McGowan Mark, MD

He just doesn’t seem to care.
Quite some time ago, my mother was his patient. Until she could take it no more.
Years ago my mother developed addison’s disease. It’s a disease which can suck the energy from your body and leave you feeling mysteriously fatigued from morning till night. Mom spent months and months and months in bed with this undiagnosed disease.
For roughly 8 months we went back-​and-​forth to McGowan’s office searching for an answer as to what was causing my mother’s mysterious fatigue. Slowly we started to realize that McGowan was not going to come up with an answer. I think it was my mother’s Cardiologist who one day said ‘you need to see an endocrinologist’. We found a good endocrinologist and quickly found out what my mother had. There is a very well known drug therapy for coping with addison’s disease.
Before my mother left McGowan’s care, she came down with a pulmonary infection. Pulmonary Disease is McGowan’s specialty. They admitted mom to the hospital, announced that she had Pneumonia, gave her the appropriate meds and sent her home. After a week of misery, I had her taken by ambulance back to the hospital where she was admitted. This time they said «nope, she’s got tuberculosis» — put her in quarantine and instructed me to get tested for tuberculosis. They put mom on meds and she didn’t improve. So they did more tests and said «nope, she’s got mycobacterium avium «. With this 3^rd diagnosis, they finally got it right.
My mom left McGowan’s care and went with Dr Joan Feltman. Mom was delighted with the change.

I truly don’t understand why people have had such negative experiences. I was referred to Dr. McGowan by my GP for recurrent bronchitis. His office was able to make me an appointment in a timely manner. He was pleasant, thorough and he even researched which steroid inhaler would be covered by my insurance. His staff is kind and courteous. One of the negative reviews for this doctor is by someone who had «stomach troubles.» Dr. McGowan is a Pulmonologist, a lung specialist. I think that person may have reviewed the wrong doctor… anyway, I have had nothing but positive experiences with my appointments.

If it could be negative trust me it would. All was fine until I got my bill. I went in complaining of let just say Stomach troubles and he told me to eat bananas and drink pedialyte. I have insurance and they told me at the office that they we’re within the network. I got a bill just over a month later for $ 330. This guy’s a criminal! do not go with him.

I switched jobs and had to pick a doctor from «the list» — I just wished I’d checked Unilocal first. Dr. McGowan is a sad, sad man — obviously disgruntled and stringing the days together until he retires.
Background: I have an immune disorder that requires a specialist. So — I picked one, and had seen him maybe the week before. I was only seeing Dr. McGowan to get «the rest of me» checked out…
So. After waiting 30 minutes past my appointment time (after getting there a customary 20 minutes early to fill out initial paperwork), he troubles himself to see me. I say «troubles» himself, because eye-​contact seems to be beyond his abilities. Or speaking above much of a grumble. Perhaps he’s part troll. Hard to tell.
I mentioned the specialist I had already seen, and he snorted, «but he’s not in our Group!» «Well,» I calmly replied, «he’s listed in the insurance coverage I have, and seemed perfectly willing to see me.» «Hmph.!» he grunted.
After 10 minutes of boorish behavior like this, we were done (that’s it? that’s your thorough checkup?). Such a waste of time. Thank God my company switched insurance carriers, and I can go back to my old doctors. I feel sorry for anyone who has to go see this «doctor.»

This is my wife’s experience, but she does not have a Unilocal account:
I have had a long history of doctors throughout my life some good, some great and some just ok, but none as uncaring or unconcerned as Dr. Mark McGowan.
I was literally not breathing when I saw him. I was extremely short of breath just to talk or stand. I couldn’t sleep because I could not inhale properly. He gave me all the same tests I took last time these same symptoms occurred (which were inconclusive). He did not refer me to specialist or another physician. He did not order more testing when the results were inconclusive.
I went back to his office the next day with a question (since I was right down the hall taking an echo) he did not have a patient and told his nurse to send me home and he would call me later!!! He did not even tell her to say that I could wait «X» amount of time, simply send her home! When he finally called me he hung up while I was mid sentence. Note I was still having extreme difficulty breathing. He showed no concern, did not call me for the test results and when I finally called weeks later for the results he did not even ask me how I was feeling!!! I hung up saying «I am feeling better thank you for asking» Remember I was barely breathing when I saw him! I would have given him a lower grade if I could. I simply think he is not in the right profession

More concerned with insurance and ego than me. His own medical group said I should report him. Had me go to outside treatment then wouldn’t request more treatment because he thought insurance wouldn’t pay for it. Also never consulted with Dr. who treated me to see what I needed. Also blamed me for not coming back in for a follow up, when his office told me not to.