Dr. Pattamakom and Diesfeld are excellent doctors. They truly care about their patients. However, the office staff is very unfriendly, incompetent, rude, and inefficient, and these are the reasons why I'm hesitant to recommend these doctors to friends and family. I remember one extremely rude office staff, Patti, calling in my prescription medication at the wrong pharmacy. I was completley frustrated after waiting for hours at the pharmacy where I specifically asked her to order my pescription, the same pharmacy where I always pick up all prescriptions from Pattamakom. After a few hours of waiting, I was told by the pharmacy tech that my prescription was never ordered and to perhaps check another pharmacy in town. It was late at night and I was on my first trimester of my very first pregnancy, and I really needed my medicine. Starving, tired from work, and desperate to get my medicine before heading home, I drove to another pharmacy in town. Sure enough, Patti carelessly called it in at another drug store. No apologies or nothing from the office staff, and I never really made a big deal out of it because I wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with the office since I had no choice but see/interact with them during my doctor visits. She did this twice to me (and perhaps to other patients as well) and never once apologized. In fact, when I confronted her on the phone, she sounded impatient and angry at me. Months later, I had to ask help from Catherine with medical records. I requested for her to send my medical records to another doctor. She misinformed me and stated that there was a fee and a 2-week turn-around-time, which surprised me because the last time I requested for this to be done, it was handled on the same day by another staff, Katie. I was later told by Erin that Catherine was misinformed and apologized on her behalf. I was very understanding and asked Erin to follow up with Catherine to make sure this was done ASAP before I see my new doctor in 3 days. A day before my scheduled appointment with the new doctor, I was informed by his office at 4:30 PM that they still have not received my medical records. I called Pattamakom/Diesfeld's office and tried to speak with Catherine, but instead of apologizing and helping me out, she placed me on hold for about 5 minutes, which to me was long time, especially since the other office was about to close and I wanted to make sure they receive my records before my early morning appointment tomorrow. I had to beg another impatient office staff, Julie to help me. Had I not called Catherine, nothing would have been done and my new doctor would not have received any of my records to better assess me on my appointment day. There were more frustrating incidents but these two were the most disappointing encounters I had. I have no complaints about the doctors, but my advice to you is if you're pregnant and looking for an excellent prenatal care, go somewhere else. The office is too busy and rude. You literally have to be on your toes and on their faces to get anything done the right way. They're not sympathetic, patient, and efficient. I personally believe that the office/admin staff is the backbone of any business and it can either break or make the business. These two excellent doctors deserve a better office stafff in order for their business to thrive.
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