Institute for Skin Advancement

Initial appointment: Wait 30 minutes for a 10 minute visit with the Doctor. Immediately after that appointment I booked a 6 – 8 week follow up).
When I arrived to that appointment I was informed ‘the doctor is not in today’ and we called you (and left no voicemail) whilst I was in Mexico and note: I returned to Calgary a week before the scheduled appointment. Kept my cool as irate as I was at taking an hour off of work to get to the appointment and back. Nothing could be accomplished by getting mad. Re-​booked for the following Monday (this happened on Friday at 1pm).
Not we’re at Monday when I show up and I’m told there’s no appointment for me. Needless to say after taking yet more UNPAID leave from work I am irate! And it takes 40 minutes to confirm the Doctor cannot see me but I can come back for an appointment in 3 weeks. Are you kidding me??? This is when free health care fails miserably. No regard for patients time and well being because we don’t have any other option. It took me 2 months to get IN to see this doctor in the first place so for going on 4 months I have an issue that cannot be resolved despite by doctors referral of concern over the issue.
I cannot even rate the value of medical care because of this absence of professionalism and patient care.

This is the worst clinic that I have ever visited. They schedule everyone at the same time. It is very hard to make an apointment even though they only last five minutes. The phone calls often go to voicemail (never replied). No show is $ 100. The walls are thin. Even though the doctors often recommend to visit them every three weeks. If a person wants to reschedule they have to wait a month. Their open hours are based on appointments and are not the same every day. when one doctor went on maternity leave no other doctor took her Saturday shift and they just stopped letting people come on Saturdays instead of replacing her for a few months. The problem that I had was not solved because it was impossible to with all of the inconsistency. I transferred to another place. Just because the government pays for some of their clinical procedures does not mean that they can have a bad service.

My family doctor (whose knowledge of medical issues seems to be about one step up from that of a houseplant) agreed that one of my moles was suspicious and said she would refer me to a dermatologist. Instead, she referred me to her colleague, who turned out to be «a family doctor with an interest in dermatology» who told me to come back in a few months when he’d bought some new equipment (?). I went back to my doctor and asked to be referred to a real dermatologist. She forgot to process that referral (houseplant), so I was in limbo for almost a year. After some badgering she finally referred me to a proper dermatologist– Dr. Alim Devani at the Institute for Skin Advancement.
Between the time my appointment was scheduled and the actual appointment day I became convinced I was dying of skin cancer. I wasn’t exactly in the best mental state, but I was reassured when I read a review where someone said Dr. Devani had identified an issue needing immediate treatment and got them into the hospital three days later. He sounded more proactive than my houseplant! It was easy to find the office and get parked (it’s in the Market Mall parking lot on the 40^th Ave side– parking is free). The waiting room was definitely cramped and busy, and I had to wait ten minutes past my appointment time, but I was reassured when Dr. Devani came in. He took one look at my mole and said it had to be removed and sent in for a biopsy. I basically had a breakdown, but he and his nurse were extremely nice. They prepped my skin for the treatment, and told me I would feel a little pinch from the anesthetic and then it would take about thirty seconds to remove the mole. I felt the prick and then nothing… TEN SECONDS later they were done. I felt absolutely nothing (other than a deep fear of dying from cancer at the age of twenty-​eight).
When I went for my follow-​up appointment once again the office was very busy, but I was able to get in within fifteen minutes of my scheduled time. Dr. Devani was very comforting– not only did he tell me that I didn’t have cancer (um, yay!) he explained why my mole had looked different than others and he provided me with a print-​out of his analysis. I really appreciated the print-​out as it meant I wouldn’t later get confused about what was going on with my skin. Dr. Devani is the second REAL specialist I’ve seen since moving to Calgary (the other was a gynecologist) and I have to say that I understand why people are so desperate for referrals to specialists– the level of care you receive is miles and miles and miles beyond that in the average family practice.

Absolutely horrendous service: After weeks of confirming and reconfirming a simple appointment about the skin on my hands, I came in at 8:25am this morning only to find out that the doctor (whose name they never even gave me) was unexpectedly absent. No one called me to tell me this. When I tried to make a new appointment, I was treated very rudely by the reception staff, so I just turned around and walked out.

I had tattoo removal at this clinic and my skin reacted badly to the laser. When I called they booked me right away to meet with one of their doctor in between patients, they were quick, friendly and they reassured me. I walked out with a prescription and notes were put in my file for future. I am very pleased with the service I received at this clinic and I would certainly recommend.

I had to visit a new dermatologist because the one I usually see is just too busy. I was referred to Dr. Stewart Adams for a few things and overall, I had a good experience. He was pleasant enough, his nurse assistant was awesome. Front reception is also operated by young, smiley girls who are also friendly. I didn’t wait 10 minutes to see the doc.
Dr. Adams’ assistant did most of the work and because we are peers, we could relate and have a relaxed conversation. What I didn’t appreciate was that while she was working with me, another nurse walked in the room without permission. She knocked, but barged in immediately afterward at a totally inappropriate time. She just kept on smiling and said, «Don’t worry, no one was behind me.» The door opens to a busy hallway and just because no one was there during that split second doesn’t mean it needed to happen. Then she walked out again without my permission to open the door. The assistant apologized to me, which I really appreciated. The other woman could use an etiquette reminder and had the universe given me the opportunity to offer her some feedback, I sure would have.
Anyway, I walked out with a few product samples, a scheduled follow-​up appointment and some additional info about cosmetic and medical dermatology. I found it interesting that they have flat screens in the waiting room that show video testimonials for some of their cosmetic dermatology services, which clearly is good marketing because I took the next step by grabbing brochures. I don’t need it, but I’m certainly curious.
I will be happy if my next visit is as good as this one. Be warned that it may take a few minutes to find parking, as the building shares a lot with Market Mall and even mid day, it was very full.