Metropolitan Gastroenterology Group

DO NOT GO HERE! A woman on their staff was very rude and unprofessional when I called to reschedule my follow-​up appointment. Also I called them 2 DAYS ago and left a message for either a nurse or Dr. Kirk — no one has called back and when I called to complain, the gentleman I spoke to was rude again! Also, Dr. Kirk sucked and seemed very uninterested when I saw her for my follow-​up appointment. I am never going back! This was a complete waste of time and money.

Saw Dr. Michael Keegan for digestive issues. He recommended endoscopy and performed esophageal dilation during it — without my consent. I started having heartburn immediately thereafter. Never had before. When I followed up with an office visit and asked Dr. Keegan if the dilation was necessary, he could not answer. Also, the record of the procedure he gave me initially was inaccurate, as it said he only used one ring for dilation while during the follow up visit he recalled he had used two. Now, am paying the stack of bills which are for substantial amounts even after insurance. Am going to see gastroenterologist with another practice for the second opinion. If he decides the dilation was not necessary, am going to take legal action.

I see Dr. Goldberg at the Bethesda location. The office is very well-​run, you can get an appointment quickly when you need one, and I have never waited for more than 5 minutes in the waiting or exam rooms. The doctor spends ample time with you listening to your questions and concerns, and does a thorough exam while explaining everything. Dr. Goldberg is caring and his knowledge and experience are quite apparent. Overall, the care at this practice is excellent.

Dr. Salcedo is the best.
He’s a great listener and he doesn’t force you to do anything or take any rx meds that you are not familiar/​comfortable with.
I appreciate that he carries his laptop around and looks you up and sits and talks about the last visit and tests, etc.
His bedside manner is so great that when my son «grew out» of his pediatric gastro doctor I asked him if he had room to add my son. My son is in college now, our appointments are never on the same day but all of the staff members somehow know that he’s my son.
Dr. Salcedo never seems rushed or in a hurry to get you out of the office. That being said, the wait time can sometimes be longer than expected but I’m never sure if its because the doctors are taking their time to talk OR if patients are late.
They have two convenient locations:
Washington Hospital — Professional Bldg and Chevy Chase Medical Bldg (a few blocks from friendship heights metro)

I’ve recently been plagued with lower GI issues so I was referred to Capital Digestive by a good friend. However, they apparently merged with Metropolitan. My initial office visit and consultation was with Dr. Jessica Korman at 10 215 Fernwood Road, Bethesda location — was very unsettling, and to make it even worse, she was 1.5 hours late.
*Note — this practice does not validate your parking ticket*
Then, Dr. Korman rushed through my medical records I’d brought with me, she told me nothing I couldn’t have found on WebMD. It seems her sole purpose was to get me scheduled for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, yet she never once during our 7 minute consultation examined me — not even lifted up my blouse and touched my stomach. So it begs to wonder why she wanted to do an endoscopy to begin with.
Needless to say, the appointment I scheduled for the upper and lower procedures — I cancelled as soon as I got home. Maybe the other Doctors in the practice were better — but I was too scared to find out. I decided to go with a GI doc from Johns Hopkins and she was did a complete workup before she scoped me, found the problem in my lower GI and now I’m good as new.

It is a whirlwind of Doctors, but the one I had took great care of me. The staff was quite helpful and made you feel comfortable. Good Bedside Manner!

After getting tired of hearing the same advice from Dr. Bolen about my symptoms over and over, I needed a second opinion and a new perspective. I also had some questions that I felt more comfortable asking a female doc. Though I was nervous about the receptionist giving me attitude for switching docs, she was very understanding of my wanting to see a female doc. She was able to get me an appointment with Kathryn Kirk within two weeks.
I had never been to the Chevy chase location, and was pleasantly surprised at how calm and relaxing the office is. Similar to the DC location, the staff is very nice. The nurse who took my blood pressure noticed it was a bit high and asked if I was anxious. I told her I get anxious before meeting new MD’s, and said not to worry as Dr. Kirk is very nice.
Once Dr. Kirk came into the room, I could tell that both the nurse was right and waiting two weeks to see her was worth it. She asked a lot of questions, took notes on her computer, and really listened to what I had to say about my symptoms. Most importantly, she treated me like an intelligent person and understood that I know my body better than anyone else does. When I shared with her my frustrations with the medication Dr. Bolen prescribed, not only was she cool about taking me off it, but she even told me that the medication made my symptoms worse.
Instead of her telling me to «eat more fiber and drink more fluids» as Dr. Bolen did, she actually developed a plan of how to treat my problem. Dr. Kirk’s first steps were for me to go off the medication and try a Citrucelle, and then try medications. Best of all, she told me to come back in a month and wants to see me regularly. Her wanting to follow me regularly made me feel like she actively wants to treat my symptoms rather than give me basic advice and send me on my way.
For the first time in my four months in the GI world, I am actually looking forward to my next appointment! I wish I would have trekked out to Chevy Chase to see Dr. Kirk back in March!

Dr Weinstein has been my doctor for four years. He takes the time to discuss all possible treatments, answer all questions, and, amazingly, answers phone calls the same day you leave him a message. I am a veteran patient of many specialists in many fields, and he is an outstanding doctor in his ability to communicate with intelligence and respect. He also offers the right treatments, by the way… The office is pleasant and clean and the staff very helpful. I have not found that there are great delays in the office, but when I’ve had to wait a bit longer in the examining room, it doesn’t bother me because I know the delay is due to the doctor taking the time to give other patients the care I will get.

My appointment with Dr. Michael Weinstein was scheduled for 3:15 pm. At approximately 3:35 pm, I was taken to an examining room — had height/​weight/​blood pressure check. Was told there was one patient ahead of me and doctor would be in shortly. I poked my head out every so often and asked how much longer, and various staff members kept telling me «He’s on his way.» By 4:30 pm, I had still not seen the doctor, so I walked out… with various staff members apologizing as I left. This is unacceptable under any circumstances. It was especially irritating to keep hearing «He’s on his way» when he obviously was not. (He was in the office, not at another location.)
I really don’t get stressed out about many things at this point in my life, but this was just a horrible experience. Now I will have to find another doctor. I sure as heck would never return to a practice that was so disrespectful of my time.

I am very surprised at the negative reviews. Dr. Widerlite is the best doctor I’ve ever had (I’ve had three previous gastros — including one in DC and one in Silver Spring). The nurses and other people who work in the office have always been very pleasant and helpful. Let’s be honest, no one WANTS to go to a gastroenterologist but they are the best of the best. I even did a research study with them so I was in all the time and don’t even mind paying for parking since it’s so close to the actual office. I even moved an hour away and I still come here. HIGHLY recommended, especially since I’ve been to two other specialists of this sort in the area.

TERRIBLE! DO NOT GO HERE! They herd patients around the office like animals. I went to Dr. Kirk and she seemed both uninterested and inexperienced. She was also suppose to follow up with me – never did. But this office will gladly call you for a follow up appointment for another co-​pay. The icing on the cake was receiving a $ 400 bill SIX MONTHS after my appointment for all these supposed tests the office submitted to a lab. Still trying to dispute this now.

Is it just me or is it weird to have a gastroenterology group within a half block of a Chipotle?
Location — within a few minutes of walking from the FH metro. The building is easy to find. Take the elevator down to level T to get to the office.
Making the appointment — I had a few problems with their phone system, as they will direct you to press 5 to make an appointment and then that brings you to a mailbox system which asks you to enter your party’s extension. I just pressed different numbers and eventually got to the front desk.
Office — very pretty and with calming green colors.
Wait — I had a 10.45 appointment. I showed up at 10.40, had about 5 minutes of paperwork to do. I was brought back around 11 by the nurse who took my weight, blood pressure, and pulse. She told me it wouldn’t be too long until Dr. Weinstein came in as he was wrapping up his earlier appointment. She thankfully pointed to some magazines because Dr. W didn’t come in until about 11.25. While I kinda expected this length of wait, I’m sure the waits only get worse as the day goes on so be warned that you might not be able to pull off a visit within a normal lunch break.
Exam — definitely as pleasant as a trip to the gastroenterologist can possibly be. Dr. Weinstein was very friendly, knowledgable, and put me at ease. He answered all my questions and gave me great guidance. He was great with both small talk and doing what a doctor should do — be a doctor.