This practice works around my schedule by offering 7am appointments. I see the people at this clinic more than my own parents! They treat you like you matter, and that is very important.

My initial testing was a few hundred dollars. I go once or twice a week for bloodwork, ultrasounds, procedures, etc. Each visit is a $40 co-pay. Medications for the 2 cycles were $300 total. Labcorp bloodwork has been hundreds of dollars (still waiting on the total bill.) My husband keeps it all in a spreadsheet. My husband has gone 2 times to give a sample totaling $80.

I liked meeting with Dr. Somkuti when I saw him. He is obviously knowledgable and interjects humor when appropriate. When you go for monitoring visits, it is almost always a nurse, but procedures were all completed by Dr. Somkuti or another physician.

They have to appreciate his humor. I can see how it might not be for everyone.

I mainly communicated with nurses, when he called with results, it was always on speaker phone

I arrived to the office after experiencing a miscarriage and wanted to improve my chances of getting pregnant quickly and address any potential factors for the miscarriage. Dr. Somkuti ordered a full panel of bloodwork and recommended several procedures to rule out genetic issues, metabolic issues, fallopian tubes problems or abnormalities in the uterus. Every thing came back fine, with the exception of a recessive genetic disorder, but my husband is not a carrier. We proceeded with a medicated cycle (Clomid, Ovidrel) and timed intercourse, I became pregnant during the first cycle, but had a miscarriage at 7 weeks.

I had a great experience with the nursing staff. They responded to messages promptly and usually provided test results promptly.

I had a terrible experience with the billing department at this practice. I met with a financial consultant during my first appointment and was told that monitoring procedures would be covered with a referral. During my testing cycle, I noticed that Explanation of Benefits (EOB) on my insurance page were showing large bills for ultrasounds (usually $180 or more). I called the billing department right away and was told that it was just an EOB and the final bill should reflect that I'm covered. With this assurance, I continued with my ultrasounds (probably 8 total). A few weeks later, I received bills for the ultrasound and two procedures, totaling over $2000. I called multiple people within the practice about this concern and was told that it was part of my deductible. I consulted with a colleague with identical insurance who was undergoing fertility treatments at another practice and she was only billed the copay ($40) for identical services. The practice was completely unwilling to review their billing procedures. I visited two additional practices in the area for consultations and was billed only the copay for ultrasounds. I am still trying to resolve this issue.

Over $2000 for monitoring ultrasounds and two diagnostic procedures for testing cycle/medicated timed intercourse.

With fertility treatments, there is no guarantee a pregnancy will result. However, all the drs are extremely positive. Dr. Somkuti would take the time at each ultrasound and explain the procedure, answer questions, and explain my chances.

Ask questions if you have questions. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Fertility is expensive and they expect to have questions.

Dr. Somkuti always made time to answer all my questions. Appointments never felt rushed and never felt like he had more important things to do.

Every cycle besides my first, I had ICSI done.

With multiple appointments each week, you get to know all staff. The nursing staff soon knows you by name and are also friendly and helpful. I like to understand everything that is happening and the nurses and drs made time to answer any question I had.

Their primary strength would have to be the number of locations they now have. I had to drive into Abington every day but now they have satellite offices in many cities. That is huge to someone from out of town and who has to work. The only downside would be then that all retrievals must be done at the main office.

The costs were comparable to other clinics.

In the beginning, my husband and I really appreciated Dr. Somkuti's openness and willingness to answer questions. As treatment went on, I felt like that lessened and more and more we were pushed off to the nursing and clinic staff.

1) Be prepared for constant students in almost every visit, procedure, and appointment 2) You will have VERY little interaction with the physician 3) His humor and candidness worked really well for my husband

He was great at our initial assessment with explaining everything and walking us through the testing process. Subsequent visits have felt a little rushed and like some of my questions were annoying.

The nursing staff is great, but often hard to get in touch with (it is always a process of leaving a message and having them get back to you). Also, a few times, I felt like there wasn't a clear communication with the full team as to cycle next steps.

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