Suburban Endocrinology Diabetes Center

My fiancé had a bad experience after seeking care for hypothyroidism from Dr. Paraskevi Sapountzi. Below is a summary of noteworthy points.
Note: I am a board certified physician with degrees in public health and business administration. I consider myself a content expert and can identify cases in which inappropriate patterns of physician utilization exist. (I’m also a healthcare consultant.)
1. From the outside in, this appears to a diabetes factory. Despite seeking care for her thyroid, the practice ran tests for diabetes, which were not indicated. In fact, the physician saw prior blood work and agreed with my fiancé that she didn’t have diabetes. Nonetheless, she ran tests to screen for diabetes. This is resource overutilization for which we’ll be charged extra out-​of-​pocket costs (hundreds of dollars, per summary we got today from payor), on account of our cost-​sharing insurance plan (haven’t yet met our out-​of-​pocket maximum).
2. My fiancé was neither advised nor consulted on the fact that in spite of the aforementioned conversation re: her not having diabetes, that these diabetes tests were being ordered.
3. The physician appeared not to be interested in my finance’s chief complaint or symptoms. She was only focused on treating the lab values, not the the patient.
4. Nothing has changed. The doctor agreed to simply continue the medication regimen that my fiancé was on, and yet the bill for the 15-​minute visit and lab draws exceeded $ 1,200.00.
5. It is frustrating that we didn’t get anywhere, given that the visit was too short, that the physician only treated the lab values, and that we did not feel that the physician listened to the patient. Had this been done, we’d be more accepting of the decision to not change the medical management, but ultimately, we feel that we were dismissed.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos hypothyroidism about 3 years ago. I have been on a consistent dose of thyroid medication and have felt good. We recently moved and I needed to find a new endocrinologist to manage my thyroid replacement. I started seeing Dr. Sapountzi and she recommended lowering my dose. I followed her direction and felt miserable 6 weeks later. I returned to her office and she promptly said «it’s not your thyroid, I don’t have all the answers». I asked her to run a t3 test to see if perhaps I had a conversion issue. She laughed it off and told me to come back in 6 months. I have never been treated so rudely in my life. I proceeded to see a new doctor who ran a complete list of labs and found that my T3 was extremely low. Needless to say, I will never return to Dr. Sapountzi again.

I don’t usually complain about a doctor’s office since I am in the industry too, but this time I have to make an exception. I have a thryoid issue that have been monitor by my OB/​GYN. Since my numbers were still not right she suggested that I go to an endocrinologist, which I haven’t seen in many years. I picked this office specifically to see a female doctor. I scheduled the appointment which was going to be in 2 months. Since it wasn’t an emergencey I felt that it wasn’t too long to wait. After one month the office called and said that they could get me in sooner so I took the appointment. Upon arriving I found out that I was going to see another doctor. Well I felt duped! They should have told me that I would be seeing a different physician. Although the doctor was nice and he did apologize about typing on the computer and not talking to me it seemed very robotic and all he did was just increase my dose and tell me to come back in 6 months after I had my blood drawn.
Now my numbers are even worst. I tried to reschedule due to a conflict. I was told that I would have to wait another 2 months. I asked if I could see another physician and was told that we would have to start all over. Now I know that either they is something wrong with the management of these physicians or the office people but in all my years in health care I have never been put off by a physician group like this one. Maybe they are more interested in working with diabetics than someone with thyroid disease. I would not go back to this practice. There is something wrong with the management and if the doctors don’t see each other patients why are they in the same office.

After almost 30 years of coming here, I decided that it’s time to find another doctor. I’m tired of killing myself in traffic to get to the appointments on time, only to sit and wait 30 minutes or more past my scheduled appointment time to even get into an exam room — no apology, of course. I usually see a doctor once a year for a check up and renewal of my thyroid prescription. What convinced me to go elsewhere is the new requirement that I come in a week before my appointment to have the lab work done. So, I’m supposed to leave work early twice and pay 2 co-​pays so the doctor doesn’t have to mail my results to me?
Like others, I have encountered rudeness and unprofessionalism among the staff as well. Walgreen’s has an automatic refill program, and they contacted this office when my prescription expired. I got a snotty voicemail message from Carol, who said she was Dr. Epstein’s assistant. No, they will not refill my prescription because I haven’t been there in over a year, yet they did so when the doctor needed to change my appointment last year!
I put up with poor treatment for a long time because I felt that Dr. Epstein was clinically strong, albeit lacking in bedside manor. I only needed to go there once a year, so I tolerated it. The doctor I’m currently seeing knew when my prescription expired and called in the refill for me without me even calling — and I saw her a couple of months ago.
Can you get good medical care here? Sure. But be prepared to tolerate less than nice treatment from the staff, including some of the doctors. Unfortunately, I think that the business has grown so much that the customer service aspect of this business has suffered.

If you need a specialist to help manage your immune issues, look no further. Dr So has been my endocrinologist for 10 years. He is so patient and kind which is often why your appointment takes a bit longer. He spends all of the time he needs to with each patient. So you must be patient and plan, The office is run very efficiently. You can even get on a waiting list if there is a cancellation. They call in prescriptions for you and there is a lab on site. I just wish my A1C was better, One can only hope.

I am a patient of Dr. So… I have the highest respect and confidence in his practice. Endocrinology is a difficult field… especially the low availability to find doctors in this special field. We need to develop more patience with this particular office. I have sat in the office and witnessed many patients who think that deserve more than you just because the world revolves around them ONLY… If you are lucky enough to be a patient… you are in good hands. Very smart and educated doctors and staff

Dr. Epstein is a wonderful doctor. I have been his patient for many years. He is very knowledgeable about diabetes and he has been very helpful to me as I try to control my diabetes. I also think the office staff is excellent! I am impressed that the staff can speak many languages. I also think it is important that the blood draw person is very good. The other person I have been very impressed with is the dietitian, Jennifer, she is very helpful and does not get too upset if my blood readings are a little off. I have recommended this practice to many of my friends and neighbors. I have never waited for a long time. I have been to other doctor offices and waited for a long time and I do not consider that acceptable. John Lundstrom

Rude office staff. I will not go there just because of the front office staff.

I agree with the other reviews. You can never get a hold of anybody. The Doctor was good but if you can’t get an appointment or a prescription there is no point.

I have been a patient at Suburban Endocrinology for over 20 years. Dr. So is my doctor. He is very kind and compassionate as well as being an excellent doctor. I can’t speak highly enough of him.
Like Sandra, I wonder where reviewers Jason R. and Mary N. went. I haven’t had any problems getting appointments or lab work done, and the staff has been uniformly pleasant. On one occasion when I called outside office hours, Dr. Soruco was on call. He was very gracious and answered my questions.
The schedule can get backed up because many patients have complex problems, so you do have to be prepared to wait.

I have been a patient of Dr. Epstein for over 15 years. I have nothing but great things to say about him, the office, the staff & his nurse. I had thyroid cancer 40 years ago, so I am very experienced in dealing with Mds. Dr. Epstein was a lifesaver for me; he managed to improve my health, quickly, when other Mds had no idea what to do with me. Dr. Epstein has always been extremely patient and has always answered my questions. My phone calls are promptly returned and I’ve never had a problem getting Rx refills. Makes me wonder where reviewers Jason R. and Mary N. went, because it sure does not sound like the Suburban Endocrinology Center I go to. I have recommended this center and my Md. to several people. I was searching for a knowledgeable Md and definitely found one in Dr. Epstein.

There is one Doctor that is good, Dr. So, however a Dr. can only be effective if he has a good nurse and/​or office. This facility has neither. They have a women named Diane there and honestly I don’t know how she keeps her job. She is rude, ignorant and careless with patients, and these are really sick people. Not only are you sick, you have to deal with THAT!
If you call, they have a list of what they WON’T do, the list would be shorter for the things you are willing to do for your patients. So all in all, Dr. So is good but not worth the incompetence of the nursing staff and the The general ignorance of the office staff.
The man that wrote a review before me, the same things have happened to me, no prescription refills and changing appointments constantly. They are just NOT that good, like they think they are.