Daniel Ein, MD

I always liked Dr. Ein, but his nursing staff was not always the best. You’d have to wait almost an hour before just getting your shot and then the half hour mandatory wait after.
However, they just got new nurses and now my wait was around 2 minutes. Crazy difference. Thank God Dr. Ein fired all those other nurses and hired these. The experience is so much more pleasant.

This place is a microcosm for everything wrong with health care in this country.
My body broke out in what I thought to be a case of very itchy hives but when a week went by and I didn’t get any better, I made an appointment here for January 8 at 8:25 in the morning.
Dr. Van Lancker was away on maternity leave, so I got Dr. DuBuske, whose treatment of patients is something close to appalling.
Not only did I wait over two hours for him to see me – along with other infuriated patients who asked why the wait was so long and received no answers – but by the time he finally attended to me, he kept leaving the room because he forgot files and other documents detailing my history. After maybe a whopping 10 minutes, he prescribed me a haphazard variety of drugs and I was sent to another facility to get blood work done. Ninety-​nine allergy tests ordered and 13 vials of blood later, I finally made it to work at noon.
Later that week, I saw a kindly dermatologist in middle of nowhere Bethesda because I was desperate. I showed him the list of stuff Dr. DuBuske prescribed and he said that a lotion was actually making my rashes worse. He told me to get rid of most of the medications and prescribed a cream that substantially relieved my itching and my unsightly appearance in just two days. God bless Stephen White. They don’t make doctors like him anymore it seems. Right now, I’m not taking any of the medications Dr. DuBuske prescribed.
A receptionist from Dr. Ein’s office called to see if I wanted to schedule a follow-​up. Of course I declined and told her about my experience. She gave me Dr. DuBuske’s cell number and told me to call him in about 30 minutes to discuss my test results. When I did, he rudely told me he was on his way to the airport (based on the article below, one can make an educated guess as to where he was headed).
I finally got a hold of him this past Tuesday (the 21^st) and when I informed him that I didn’t want to make another appointment and wanted to know the results of my tests, he made it sound like I was a major inconvenience. I asked to have the results faxed to my primary care person and I got this whole spiel as to how laborious it would be even though he informed me I have some very severe allergies. God forbid I’d want to discuss my significant health concerns with my primary care provider!
I think this article tells you everything you need to know about Dr. DuBuske:
For 10 minutes of poor service, I’m sure my insurance company will be charged a fortune and those costs will then be passed on to me and my co-​workers in the form of higher deductibles and co-​pays.
I’m shocked that this allergy clinic is rated so highly. I continue to be floored by how arrogant and dismissive doctors in this city are. Dr. DuBuske is certainly a prominent example of how little regard is shown to patients like me.
If the clinic is serious about improving its service, it wouldn’t charge me or my insurance company anything. It would not only apologize to me but to every single person who had to wait that day. Finally, it would invest in some intensive bedside manner/​patient sensitivity training.
There is no way in hell I am returning here.

Let me first say that this rating does not really relate to Dr. Ein, but rather to his office. I have found Dr. Ein to be very knowledgeable and he always takes time to talk through the issues. I would recommend him for anything other than getting allergy shots. In fact, for anything other than allergy shots I’d give him five stars.
However, if you choose do the allergy shots, know that it is like stepping in dog poop on your way to the office EVERY time. And this is the type of dog poop that doesn’t wash off well, in fact it takes at least an hour to wash off your shoe. EVERY time.
Dr. Ein warned me that allergy shots are a time commitment and, as someone who has gone through allergy shots before, I completely understand that. What I don’t understand is why their office management and front desk secretary make it as miserable as possible.
Let’s discuss their standard policies first. Their standard policies are:
1) Open Monday through Thursdays, 8:30am to 4:30pm or some other time that normal people don’t get out of work. Fridays they don’t open til 9am. If you get there right on time for their opening, expect to wait at least 10 to 15 minutes to actually get your shot.
2) Wait 30 minutes after you get the shot to make sure you don’t die. Fair.
3) No public wi-​fi, no cell phones, and no food and drink in their office.
4) Everyone is greeted by the world’s nastiest front desk secretary. I don’t know why she hates the patients, but she is certainly nicer to the other staff and my guess is the doctors too or she’d be out of a job.
#1 is obviously not compatible with your average Washingtonian work day unless you work close by and can pop by in the middle of the day. Monday through Thursday you will never by out earlier than 9:15am and that’s a good day and you still have to get to your workplace. How could they fix this? There could be at least one day of the week that opens no later than 8am or closes no earlier than 7pm or offer a weekend morning.
#3 and #4 are just unnecessary. Why can’t this be as pleasant an experience as possible? Offer wi-​fi, let people talk on their cell phones if they need to, and let’s use the metro rule of «if it has a lid it’s fair game».
Now, let’s talk about their «occasional» policies, which I just learned about after trying to go for my 7^th shot (not exactly a newbie here). Apparently #1 above is just a suggestion because in November they are actually closed or close early a total of EIGHT days out of only 21 weekdays. I know this because I (along with at least 4 other people while I was standing there for 5 minutes) went to get an injection today not knowing that the office was closed. Then I was gruffly asked if I was on the «email-​it» list.
What’s the «email-​it» list you ask? Apparently it’s this secret email list they don’t tell you about unless you know to ask or you do what me and 4 other people did and show up on one of the EIGHT OF 21 DAYS IN NOVEMBER THAT THEY ARE CLOSED. They certainly don’t take the initiative when you start getting injections to take the email you’ve already given them and add you to the secret email list. The secret «email-​it» list, by the way, is basically the only way they notify you of the closed office days. They don’t post it to their website or anything crazy like that.
When I asked who I could talk to about improving this ridiculous system, I was greeted with a belittling look and no answer from the front desk lady. So here I am on Unilocal.If things improve, I will certainly update this review.

The first time I went to the office I was there for almost two hours, but it was worth it. Dr. Ein took the time to hear out all of my symptoms, and he figured out what was triggering a new allergy I developed.
In this day in age when insurance companies are driving doctors offices to become like factories, one-​on-​one time with a doctor is incredibly rare. I believe that if a doctor doesn’t hear you out, how can he/​she understand what is really going on?
Overall, I highly recommend visiting Dr. Ein. Specially if you, like me, had been trying different doctors to figure out what you are allergic to.

I’ve since transferred allergists and have discovered how a friendly and professional office is run. A few things:
GW Associates makes it difficult and expensive to transfer medical records. I know we’re in the age of HIPAA– but my new allergist said they’ve never had such difficulty obtaining records from another doctor. After weeks of back and forth, I had to fax a form and pay $ 25 for my new allergist to see my records.
Dr. Ein never ran blood tests for food allergies – despite my complaint of persistent itchy skin. He just told me to buy some hydrocortisone OTC. My new doctor has conducted the tests and has discovered I have several food allergies!
Most amusingly– Dr. Ein wrote in my medical records that I am of a specific nationality, when in fact I am not! I guess he just looked at me and made a guess. Perhaps that doesn’t matter. But if nationality doesn’t matter– why put it in the record? If it does matter, then take the time to get it right. (Hint: not all Asian people are Chinese people.)
Ah– the perspective you get from going somewhere new. I could never recommend this place.

Haven’t been to see Mr. Ein. Just got off the phone with the receptionist though. Gotta say that in this economy I’d think you could find receptionists that are decently friendly and not rushed on the phone. Due to the receptionist’s demeanor, I am going to look for someone else.

I have only seen Dr. Ein once, but he was very professional and thoughtful in listening to my concerns and answering my questions. This meant a lot because I asked a few questions from a holistic health perspective, and not all Western doctors show regard for that. Dr. Ein offered insight where possible but also admitted when something fell outside his expertise. His staff was also very pleasant and organized.
My only concern was that the flow of the appointment was disrupted by the presence of a resident. I met with her before Dr. Ein. Although she was clearly very bright, she made a few errors when listening and was a bit dismissive. Since I was reliant on her to convey accurate information to Dr. Ein, this made my experience as a patient more stressful.
While I get that the purpose of my meeting with a resident is to enhance her learning through experience, I did not like speaking with someone whose knowledge still seemed so restricted to a matrix. I wanted to see Dr. Ein — and waited a month for an appointment — because his experience naturally gives him a more sophisticated, and less textbook, view of patients.
Again, Dr. Ein and his staff were great, and I would go back to see him again. However, if someone has a more complex concern, they should be prepared to negotiate a game of medical Telephone or may want to ask to meet with Dr. Ein and the resident together.

I went to see Dr. Ein for issues related to horse and cat allergies recently; chose him out of the slew of other allergists in the DC area because of the positive Unilocal ratings. I don’t want to be too negative — he DID seem like a nice guy and addressed most of my questions in a polite manner. However, beyond throwing me a couple of other over-​the-​counter anti-​histamines that I haven’t tried, he was NOT helpful!
I really and truly felt like my visit to his office was about on par with taking a lighter to $ 200 and watching it go up in flames.
His staff originally informed me that the initial consultation was $ 360 and *included* testing for the specific allergen. When I arrived, I was informed that the initial fee did NOT include the testing. (That’s pretty annoying, especially if you’re paying out of pocket.) Then, as I was describing the symptoms, Dr. Ein pretty much said there was nothing he could do to help me… and to just stay away from horses and cats. (Hard to do if your family lives on a horse farm!) The only bright spot in the visit was that the front office informed me the visit only cost $ 200 instead of $ 360. (Wow. What a deal. *grumble*)
I’m not entirely sure HOW this allergist actually helps people, but I sincerely hope he does. I, for one, would rather have my $ 200 back.

I’ve been to other allergists in the area and Dr. Ein compares very favorably. He took time to speak to me during each of my visits, answered all of my questions, and approached my allergies in a very methodical and academic manner. He didn’t try to push me towards any particular approach and throughout everything stressed that the ultimate goal for him was to get me the best treatment for the least amount of money/​hassel. His staff was professional and helpful and I’d strongly recommend him to anyone!

I made an appointment with Dr. Ein after suffering mercilessly through 7 months of allergies that seem to have come from another planet. Moving from Philadelphia to DC just completely blew out my system, I guess. I could do nothing to get rid of them so I bit the bullet and found an allergist.
WHEW. Thank goodness I did. Dr. Ein was extremely thorough and personable, even taking the time to look up the address of my pharmacy so he could send my Rx over right then! I liked his staff and felt like I was in capable hands. Not to mention that my allergies do not exist anymore!
Dr. Ein and his staff are great and I’m super happy I went to him!

I just called for an appointment because I am quite sick with allergy and sinus problems… seems his practice is too big! I have to wait six weeks as a new patient to be seen and I asked if I was a returning patient how long would it be and she said 10 days! Not so great if you really need to see the doctor! I will be searching elsewhere for service.

I have had a great experience with Dr. Ein over the past few weeks. I am new to the area, and went to get a routine screening for my allergies and asthma. Dr. Ein was very thorough, as the other reviews say, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine. He also seemed very caring and willing to listen.
Then, a week later, my tonsils suddenly swelled up for no reason. Dr. Ein, my only doctor in the city, was able to schedule me twice in the week for same-​day appointments. Then, he was able to get me in to a great ENT with one day’s notice. Without Dr. Ein and his helpful staff, I don’t know what I would have done. He’s definitely the allergist to use.

As everyone here has said, Dr. Ein is great!
He took the time to listen to my allergies, symptoms and treatment attempts. Ran me through the tests and was very cautious about putting me on any medications.
The place is a bit hard to find, but if you enter in from I street, it’s just a straight shot down the corridor, through several doors to get to the allergy clinic.

Dr. Ein is terrific. Very, very thorough, as others have mentioned. He’s not the type to prescribe without seeing you, but where allergies/​asthma are concerned, that’s for the best.
I previously had allergy shots from another DC allergist and lost confidence when he didn’t seem at all concerned about the reactions to the shots I was having just before I hit the «maintenance» level. As a result, I got a referral to Dr. Ein from a friend. I immediately noticed a much higher quality of care.

Huge thanks to Dr. van Lancker, who practices with Dr. Ein. When no one could diagnose why my asthma sent me to the ER 3 times in 5 months, Dr. van Lancker kept probing. She made herself available ²⁴⁄₇ as I often struggled to breathe. Thanks to her active listening and professionalism, she screened me for lupus. After being correctly diagnosed, I’ve been able to manage my lupus and my asthma, stay out of the ER for the last year, and re-​gain my good health. She’s the best!

Dr Ein is an amazing allergist. I made an appointment with Dr. Ein to check out why I’ve been having minor food allergies where a part of my lip swells ever so slightly. Unfortunately, between making the appointment and actually going I developed a case of hives. Like, terrible scary hives.
I have now had hives for 2 months, and am about to go into my 3^rd appointment with Dr. Ein.
Dr. Ein takes the time to talk to you, ask you all the questions, listen to you and he even checked out a few things just to be sure. I highly highly recommend him even if you just have minor allergies.
As for him being part of MFA – while it is a bit annoying that he is part of such a large practice, I happened to have a severe outbreak a few weeks ago while all the allergists were away at a conference and because he was part of such a large organization, the nurses and receptionists worked their butts off to have me seen by some other doctor.
Both Dr. Ein, his facilities and the staff get 5 stars!

Dr. Ein isn’t just a good allergist, he’s one of the best doctors that I’ve ever had. He took the time to actually listen to what I had to say about my current symptoms and allergy history, as opposed to rushing me through my first few office visits, like most other doctors do.
My previous allergist didn’t listen at all to my concerns about his conclusions, and while I’m not a doctor, it didn’t take an MD to see through his faulty logic.
Dr Ein, on the other hand, listened to and agreed with my concerns, and his tests proved that I had been on the right track. It may sound ridiculous that this isn’t usually the case with health care, but he actually seems to take his patients’ welfare seriously.
It takes a while to warm up to Dr. Ein’s staff as they’re not the warmest of medical workers, but that seems to be indicative of health care service in DC in general. Relative to what’s standard in this town, the nurses and receptionists are efficient and friendly enough, and they’ve grown on me.

Kudos to Laura and Larry for putting Dr. Ein’s reviews. Thank you so much for saving me!
I have vasomotor rhinitis according to my previous allergist in California. Since I moved to DC, I was desperately looking for a good allergist and I’ve found the best one!
All of the staff members were excellent and the receptionist put me on the next day appointment, which took me by surprise. The nurse, Sandra, was very friendly and made me comfortable.
Like Larry mentioned, I was guided to Dr. Ein’s office, where he LISTENED to my previous allergy history and showed his sincere care. He asked me my personal background and just made me feel very comfortable in talking to him. I wrote
in the referral section and he asked me what
was. He seems to have very humble and warm personality.
I’ve had so many doctors, especially at Kaiser, who seem to be in a rush all the time. They cut me in the middle of my sentence and come up with conclusion really fast. Worst of all, they always tried to get away with giving me referrals even within the same Kaiser facility. It was ridiculous.
Dr. Ein is on top doctors lists in the Washingtonian’s this month issue. The funny thing is my previous allergist and Dr. Ein are good friends. What a small world!

Although Larry G. says they make sure you don’t feel tortured like a caught spy, I think it depends on how allergic you are and to how many things! I am so allergic, the tiny amount of allergen multiplied by 30 or so was excruciating… but it’s not really the doctor’s fault! I think for certain people, like me, the Gitmo people could certainly use this as a new method…
Regardless, I really appreciated Dr. Ein’s interest in my entire history of allergies and also respecting the fact that I thought shots would be the best thing for me, since they worked so well before. Effing Kaiser Permanente doctor wanted me to «wait and see» — despite the fact that I am allergice to everything AND had gotten relief from shots before!
So, kudos to Dr. Ein.
***Tip: if you enter on the Pennsylvannia Ave. side, you have to go downstairs and then walk through almost to the back side of the building, and there are no signs to direct you! It is probably better to enter on the H Street side and walk through the pharmacy, where there are signs directing you to the allergy center.

Dr. Daniel Ein is a wonderful allergist at the GWU Medical Faculty Associates (MFA). He’s so good that he has appeared in the Washingtonian — July 2005 issue, which focused on the best doctors in the DC area.
My allergies were bad in Texas. But when I moved here, it was just gone… while everyone else was suffering with allergies. Well, 9 years later, I’m having allergy problems. I’m just getting old. Notice that? The older we get, our bodies start falling apart.
I was miserable! I asked my co-​workers for recommendations for an allergist. Almost everyone recommended Dr. Ein. Since I pretty much go to the MFA for doctors’ appointments, I thought I might as well go to him.
I made such a great decision. Dr. Ein is a GREAT allergist. He will personally take you into his office and discuss the symptoms of your allergies. I’ve never once been in a doctor’s office. Have you?
The nurses are friendly and funny. They do a great job keeping you occupied with conversations while they poke about 30 shots into you for your allergy tests. I had to do this twice! The first test was too weak to see what allergies I might have. This test was done on the arms. The next test was done on the shoulders. However, they did a fabulous job not making you feel like you’re being tortured like a caught spy.
So, I highly recommend Dr. Ein for your allergies.