Dr. Abbasi cares deeply about her patients. She is incredibly accessible via email, even on weekends. After each of my egg retrievals (3), she called me daily to not only check on my physical well-being but also to give me embryo updates. She performed every single one of my monitoring ultrasounds, egg retrievals, transfers and early pregnancy ultrasounds. I also appreciate her ability to tell me the truth and never sugar coat important information I need to hear. I trust her deeply!
While individual nurses at CFA are lovely, overall as a team they are disorganized, difficult to deal with and can be impersonal. Patients need to have a high degree of self-advocacy skill and overall knowledge of IVF procedures to navigate this element of the CFA experience. Dr. Abbasi is amazing and would be better served with a more organized and committed team.
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
I saw Dr. Abbasi originally as a patient being treated for PCOS/anovulation. After over a year of negative tests and treatments including timed intercourse with injections and IUIs, we moved onto IVF with PGS tested embryos. When my first FET failed, Dr. Abbasi decided to run more tests to figure out why I was having such a lack of success at my age (28) with good egg quality. Her testing determined that I had many immunological and blood-clotting factors which were making it impossible for my embryos to implant. Once we began treatment for these issues I was able to get pregnant and carry to term (and am currently pregnant again after repeating my successful protocol). I am so thankful that Dr. Abbasi took quick action to make changes and figure out what my issues were. She didn't just suggest repeating the same failing strategy over and over. She is blunt and honest and I trust her intimately to tell me what I need to hear to be successful. I will always be thankful to her for being our miracle worker. I have also never heard of another doctor, anywhere, who is as hands-on as her. She performs all monitoring ultrasounds, retrievals, transfers and early pregnancy ultrasounds for her patients. She is incredibly responsive to email and has a dry sense of humor that I love!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Do not be afraid to contact her directly to get the information you need. Ask her as many questions as you need to in order to be prepared for your cycle. Do not expect her to small talk often or give you a sugar-coated consult. Others might say that she is "cold" but if you get to know her you will find that she cares deeply for her patients and shows it through her hands-on care and not her smalltalk. There are not many doctors that call patients daily after retrieval and put patient health and safety above all else (including doing all she can to eliminate chances for OHSS).
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr. Abbasi cares deeply about her patients. She is incredibly accessible via email, even on weekends. After each of my egg retrievals (3), she called me daily to not only check on my physical well-being but also to give me embryo updates. She performed every single one of my monitoring ultrasounds, egg retrievals, transfers and early pregnancy ultrasounds. I also appreciate her ability to tell me the truth and never sugar coat important information I need to hear. I trust her deeply!
Describe the protocols Rafat Abbasi used in your cycles at Columbia Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
My first retrieval protocol was antagonist with ICSI, lupron trigger, and FET. My 2 successful cycles involved the lupron down-regulation protocol with HCG trigger, ICSI and fresh transfers. For my 2 successful transfers I was also on an immune protocol which involved IVIG, Prednisone, neupogen and lovenox. I switched to the fresh transfer approach after having difficulty during my first cycle getting my lining thick enough for FET. My lining was better during my fresh cycles. My immune testing came after my PGS FET failed.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Columbia Fertility Associates.
While individual nurses at CFA are lovely, overall as a team they are disorganized, difficult to deal with and can be impersonal. Patients need to have a high degree of self-advocacy skill and overall knowledge of IVF procedures to navigate this element of the CFA experience. Dr. Abbasi is amazing and would be better served with a more organized and committed team.
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
CFA is small and personal. You will see your doctor often and they will likely do all of your major procedures. They are incredibly accessible via email and will take a variety of "hard" patients that other clinics might deny to keep their stats higher. Their nursing and billing departments, as well as their overall competence as a medical office, can be infuriating and hard to navigate. But the quality of care from Dr. Abbasi made it worth it to me (just need to self-advocate a lot!!)
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Columbia Fertility Associates.
7:30 is always when monitoring was supposed to begin, but really it begins when the nurses show up. As a teacher who had to be at work early, I'd have to get there even earlier to get to be first in line so I could get out of the door fast. However, in my most recent cycle Dr. Abbasi did all of my montioring herself and I always appreciated this level of care!
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.
My insurance covered treatment and meds, but the freezing/testing part of any cycle was around $5400 (this was the part my insurance wouldn't cover) and embryo testing itself could be thousands more depending on the number of embryos to be tested. The immunological treatment I did for my successful cycles was around $30,000 per cycle.
Describe Rafat Abbasi's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia Fertility Associates.
Dr. Abbasi is open to mutliple embryo transfer but definitely prefers to do a single embryo transfer with a PGS tested embryo. She does not believe that multiple embryos lead to a higher chance of success (just a higher chance of having multiples).
What specific things went wrong at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
Lost paperwork
Lost appointments
Failed to call with results
Failed to order appropriate test
Provided conflicting information
Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Columbia Fertility Associates.
The nurses, while nice, are disorganized and there is no apparent system to manage patients or provide information. It boggles my mind why patients are not given one main nurse to work with (each day you might hear from a different nurse and information gets lost). I have no idea why they cannot use an online portal or online records (back when they had multiple offices they had to physically move files from one office to another and my records were misplaced many times). I had to double check all my medication and treatment calendar items to check for inaccuracies. Their front desk and nurses can also be impossible to reach via phone
Dr Abassi is incredibly knowledgeable and I feel like she is prescribing things specifically for my situation ... With her, I feel like my treatment is tailored. Now - the only thing is that she can come across as no-nonsense. I like it - I'm here for answers. But I can see that it could rub others the wrong way. ... I also think she is putting more effort into figuring out the cause of my unexplained infertility than other doctors, who just wanted to label it and jump straight into IUI and IVF with standard procedures.
Billing/financial counseling has been complicated - hard to get in touch with the financial counselor at my clinic [Columbia Fertility Associates], and I didn't get a fee sheet, errors in describing of fees, double-billing for the same service. The good news is that eventually it all worked out - but getting it all to be accurate has been hard. ... their morning monitoring hours start at 7:30. I usually arrive at 7:20 so I can be first in line - often nurses and office staff don't arrive until 7:35 and they take the first appointment at 7:45 (when the waiting room is really filling up).
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr Abassi is completely trustworthy and knowledgeable - I totally trust her medical knowledge. I also think she is putting more effort into figuring out the cause of my unexplained infertility than other doctors, who just wanted to label it and jump straight into IUI and IVF with standard procedures. With her, I feel like my treatment is tailored. Now - the only thing is that she can come across as no-nonsense. I like it - I'm here for answers. But I can see that it could rub others the wrong way.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Bring all your medical records with you to your consultation - we went over them in detail and it was very helpful I had them all well organized in a binder. At times it was a bit like a pop quiz on different numbers and treatments.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr Abassi is incredibly knowledgeable and I feel like she is prescribing things specifically for my situation
Describe the protocols Rafat Abbasi used in your cycles at Columbia Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
IUI - letrozole plus FSH, then trigger and progesterone suppositories. I ovulate on my own but the goal is to get multiple eggs to improve the chances.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia Fertility Associates. (Assigned nurse: Vanessia)
Nursing staff is great, very communicative, very in touch after bloodwork, etc
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
I love the doctors and nurses.
Billing/financial counseling has been complicated - hard to get in touch with the financial counselor at my clinic, and I didn't get a fee sheet, errors in describing of fees, double-billing for the same service. The good news is that eventually it all worked out - but getting it all to be accurate has been hard.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.
$1620 for IUI with letrozole, including everything except the baseline appt
Describe Rafat Abbasi's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia Fertility Associates.
n/a
What specific things went wrong at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Lost paperwork
Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Columbia Fertility Associates.
In addition to billing issues I already described, their morning monitoring hours start at 7:30. I usually arrive at 7:20 so I can be first in line - often nurses and office staff don't arrive until 7:35 and they take the first appointment at 7:45 (when the waiting room is really filling up). Morning monitoring always takes a long time due to this!
Dr Abbasi saw that I had had 3 miscarriages already and so she really wanted to get to the bottom of it...She ordered tests that showed a bacterial infection and thus put me on a protocol for antibiotics. I had been taking Chinese herbs on my own for months while taking a TTC break so I insisted on doing one unmedicated IUI. She agreed to let me do only one and insisted that I do back-to-back inseminations in two days. It worked out well because I did get pregnant but it turned out to be my fourth miscarriage. Then she really went to town on bloodwork and ordered special immunological testing that was not considered mainstream. She sent me to a hematologist to interpret the results. He recommended that I do IVIG prior to transfer .
If you can get to the Bethesda clinic of CFA [Columbia Fertility Associates], it is much smaller and much calmer. You have to go down to the bottom floor for your blood tests but the nurse was so nice there compared to the super busy nurses at the D.C. Clinic...Dr Abbasi is very straightforward and not as chatty as other doctors. However I felt that she was very interested in coming up with a protocol to address my miscarriages. She ordered tests that showed a bacterial infection and thus put me on a protocol for antibiotics. I had been taking Chinese herbs on my own for months while taking a TTC break so I insisted on doing one unmedicated IUI. She agreed to let me do only one and insisted that I do back-to-back inseminations in two days. It worked out well because I did get pregnant but it turned out to be my fourth miscarriage. Then she really went to town on bloodwork and ordered special immunological testing that was not considered mainstream. She sent me to a hematologist to interpret the results. He recommended that I do IVIG prior to transfer .
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr Abbasi is very straightforward and not as chatty as other doctors. However I felt that she was very interested in coming up with a protocol to address my miscarriages. She ordered tests that showed a bacterial infection and thus put me on a protocol for antibiotics. I had been taking Chinese herbs on my own for months while taking a TTC break so I insisted on doing one unmedicated IUI. She agreed to let me do only one and insisted that I do back-to-back inseminations in two days. It worked out well because I did get pregnant but it turned out to be my fourth miscarriage.
Then she really went to town on bloodwork and ordered special immunological testing that was not considered mainstream. She sent me to a hematologist to interpret the results.
He recommended that I do IVIG prior to transfer .
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
I would say that she is an excellent doctor so don't be put off by her manner. She might be a bit brusque but she used to be a military doctor! I think she was in the Army.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr Abbasi saw that I had had 3 miscarriages already and so she really wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Describe the protocols Rafat Abbasi used in your cycles at Columbia Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
Dr Abbasi let me do an unmedicated cycle but also antibiotics for a bacterial infection. I did use a trigger shot.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia Fertility Associates. (Assigned nurse: Can't remember -- so mad!)
I can't believe I can't remember her name because she was amazing and took so much time and was the best. Will look up her name in my records and emails.
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
If you can get to the Bethesda clinic of CFA, it is much smaller and much calmer. You have to go down to the bottom floor for your blood tests but the nurse was so nice there compared to the super busy nurses at the D.C. Clinic.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.
I did a double IUI for an unmedicated cycle with a trigger shot. Will have to look up my costs!
She [Dr. Abbasi] was patient with my questions and honest about my chances. She agreed that IUI made sense first (given my age and medical history) and explained that after 6 cycles, she would recommend other options. ("cross that bridge when we come to it") When I got pregnant with twins (I'm a single mom), she was amazing candid about explaining how selective reduction would work--although I did not decide to go that route in the end...She was upfront and honest. I found her to be warm, but honestly I'm fine with more medical facts and less bedside manner.
They [Columbia - VA] have a number of locations which is good and they have a central location that is open on the weekends if you need it. They seemed well run. The insurance person was amazing. She knew more about my coverage than the people on the help line at the insurance company....I paid for the sperm and I paid for the defrosting and prep of the sperm. I think that the sperm was about $750 a vial and the prep was $250. My insurance covered everything else....[Nurses] were fine. Professional and organized. The clinic seemed to run on time...
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She was upfront and honest. I found her to be warm, but honestly I'm fine with more medical facts and less bedside manner. She was super cool with me being single. It really never came up after I explained why I was there in the beginning.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She has a piecemeal approach--don't think about things too far down the road if you don't need to. Don't do tests that you don't need to. I really liked that.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She was patient with my questions and honest about my chances. She agreed that IUI made sense first (given my age and medical history) and explained that after 6 cycles, she would recommend other options. ("cross that bridge when we come to it") When I got pregnant with twins (I'm a single mom), she was amazing candid about explaining how selective reduction would work--although I did not decide to go that route in the end. No judgment at all about any of it.
Describe the protocols Rafat Abbasi used in your cycles at Columbia Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
We tried two cycles without any clomid or injections. (My choice.) Then we tried one cycle with clomid and an injection. She was supportive of my decision to try and do it naturally, but was also supportive when I changed my mind.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Columbia Fertility Associates.
As I recall they were fine. Professional and organized. The clinic seemed to run on time.
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
They have a number of locations which is good and they have a central location that is open on the weekends if you need it. They seemed well run. The insurance person was amazing. She knew more about my coverage than the people on the help line at the insurance company. I was shocked at how much of my treatments were covered by my insurance.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.
I paid for the sperm and I paid for the defrosting and prep of the sperm. I think that the sperm was about $750 a vial and the prep was $250. My insurance covered everything else.
Dr. Abassi was trustworthy and compassionate, but straight to the point. She did not sugar-coat anything...She was compassionate. It's [Columbia Fertility Associates] a smaller clinic so it didn't feel like a factory. The doctor spent many visits talking to me and spending more time than expected.
It's [Columbia Fertility Associates] a smaller clinic so it didn't feel like a factory. The doctor spent many visits talking to me and spending more time than expected. Monitoring appointments were done early in the morning. I always tried to get there as early as possible so I wouldn't have to wait a long time. At times it was stressful if only 1 nurse was available.
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Dr. Abassi was trustworthy and compassionate, but straight to the point. She did not sugar-coat anything. She made recommendations that ultimately resulted in a pregnancy. She was compassionate.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She has your best interest at heart. She does not sugar coat anything.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
It's a smaller clinic so it didn't feel like a factory. The doctor spent many visits talking to me and spending more time than expected. They always returned calls and made suggestions for treatments.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Columbia Fertility Associates.
It was a small group and they listened and were attentive.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Columbia Fertility Associates.
Monitoring appointments were done early in the morning. I always tried to get there as early as possible so I wouldn't have to wait a long time. At times it was stressful if only 1 nurse was available.
She [Dr. Abbasi] was thorough and open. We liked her.We did not work with her for very long because we moved out of the area. She was personable and careful. We trusted her and would have continued with her if we had not moved.
They [the staff at Washington Fertility Center] were professional and efficient but very human and kind...I don't remember having any problems with this practice. I don't think we ever felt hurried or ignored. I'm sure we would have gone on to the next option after we tried an unsuccessful insemination, but we moved.
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Washington Fertility Center?
She was thorough and open. We liked her.We did not work with her for very long because we moved out of the area. She was personable and careful. We trusted her and would have continued with her if we had not moved. I don't remember having any problems with this practice. I don't think we ever felt hurried or ignored. I'm sure we would have gone on to the next option after we tried an unsuccessful insemination, but we moved.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Washington Fertility Center?
She seemed very genuine. We had a good experience.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Washington Fertility Center?
They were professional and efficient but very human and kind
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Washington Fertility Center.
I asked Dr. Abbasi repeatedly to call me by the nickname I use (something very common), but every time I met with her she continued to use my full given name. She never remembered the details of my case and was on vacation for at least part of two of my three stimulation cycles...She does not seem to be keeping up with recent studies/literature, but got very defensive any time I asked her for data to support a decision or questioned why we would try something different. She refused to admit my second cycle was worse than my first even though I got fewer eggs and embryos.
Do not go to Columbia Fertility. They are disorganized and sloppy to the point of negligence. Everyone complains about the billing department, but both the andrology and embryology labs made errors that impacted my course of treatment. I actually had a successful pregnancy with CFA and would still not recommend...I always went first thing in the morning. I thought it was efficient at the time, but my current clinic is much better organized
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Most of the positive reviews for Dr. Abbasi are from a while ago. She does not seem to be keeping up with recent studies/literature, but got very defensive any time I asked her for data to support a decision or questioned why we would try something different. She refused to admit my second cycle was worse than my first even though I got fewer eggs and embryos.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
I don't think anyone should got to Columbia Fertility period. There are better options within a few blocks in DC.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
I asked Dr. Abbasi repeatedly to call me by the nickname I use (something very common), but every time I met with her she continued to use my full given name. She never remembered the details of my case and was on vacation for at least part of two of my three stimulation cycles. Many people complain about her lack of empathy, but that didn't bother me.
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
Do not go to Columbia Fertility. They are disorganized and sloppy to the point of negligence. Everyone complains about the billing department, but both the andrology and embryology labs made errors that impacted my course of treatment. I actually had a successful pregnancy with CFA and would still not recommend.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Columbia Fertility Associates.
I always went first thing in the morning. I thought it was efficient at the time, but my current clinic is much better organized.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.
I paid out of pocket. The costs were typical for IVF, but I regret not going to another clinic because I would have required fewer cycles.
What specific things went wrong at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She [Dr. Abbasi] knows her stuff regarding reproductive immunology.. I would highly recommend and trust her. She was willing to do immune testing on me even though i didn't do my ivf with her. She answers questions and seems to know her stuff... Get immune testing. She is experienced w that...I was frustrated recently when i did a mock cycle for an ERA and they [Columbia Fertility Associates] knew i did a trigger shot but still made me do an hcg test which came back positive.they said i was pregnant and cancelled my ERA. It was positive because i did a trigger
I was frustrated recently when i did a mock cycle for an ERA and they [Columbia Fertility Associates] knew i did a trigger shot but still made me do an hcg test which came back positive.they said i was pregnant and cancelled my ERA. It was positive because i did a trigger...She [Dr. Abbasi] knows her stuff regarding reproductive immunology.. I would highly recommend and trust her. She was willing to do immune testing on me even though i didn't do my ivf with her. She answers questions and seems to know her stuff
How was your experience with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She knows her stuff regarding reproductive immunology.. I would highly recommend and trust her. She was willing to do immune testing on me even though i didn't do my ivf with her. She answers questions and seems to know her stuff
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
Get immune testing. She is experienced w that
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates?
She was very thorough
Describe your experience with Columbia Fertility Associates.
I was frustrated recently when i did a mock cycle for an ERA and they knew i did a trigger shot but still made me do an hcg test which came back positive.they said i was pregnant and cancelled my ERA. It was positive because i did a trigger
Describe the costs associated with your care under Rafat Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates.