Pittsburgh Gynob West Penn

emmaandabean1 · August 2014

I am very disappointed to be posting this cautionary review of the Pittsburgh Gynob practice and West Penn hospital. I had seen Dr. Gallagher for regular yearly visits and thought she was always very thorough and had a great bed-side manner. So it was needless to say that I assumed I would use this practice when I first found out I was pregnant. Their policy is to meet with all the doctors, as any one of them may be on duty when you go into labor. My first appointment was with Dr. Bergman at 7 weeks. They had done a blood draw and advised they would test for CF. No problem. My next appointment, 4 weeks later was with Dr. Sober. It was at this appointment, FOUR weeks after my last appointment, that I was told I tested positive as a CF carrier and that my husband would need to be tested. They sat on these results for 3 WEEKS. (Dr. Sober advised she was just made aware of this and she wouldn't typically wait to tell a patient they tested positive, apparently this was the actions of the previous doctor) So my husband was tested, which took another week and a half to get those results. Our frustration with the lack of communication was exasperated by the phone call confirming that my husband was in fact a carrier as well and we would need to see a genetic counselor to decide our next plan of action whether to continue or terminate. Apparently this decision is no different to these doctors be it at 8 weeks or 14 weeks. This information could have been told to us almost a month prior. While our decision to continue this pregnancy is solidified I am writing to save any other couples the extremely stressful situation we are currently going through, caused in part by our doctor's nonchalant attitude toward test results.

The inefficiency of our testing experience was yet again magnified when the Dr. Sober was unable to locate a heartbeat during the Doppler test (this is common, no big deal) and sent us to the radiology department for a sonogram to get a heartbeat. This was all fine until we realized that the radiologist had completed our ultrasound under another patient's name and it had been displayed on the screen the entire time. HUGE HIPPA violation. They had me come back in and did a rushed version to correct the mistake.

I would advise any woman seeking treatment here to follow up on your own for any testing, make sure your records are correct, etc. (Which can be a little difficult in itself because the line is busy half of the day) Because clearly this practice/hospital is either lacking enough staff, lacking training, or just simply lacking caring.

monkyciti · August 2014

I haven't had any problems (I see them at their Allison Park office). I didn't not however like Dr. Sober's bedside manner. I had my u/s etc done at Weinstein imaging and they have always been nice there too. My family also loves West Penn. Sorry your experience has been not good

emmaandabean1 · August 2014

I had my sequential testing done at Weinstein and loved them too. I was very fond of West Penn and maybe some of these instances, like the ultrasound mistake, won't have been as upsetting had there hadn't been other issues. More than anything I wanted others to know about the lack of concern of reporting positive lab reports and the record confusion. Both of which can cause some serious problems for a patient.

carcrashheart · August 2014

most offices have you meet with every doctor, that's pretty standard since you can't predict when you will give birth and who will be on call at the hospital at that time. as for the test results, probably notifying you sooner would have been best, but it's also not time sensitive at that point. even if you were going to decide to terminate, legally, there is still a lot of time to make that decision and do so. with both pregnancies i don't receive test results until the next appt unless i make a phone call to ask for test results, which is something you absolutely could have done. sometimes you have to be your own advocate. however, i'm sure that you figured no news was good news, which typically would be the case. it sounds like this is one of those minority situations where most other situations would turn out that only one parent is a carrier and not both. i definitely understand being upset and i suspect the real issue is being upset with the test results and risks moving forward, which again, i absolutely understand, but it comes out as anger towards the doctors and staff involved, and i really do get that. maybe a better way to discuss this would be to make a blanket warning to others to be more involved in their testing and results and to make an effort to be proactive for their own sake. those are things that we should all be doing. for instance, i had my one hour GTT last weekend. i didn't hear from a dr with the results all week long. i know that it would take a few days for those results to be sent back to the dr, but i also know they most likely have them by now. if it weren't for the fact that i have an appt on monday already scheduled i would likely be calling the office to inquire about the results. i know all too well that things can get lost in the shuffle or files incorrectly marked that a patient was contacted when they weren't-i've had to learn those lessons the hard way, but not all have.

i'm sorry to hear about the test results, but it sounds like you and your DH are prepared in moving forward. good luck!

emmaandabean1 · August 2014

While yes, we were disappointed with the results, this is not the reason I posted this. As I stated, it a cautionary post to be aware of how this Dr. deals with test results and our experience with the care of our records. A termination can be done well into a pregnancy and if you are the type of person that feels no change in emotional attachment as your pregnancy progresses I suppose it would not matter when you received that information. This was just to advise people like myself who would find this information useful and hopefully help to prevent someone else from going through the similar situations. I'm not advising anyone to avoid this practice, hospital, or staff. As for a blanket statement, I believe, "I would advise any woman seeking treatment here to follow up on your own for any testing, make sure your records are correct, etc." covers it.

bobsboo602 · November 2014

I luv pgh gynob im 30 weeks seen vdr wecht, bergman and mcguire and so far I didn't really care for mcguires bedside manner but I really have had no issues I always call to n inquire on my test results b as im high risk in certain meds that will require a nicu stay b and I'm very comfy with west penn and the pgh gynob practice you have to be your own advocate as most practices have alot of patients

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