Glenn I Lura , MD

This review is going to be a little unfair.
I mean, am I reviewing the DOCTOR… or his practice?
As far as the doctor goes, Dr. Lura is THE MAN! He is honest, to the point, ALWAYS runs on schedule and will take extra time with you if necessary. He is very easy to talk to and extremely kind. He also can be a bit of a wiseass, which I appreciate as we have similar senses of humor. He is an extremely conscientious doctor, will explain things to you a half a dozen times if needed and his hours of practice are extremely convenient. He does stay open late on Thursdays (til 7pm) and unlike most doctors, he is open all day on Fridays. Doesn’t do that «leave at noon» thing, which means that those of you who have jobs can actually get seen without having to leave your job early.
Now, the practice? If I was to rate his office staff… it would be a mixed bag.
They are somewhat disorganized and you do have to sit on them to get them to call you back, answer questions and on occasion, can be a little rude, for lack of better term. This really applies to the front office, who often gets it wrong. His back office staff is pretty efficient. I have to give a shout out to back office MA Sean, who is very kind, very warm and extremely caring. He’s a good guy and I like when he is the one who takes me to the back.
His front office staff… they are not a good reflection on the doctor, so if you are the type who is easily frustrated by an office staff who is not necessarily organized or doesn’t necessarily return calls… this might not be a good fit for you.
They also have a policy that you have to arrive 15 minutes early for your appointment or you will be rescheduled. I have NO problem with this except for one TINY little detail… and that is the fact that they don’t TELL you that until you are at the front desk and find yourself being rescheduled. I have been going to the doctor for over 9 years now. They NEVER had this policy. Recently, I had an appointment because I was in a great deal of miserable pain due to a double ear infection. My appointment was at 5:30, so I got there at 5:24. Signed in… only to be told that I was going to have to reschedule my appointment for NOT being on time. WHAAAAAAT? I was absolutely on time! Early, in fact! Well, Chyna at the front desk was not having it. She said I was told to come in 15 minutes early. I absolutely was not. Valerie, the office manager said, «this has always been our policy». Um, no. No it was not… as I have seen this staff turn over more times than a contortionist at a Cirque Du Soleil show. I told her I was NEVER told this on the phone. Actually, someone even called me back after I made the appointment to tell me that they forgot to write down what I was coming in for… and even in that second conversation, I was never told any thing of the sort.
I’m standing at the front desk, crying my poor little eyes out because I was in AGONY with my ears. You would think there would be an OUNCE of compassion, especially since I was one of their last patients and they would say, «well, now you know for next time.» No such luck. Fortunately for me, the doc happened to come to the front office just as I was crying and asking them to PLEASE see me just this once and I promise, I will make sure to be earlier from now on. They were still banging the «NO» drum when he said, «Let her come on back.» Even after that… when the doc left the area, there still had to be snark in the form of «Well, she’s going to just have to sit and wait til the appointments for the day are done.»
I look left.
I look right.
There is NOBODY else in the waiting room.
Really???
So, I sit my whiny, pained butt down to wait. Two FULL minutes later she says, «Okay, you can come in.»
Do you feel better about yourself, doll? You made me wait. You got your way. Hooray for you. *eye roll*
When I got to the back, a certain back office MA told me straight up «they ALWAYS forget to tell the patients to come in early. I believe you. They probably didn’t tell you to come in 15 minutes early.»
Yes. Vindication. Indeed.
Turns out I had a VERY serious infection that the doc was ready to hospitalize me for. As a nurse, I find their behavior extremely disconcerting, because, had I been rescheduled and discouraged and had NOT come back, I would have been walking around with a very serious and highly contagious MRSA infection that could have potentially killed me. So yeah, there are certain times when the front office should really NOT make the call on whether or not what you have going on is important enough to warrant you being seen, even if you were «late» by their standards. I waited two days for them to call me back with test results. Never got a call.
All that said, the doc himself is awesome and I adore him… so FIVE for the doc, and THREE for the staff gives a Four Star review.
Next time, I will try to write my review 15 minutes earlier.