Northern Virginia Pediatric Associates PC

Dr. Halpin and staff are amazing. I love that they have an in-​house lab and are available on the weekends. They’re the best!

We called their office for an appointment during their office hours but was put on hold by a machine for 30 minutes! A few months ago, our baby got sick and we called their nurse line which immediately responded us with an answer machine. They called back at some random time a couple of hours after our call, we missed the call, then have to call them again, was put on hold for about an hour. From the time that we’d like to speak to a nurse to the time when the real «conversation» happens, it was about 6 hours. The «conversation» was actually just one-​way talking from the nurse to instruct us very clearly but very briefly what to look for before we bring the child to see the doctor — about three days of high fever and two weeks of diarrhea. I think the nurse line could change their answer machine to this instruction next time to save everybody’s time. Hard to imagine what would happen if a day came that we really need them. One more unbearable thing is, they charge extra amount out of our pocket for all blood tests since they urge them to be done in office and they know insurance will not cover it. After we paid extra bucks to get results done quickly, nobody ever sent us the test results after months of waiting. (So no point to get it done quick, right? Just for the money making. Is this practice even legal?) We have to call them to get the results, now you can refer to the call waiting problem listed above. Overall, doctors are fine, but you spent minutes with doctors and long hours with their call center, hundreds of bucks at their lab. We kind of stuck here, since our baby was born, we are with them and if we leave them, they will not get us back since they only accept new-​borns. No other new patients accepted. Why would parents send their children there anyway? Anybody could recommend us a better place?

I have been taking my children here for almost 18 years. This practice is not the same. It used to be that the receptionists/​nurses were friendly, but not anymore. Takes forever to get an appointment, and often the person you speak with on the phone sounds so rushed that they don’t want to bother with you. Our primary is Dr. Atiyeh, and has been since my daughter was born (she will be 18 in April 2016). He used to be friendly, and took time to talk. Now all it seems like is an assembly line… please don’t ask any questions because they just don’t have the time to answer you. Last few times they pushed shots, but I never received a decent answer as to why. This practice has grown out of control, and it is not a pleasant experience anymore. They no longer seem to care about the patient. And while the practice has grown, the parking lot has not. If my children were any younger and I had to see a pediatrician for a few more years, I would definitely take the time and find somewhere else to go. It is a shame what this place has turned into.

0 stars. I am not an MD, but I was shocked at the lack of knowledge my child’s pediatrician has. We have had 2 of them but I won’t name any names. The nurse practitioner told me that if my child’s fever (which was over 103) does not subside by Friday to call her. This was on a MONDAY! Was told my kid didn’t have an ear infection but took them to another pediatrician the SAME day and was told they had an ear infection and was shown why and my child was put on antibiotics. This place is a quantity practice and is very busy and the doctor spends very little time with you. If this is the best you can find in N VA then I feel sorry for the people who live here.

I am pretty surprised by the negative reviews here! Our child has been a patient since birth (currently 1.5 years old) and we’ve had very positive experiences.
Yes – well visits need to be made months in advance, but that’s true of most doctors in the NoVa area. Sick visits are always available same-​day with either a doctor or one of the very capable nurses. I’ve literally called at 6pm and they’ve scheduled us to come in before the 7pm closing. I have had to wait up to 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment time, but that is rare… usually it’s 10 – 20 minutes.
Yes – the lab downstairs charges a fee, but you get the option to send out the results to a different lab (instead of paying the lab fee).
Yes – the receptionists are busy, but they are never rude and always work with you to figure out whether you should come in immediately or talk to a nurse; and they always try to find an appointment time that works for you.
And finally – most importantly of all, you will not find a better team of pediatricians in this area. (Trust me, I’ve looked). My husband and I toured 5 different pediatricians’ offices in the Fairfax/​Falls Church area, and called countless others before deciding on this office. We’ve seen about half the doctors in the practice and always believe we are in very capable hands. I very much like our specific pediatrician because I believe she might be the best diagnostician ever, but really, they are all great.
The only reason I do not give 5 stars is that we did have one issue with a lab result (false positive fingerstick test for high lead). We had to repeat the test and therefore paid the lab fee twice. I am not sure how the first draw was contaminated; however Connie and her staff are very bright and wonderful with children – plus they get you in and out fairly quickly.
Hope this review help all those other nervous first-​time parents!
p. s. I have never found parking to be a problem, and have come throughout the day (morning, afternoon, evening).

We have been coming here for almost 7 months now (a total of 5 visits I think) and have not had a bad experience yet. Have never had to wait more than 10 minutes in the waiting room, Drs and Nurses are friendly and professional. Our daughter sees Dr. Bae and she has been great with her. The visits are quick, as others have mentioned, but any questions you have are always answered and well-​visits are supposed to be short and sweet anyway, aren’t they? Can’t speak to visits with sick child, as thankfully I haven’t experienced this yet.
I did call in once to ask about bringing my daughter in when she was sick, and the nurse was helpful and talked to me over the phone and told us what symptoms to look for and ultimately we decided to stay home, which was just fine with me, as a non-​alarmist type parent.
I also appreciate that they encourage families to get their children vaccinated, as this is something I feel very strongly about.
The only mishap was that the office staff charged us for co-​pays for our first two well-​visits, which were supposed to be fully covered, but they offered to refund us as soon as they realized their mistake.
The parking lot is small, but so far I’ve always been able to find a spot in the lot.

We used to like this practice. Despite the fact that all of our visits with babies were up steep stairs, even immediately after a C-​section, we generally liked it. Now the practice is overrun. Other commenters are right, the parking lot is a nightmare. The waiting room is a nightmare. The nurses are frazzled. The doctors are rushed.
It is a shame because some of the doctors here are quite good but the attention has drained right out of this practice. They instituted a fee for all after hours calls. When it was implemented there was a wink that said, it’s really for chronic offenders who call when it’s nothing. We just got hit with our first of these fees — and it was billed six months after the call was made. Ridiculous.

One Sentence: It’s a waste of time and money in this office!
I should have read the read review when I chose this office. Most good doctors do not take new patients, so we had to choose the doctor who can take new patients. My option, she was very rush to check my kids, not patient enough to listen to our concerns. I had to remind her to check my kid’s tummy when she finished the exam. If you are a new patient, be aware that the doctors’ quality differs a lot.
The worst of all, is the administration. The doctor recommended us to do a blood test downstairs. After 2 weeks we didn’t any results, we began to call. Each time after waiting for 1 hour, we had to leave a message and wait for call back. After another month, they called back and told me that my kid was lack of Vitamin D. It takes total 1.5 months to get a blood test result!!! If you kids are sick, you have to be more patient. It takes forever to make an appointment. It takes forever to wait on the phone to get a nurse’s advice when my kids were sick. I finally figure out it is very common to wait more than 1 to 2 hours. I once waited for two and half hours. When I complained the waiting hour, the other side doesn’t sound patient enough and she hung up the phone. So don’t complain no matter how long you have been waiting.
Other than wasting your time, you may pay extra money easily. When I had the kids checkup, they told me that they ran out of flu shots. So they let us come back again. The next available appointment for flu shots is 2 months later and we were patient enough to wait. After flu shots, we got billed with more than $ 20 for each kid. For over 10 years since we use our insurance, I have never get charged by flu shots. The charge for nurse visit, 5 minutes for 2 kids, is $ 99 (not including the medicine). Talking to the administration, all they said we charge the same for all our patients, please talk to your insurance, blah…
They are all about money and not about kids. Don’t waste your time and money for this practice.

Highly recommend Rachael Starnes — so knowledgeable and thorough. Absolutely wonderful!

This practice meets our needs well and has always provided good, reliable care. We have seen Dr. Diane Halpin since my 4 year old was an infant. Dr. Halpin is fabulous — she always remembers us, knows our daughter’s name, and is efficient but also willing to give us time for questions. She was amazingly patient and kind during early breastfeeding challenges — did not push me to use formula, just pointed me to some good lactation consultants. We ultimately did end up incorporating formula into our routine for a variety of reasons but I felt that the whole experience with Dr. Halpin was very balanced, no judgement and no pressure, just focused on making sure that our daughter had what she needed to thrive, which I appreciate to this day.
I recommend booking well baby appointments as far in advance as possible as Dr. Halpin does fill up quickly. And now that we’re on an annual schedule, I put a reminder in my calendar to schedule 6 months in advance, and it’s no problem. As with ANY doctor’s or dentist’s office, I highly recommend scheduling routine appointments first thing in the morning to minimize wait times. I have found the lab to be convenient and the extra fees (for lab work, school records, etc.) reasonable. We have had to call the after hours nurse line a few times, and always got a call back within a reasonable amount of time.
We have also taken our daughter in for a handful of weekend last-​minute appointments when she was sick, and didn’t find the scheduling or the wait times unreasonable. We live so close that we walk over so parking is not an issue, though the lack of elevator and no bike rack to chain up bikes or strollers outside seems a bit behind the times to me.

The good: I have been very happy with the two doctors my daughter (4 months) has seen: Dr. Bae and Dr. Mouchahoir. Dr. Mouchahoir is always very sweet with her and seems very patient with all my first time parent questions. I also like the information given at appointments — there is so much information provided about solid foods, vitamins, and things you can expect. I also like the convenience of having a lab downstairs. They have a lactation consultant in their office, who we used the first week and she was very helpful — however she charges for her services whether your insurance covers it or not. Ours does but it wasn’t worth the hassle of trying to get reimbursed when dealing with a newborn.
The bad: I don’t understand why the doctors aren’t on the same page in terms of handouts they give parents. I’ve only seen two doctors and they use different paperwork to log well-​baby stats. You would think the practice would come to a consensus about how they want to communicate with parents. Also, I book appointments in the early morning (aiming for no later than 11) because parking is so bad, and even when I have an 8:30 I have to wait. Today we had an 8:30 and my daughter didn’t receive her immunizations until 9:15. I will echo other reviewers in saying that the front desk staff are not pleasant or helpful. It’s interesting — when I call with a question it takes forever to get someone to answer the phone (and one day I was put on hold for so long that the office closed so then they hung up on me) but yet when I am checking out they are always on the phone while trying to check me out. I kind of want to applaud them for multi-​tasking but I would appreciate them taking the few minutes to do check out and make the next appointment. It’s key that you make your appointments while you are there since you can never count on them answering the phone to make an appointment. Also, while I think Dr. Mouchahoir is great with my daughter I feel like he’s a bit «old school.» My daughter came in at her «newborn» appointment with some jaundice and I felt pressured to give some formula even though my plan was to exclusively breastfeed. The handouts from both doctors also talk about starting solids at 4 months even though the American Academy of Pediatrics says breastfed babies should not start solids until 6 months.
The ugly: Everyone has mentioned the parking and I will say that it is not so bad if you get the 8 – 9 AM appointments. Don’t bother bringing your stroller because there are flights of stairs and no elevator. I always carry my daughter because the stairwell is somewhat narrow and wouldn’t want to deal with an infant carrier.
The new parent/​patient information sessions are held after hours, which I understand but had I realized how busy the practice was I would have continued looking for our pediatrician. If you want to change offices there is a $ 15 fee to transfer your child’s records.
Also note, they do not see babies born at Inova Alexandria.

Have never had to wait more than 10 minutes for my doctor, Dr. Mouchahoir. He’s very friendly and makes me feel comfortable every time. No complaints here!

Overall, we are very pleased with our experience here. Our doctor is Diane Halpin, and we appreciate the care she has provided our children since 2006. Other doctors we’ve seen there are also very helpful. We also love their nurse consultation service, so we can talk through issues on the phone before potentially wasting our time and money on an office visit. We are less crazy about the admin staff, who are rarely friendly, generally indifferent and sometimes even rude. One time the appointment scheduler attempted to dissuade me from making an appointment and instead offered me layman’s medical advice over the phone. (Seriously? Thanks, but no thanks!) Finally, the parking lot is too small for the volume of clients, so you sometimes have to wait for a space to open up.

My daughter has been a patient over 6 years and the physicians and nurses are wonderful! one thing I want to point out, the Front desk staff used to be warming and with great service, new staff that checks in and out are unfriendly, seemed like they hate where they work. It’s a pediatrician doesn’t seem a friendly kids place make the patients feel welcome. I feel the customer service is not so pleasant anymore they do not greet at all… I was in the lobby with my daughter waiting to be called and one couple walked in with baby twins were checking in and one of the receptionist didn’t even greet at all (not professional especially if you work for a doctors office? Really how you get hired just so everything just so sloppy) all she said «who are you here to see?» all loud. Everyone could hear even patients notice. The person who checks outs doesn’t even say goodbye or greets at all she just takes the paper and tells if you owe money and copay… I understand she’s was doing her job but at least look up and smile and say something nice or greet umm no NOTHING! Love the office but needs improvement on customer service hopefully it improves (front desk needs to work on customer service communication. Other than that physicians and nurses and labs are great!!! I’m not sure if I want to go back after all these years I’ve been in there practice…

If my children are sick, I know I can always get them in on sick same day appointments very quickly. I usually call when the office opens, when the illness is bad enough to see a doctor, and the kids are seen within an hour or two of my call.
Also, I took my son in for a well visit and a couple weeks later he was accepted into a new daycare closer to our house. I dropped off the Virginia state school entrance forms and our doctor completed them within 24 hours based off the recent well visit. So we did not have to take him back for an unnecessary exam.
Tips: For well visits and physicals make sure you call a few weeks in advance to schedule. But this is the same for the kid’s dentist and my doctors since northern Va in general is densely populated (sick visits immediately seen is key!)
We have great experience with every single doctor here.

I am a mother of two sons 10 years apart in age-​16 and 6. This is an impeccable practice. Easy sick appointments, nominal wait time, quick and accurate diagnosis (ear infections, strep throat, scarlet fever, ADHD to name a few). Our main physician is Dr. Mouchoir. He is the sweetest and kindest doctor… ever. ;-) He is very knowledgeable with all things kids and his entire package (demeanor, knowledge and physical presence) makes him a joy. He is nearly always available, yet the other nurse practitioners and physicians are gems as well.
I was moved to write this-​at 7:37 in the morning-​during our busy morning time because I am steamed that this practice only has 3 stars. I have had consistent service for more than 10 years. And I grew up in the Kaiser –7 hour visit for an ear infection-​era. I appreciate the commitment that this business has to providing quality care and customer service. (Sorry for any typos, but I’m rushing to get to NVP for an Adderall refill for my 16 yr old.)

We have been going to NOVA Pediatrics since our first son (now three yrs old) was born. We now have a 9 month old who also sees Dr. Christine Baldrate there.
I completely agree with another commenter — «If you are keen on well-​trained pediatricians who can give you „the facts without fuss“ in a professional, business-​like manner, this is your place.» We find the staff to be very knowledgeable and we’ve used the lab, nurses line, emergency line and other services as well.
Dr. Baldrate remembers our boys and asks about the other son when we bring one son in. She’s smart, poised, thoughtful and efficient. She helped us when our oldest somehow caught a respiratory infection at just 8 weeks and she has three boys of her own in addition to her medical background to draw from.
I recognize that some parents prefer to really know their doctors, but in our case, we come prepared for our well-​visits with a list of questions about our boys’ behavior, development, eating, sleeping etc. And I don’t hesitate to call and talk to one of the very knowledgeable nurses in between if I’m unsure or need advice.
I don’t doubt the stories I’ve read, but think this is a very worthy practice esp. for new parents.

I’m really surprised by the bad vibes about the practice on here. I’ve been taking both my kids there after everyone in my neighborhood recommended them. My kids are 5 and 2 and they’ve been going since newborns.
I’ve had my fair share of visits because they’re both in daycare since I work (jab to the reader who thinks we’re all stay at home parents who can wait for phone calls to be returned asap). Everyone knows daycare kids get sick a lot, so I’ve had a lot of experience seeing the doctors here. I admit that not all of them are up to my liking and at this point, I’ve seen them all. So when I call and they ask me for a dr preference, I know which ones to ask for.
I also admit that the growth has been noticeable in the past 2 years, but I’ve never experienced what most of these people say. I agree with Gilbert G – if you expect constant hand holding and immediate gratification, it’s not going to happen here… When my kids are sick in the morning, I pretty much call and leave a voice mail right when they’re open. Most of the time, someone calls me back within the hour. I leave them my cell number since I’m at work. Often times, I get nurse Jackie — who for some reason tries to dissuade you from seeing a dr – but I usually tell her I need to verify if it’s an ear infection and can see a dr that day pretty quickly. Jackie recommended honey for my daughter’s cough (which really actually helped). The daycare wanted a dr’s note and Jackie faxed it in right away.
My daughter had really bad acid reflux and they really worked with us to help find the right mix of formula and meds. Our daughter, Diane Halpin, is the greatest! She is very conservative about medication and really tries more natural methods before going the medication route. She takes time with my kids at each check-​up and answers our questions. She is very busy though and it’s often hard to see her so you have to plan ahead. I just set reminders about 4 – 6 months in advance to book the annual check-​ups. Occasionally, by sheer luck, I have gotten her on a sick appointment but I know the back up drs that I like and usually pick one of them.
A few times I have called in the morning on a weekend and they sometimes will ask if I can come in within 15 minutes. I live close by, so it’s not an issue. But even so, they also fit me in within that day for a sick visit. My son once came down with a really bad cold and this one nurse was so wonderful to us since he was our first. She listened on the phone for wheezing and to be sure, she asked us to come in right away. She had a dr listen to make sure our son wasn’t wheezing, which is pretty dangerous for babies. He wasn’t but the nurse was the one who was cautious about his condition and seemed genuinely concerned. She even told us later, «I’m sorry to have made you come in but he’s so young, I just needed to be sure.» They had us sit in the office and nebulized him to see if he’d improve. My daughter once was in fact wheezing. The nurse listened on the phone and got us in right away. We happened to get Dr. Halpin who immediately took precautions for our daughter. Another time, we had Dr. Kelley who had us nebulize our daughter in the office and checked back on us to make sure things improved.
Yes, I have had to wait for appointments a little longer than in the past. I’ve noticed that. Yes, there’s a co-​pay for the lab like all labs in the area. No, I don’t feel nickel and dimed because I don’t call them after hours for every little thing. I know if it’s something serious with my child, GO TO THE ER. That’s what the voice mail states. They were probably running haggard by parent calls and had to implement this to keep the calls down. As a person who is on call for work at times, I can empathize when people call for the smallest thing.
But I have never in my 5 years of going there had rude service by ANY of the staff. The receptionist always answers my questions when I call and is pleasant. When I check out, the receptionist is always happy to help and even if she is answering phones or there’s a line behind me, she will help me make my check-​up appointments.
Also, the «gumball machines» aren’t candy. They’re toys. When a child visits, they give the child (who must be over 3) a token to get a toy of their choice. Dr. Halpin once gave my son 2 tokens because my son didn’t cry when he got his shots. My son was estatic. And since my daughter is under 3, they give her squeezy toys. Plus, I wouldn’t want the waiting room to be scattered with disgusting toys full of germs. They provide books, which is quite educational. But seriously, bring your own distractions when you bring your child. I always have books and toys when we go to the dr.
Glad that these complainers won’t return. More appointments for the rest of us.

I would give them zero stars if that were an option. NOVA Peds sucks. They are all about money and not about kids.
Dr. Bae was our doc for a few visits. She could have cared less about our son, who was having some digestive issues. As he was exclusively breastfed, I was concerned and asked what I could do to help him. She told me to get off dairy and if that didn’t work in a few days, then we could go to hypoallergenic formula. She was dead wrong about her advice (there were other foods I could eliminate that helped him), and had I been less committed to breastfeeding, I would have believed her and wasted money (and done my son a disservice) by giving him very expensive and nutritionally inferior formula.
She also was clearly so rushed that she couldn’t have a real conversation with me.
Another one of the docs that I saw on «sick visit» insisted that I give my son iron supplements even though his hemoglobin was fine. I followed up with her, asking if that might not aggravate the digestive issues and she said, «oh yes, you should probably avoid it and we’ll just watch his hemoglobin.» But why isn’t she thinking about the whole baby from the beginning?!
Finally, as everyone as said, these folks charge fees for EVERYTHING. A fee to receive a bill — $ 10. A fee for the lab — $ 20. Oh, and the lab attendant requested I sign the fee waiver BEFORE drawing my scream-​crying son’s blood, while I was holding him, because getting that fee is obviously much more important than caring for a sick little 6 week old baby. A fee for anything they can think of. Fees to call a nurse after-​hours — $ 25. And there aren’t any toys in the waiting room, but vending machines of gumballs and trinkets that I believe parents must also pay for. And of course, all their décor is advertisement for a local photographer. These guys are interested in the all mighty buck and not in patients.
I have a new pediatrician in DC who doesn’t charge me any extra fees for anything and who answers all of her own phone calls. These folks are horrendous and I would tell anyone I know to avoid them like the plague, which, given their insane patient load (each doc has over 1,000 patients) could probably turn up in their office.

Called several times over the course of 3 weeks to arrange a meeting or tour before using this practice for our newborn. I was placed on hold several times for 10 minutes or more. I left a couple of voicemail messages, which were never returned.
I can’t vouch for how good the doctors are, but the practice clearly does not know how to run a business. I’ll be going elsewhere.