Berman Ileana MD

3÷1÷16− As I posted in a review dated 2÷20÷16 Dr. Berman takes punitive action against you if you advocate for yourself, including threatening discharge. That is exactly what happened today. I was discharged and accused of being threatening to every staff member at the office. Was also ganged up on by Dr. Berman, her NP, Joy, and the Office Manasger, Joy. When I asked to have a patient advocate or representative present I was flatly denied this and told I didn’t have any rights. After I informed Dr. Berman of my intent to file a complaint she said instead of being given 2 months worth of medication I would only be given one month and how did I like that. Joy and Dr. Berman made other allegations as well and would not accept my explanation or rationale, inferring that it was all lies. Also they alleged that office staff are thrown into a state of heightened anxiety prior to every one of my visits. Aren’t they properly trained to deal with this stuff? Patient’s bill of rights extreme violations here to be noted. State agency and Federal agencies notified.

Initial visit was today at 2pm. I arrived 15 minutes early in anticipation of filling out paperwork. I fill out my paperwork and I’m asked to pee in a cup. I’ve been treated for over ten years by psychiatrists and have never been asked to pee in a cup. I reluctantly do so and take a seat in the waiting area.
After 45 minutes I ask the lady next to me «Are they usually behind like this?» and she replies with «At least an hour or more wait each time I come here. Sometimes I just get up and leave.» I then ask the receptionist if I can reschedule my appointment and all of a sudden I can be seen by the doctor.
i go into the doctors office and take a seat. Five minutes later the receptionist comes in and apologizes that she was wrong and someone was in front of me. I then tell the receptionist I need to reschedule as it’s going on an hour and fifteen minutes past my initial appointment time. She informs me that there is always at least an hour wait or more to be seen. i ask if I come first thing in the morning would I be seen right away and she informs me that that’s not the case and I would have to still wait at least an hour. I then inform her that they had better not bill my insurance as I was never seen by the doctor. She tells me they will not. We will see tomorrow when I call my insurance.

If you’re looking for a regular psychiatrist this is not the doctor for you. I warn you that Doctor Berman’s practice is more of a suboxone/​methadone clinic for recovering drug addicts. Her waiting room was packed, and I waited over 50 minutes to be seen by the doctor. She claims that she treats all kinds of people, however she treats every one of her patients as if they were abusing substances. You are expected to give a urine sample and she requests mandatory random screenings were you must see her and wait for hours so that she can count your prescription pills and test your urine again. I can perfectly understand the need for this when dealing with recovering addicts, however I have never suffered from substance abuse and I’m a very busy working professional who doesn’t have time for all that silliness. I wish that this was mentioned to be BEFORE I scheduled my appointment. So I told her that she clearly wasn’t the right doctor for me, she gave me my prescription anyway, and I told her that I decided it would be best for me to be treated by a different doctor from a different practice. She walked out of her office to the reception/​waiting area and told the receptionist everything that we discussed in what I thought was under confidentiality. Worst of all, the waiting room was packed full of questionable people and they all heard what she had prescribed to me! With a room full of addicts knowing exactly what kind of medication I had been taking, anyone of those questionable men could have followed me out to the parking lot and demanded I hand over my medication to them. It was also a clear violation of HIPAA. When I told her that everyone, including myself, heard everything that she had just said and she had violated HIPAA she claimed that she had every right to discuss my charts with her secretary. I also heard them talking about another patient that was being prescribed painkillers because of a dental surgery. I feel like they have a habit of talking crap about patients, that’s at least what I felt she was doing when she was speaking to her receptionist about me, she was probably mad that i told her clearly her practice was some kind of clinic and I didn’t belong. I have never experienced such unprofessionalism, especially with a psychiatrist, what you say behind closed doors should never be repeated, especially in front of other patients who can easily hear you. I asked to speak to their HIPPA compliance officer and guess who that was? Well it was Doctor Berman herself! I will instead be filing a written complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services. In my opinion, Doctor Berman should not have a medical license if she can not follow proper HIPAA protocol, and her practice itself is a complete joke.