Dr. Pedro Dago

On Feb. 28, my daughter went to Northwestern Hospital’s ER, requesting admission because she was in mental health crisis. Dr. Pedro Dago was the attending psychiatrist. Our appraisal of his assessment is as follows: 1) He apparently looked at my daughter’s previous history, ignored her current condition, and misdiagnosed her rather than considering the immediate situation. 2) He relied on an untrained resident to conduct the assessment and sent the resident to us to tell us of the conclusion, and it was apparent that the resident really didn’t know the subject area. 3) The only options we were given were for our daughter to be transferred by ambulance to a hospital whose industry ratings showed it to be sub-​par, or «to get out.» 4) He refused to meet with our family to discuss the case, despite repeated requests. 5) We complained to the hospital’s customer service office but still have not received their response. My wife, an experienced critical care nurse, explained the situation to her therapist, who took the case to the Head of Psychiatry. As a result of that communication, Dago called. In the call he was arrogant, condescending, completely unapologetic, and gave us the distinct impression that he could not have cared less that his treatment of our daughter deepened her crisis, making her even more unstable but also making her unwilling to seek further help because of the humiliation.

I could not disagree more with the previous reviews. I have not worked with a more dedicated, involved doctor. He takes the time to thoroughly check in with me upon each visit, discusses my options (weighing the pros/​cons), offers up practical research that support his recommendations and has made himself available after hours. He is one of the few doctors I have who tells me to follow up with him directly (not an answering service or nurse) between visits — another sign that he is truly invested in my health and well being. I could not more strongly recommend him!

I agree with Courtney. Dr. Dago was apathetic, abrasive and seemed completely uninterested in any feedback or input I presented during our sessions. Luckily, I found another psychiatrist with a much better bedside manner and who also helped me find a medication that worked for me. Chicago’s a big city and is full of much better doctors than this guy.

I saw Dr. Dago through a psych consult. I was in a crisis and was extremely disappointed with his evaluation and care. He is arrogant, lacks bedside manner and is unable to connect with the patient (which is important is all specialities but especially psychiatry). When I told him I felt disconected and didn’t want to be there his response was, «I don’t want to be here either. I’d rather be at Starbucks.» While that is what he was thinking the fact that he actually verbalized it was shocking and spoke volumes about how interested he is in helping people.