Institute For Asthma & Allergy

If I could give 0 stars, I would. The receptionists are extremely rude to patients. I have witnessed them on several occasions get attitudes with patients over simple questions. They are very impatient and are never helpful. I’ve also witnessed the receptionists talk negatively about patients out in the open.
Don’t bother calling for questions because you can guarantee at least 10min holds before they transfer you to someone else who then puts you on hold again. I come in for allergy shots weekly and they only have 1 nurse available for shots, so the average shot time is an hour with waiting and getting the shot. If you need allergy shots, I would highly recommend going somewhere else.

This is a double review because I have been here twice: with my 2 daughters
once with my younger and once with my older. The first appointment was stellar. Dr Economides was determined to get to the bottom of the allergic reaction which was believed to be from tuna fish. Prick tests were done and the problem solved.
Unfortunately my older daughter’s experience with Dr. Amir Shahlaee was less than stellar. Dr. Shahlaee’s bedside manner is disinterested and a tad blasé. My older daughter had a similar reaction to seafood, with face swelling, itching and headache. The 1^st appointment he told her to take Zyrtec and wrote a scrip for an Epi-​Pen: $ 290. He told her to return and he would do a prick test and she needed to abstain from allergy medication for a week prior. She did this, returned, he took her vitals, asked how she was feeling, did NOT do the prick test and charged us another $ 290.
What really ticks me off is that my daughter is in college and now she has to return to college this week and still has no idea if she is allergic to shell fish. I called the office and spoke to Susan, the office manager. Susan was very apologetic and refunded us our money for the 2^nd visit, and wants my daughter to return for the prick test… we’ll have to see when that will happen as she attends university out of state.
Bottom line, if you are going to this Allergy Institute, see Dr. Athena Economides, she is thorough and wonderful.

Specifically, Dr. Henri Lee. My vetting process ranks him high on the totem pole. Not only an MD but a PhD as well. Both from Johns Hopkins Medical School. Can’t get much better than that. What do I like about him? 1. His depth and breadth of knowledge is impressive. 2. Always up on the latest research, theories and studies. 3. Approach is that more invasive measures should be a last resort. 4. I don’t know if this is because he is Chinese, but into ‘balance’ of bodies natural environment. 5. He will spend as much time with you as you want/​need. 6. He never talks down to you like so many other doctors do. He isn’t just for allergy & asthma. His knowledge far extends that area. I’m considering approaching him as my primary.

I have been a patient of Dr. SCarupa for about five years now. He always takes time to listen to my complaints before examining me. He also asks me what I think about his suggestions so I feel like we work together in my care. In short: he is one of the best doctors I have encountered.

I’ve been to this practice 3 times now — twice to see Dr. Jeong, who is GREAT. And once to see Dr. Li, who is a completely different story (HUGE mistake on my part, seeing him in Dr. Jeong’s absence). I am NOT reviewing Dr. Jeong in this review, just to be clear.
A little bit about me. I was diagnosed with horrendous asthma and allergies at age 3 and have lived with these problems as well as chronic sinusitis almost my entire life. I’m very well versed in these matters and have done a LOT of research, to say the least.
I saw Dr. Li the other day because I was finishing a month-​long course of antibiotics for an infection in my maxillary sinus (which I’ve had for six months now), but had just experienced a huge bout of sickness which indicated to me the infection is still present — and Dr. Jeong happened to be on vacation. I figured another doctor in the same practice could pick up where he had left off, so why not? WRONG.
After listening to me for 30 seconds, Dr. Li pronounced that he felt I had a virus and it was not the infection. He looked at my original CT and «decided» that the antibiotics had certainly treated the infection. (How can he possibly know that without a new CT??) He asked if I had any other questions. Uh, yeah. I asked him why he thought I have been sick the entire year — because that is what Dr. Jeong was trying to figure out. He proceeded to tell me that «sometimes people get sinus infections because of bad luck.» BAD LUCK? You are telling someone who has been suffering her entire life that it is BAD LUCK?
Completely taken aback — and because he had no interest in hearing my historical information — I asked what on earth my course of action is. He literally told me to «come back when you get another infection.» Really? When you can’t even prove to me that the current infection has been successfully treated? Give me a freaking break. That is completely unacceptable. I walked out of the office in tears, really ticked that I had to pay another $ 50 copay for what was an enormous waste of my time, effort and emotions.
While I may call Dr. Jeong when he returns from vacation and see if he has any further plan, in all honesty I am probably done with this practice. When we pay as much as we do for healthcare, we do not deserve to be treated the way I was treated by Dr. Li. Unacceptable.

Warning: emotional reviewer. I have a SERIOUS gripe with this place. I don’t want to go into detail because it’s health-​related but Dr. Economides and staff failed to inform me of a lab result that could have been very serious. I mean, life-​threatening. I called to get my lab results and the nurse said, «oh, they’ll call you if something is wrong.» When they didn’t call, I thought all was ok. Keep in mind the tests weren’t for anything major, they just happened to catch something major (had I known the seriousness I’d have called them daily to double check). That being said, I brought the test up (emphasis on «I») at my next appointment (about 2 months later) and low and behold, I had a very serious diagnosis. She kind of tried to cover her tracks a bit but I work in medicine and know what they did was not ok. Their failure to inform me of this test has led to a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering and a lot of time spent trying to fix what they missed (and actually made worse with the treatments they gave me for a totally different issue). When I first started going here I liked the knowledgeable staff and the fact that it was a teaching clinic. And Dr. Economides seemed really quite brilliant. However, that brilliance doesn’t mean much when the continuity of care is so faulty. I think the issue is that this clinic is WAY overbooked. Each appointment ranges from 2−3+ hours (even without allergy tests). I was hopeful b/​c Dr. Economides is ranked on Washingtonian’s Top Docs but those ratings are from fellow docs, so I think they don’t always know when the bedside manner part is lacking. I get why other docs would rank her high — she is SMART. However, I’d take a little less smart in exchange for good follow-​up. I do not recommend Dr. Economides. I’ve heard good things about other docs here, though. So I don’t know…

Read my post before you make an appointment! My husband made an appointment over the phone with IAA. He couldn’t make it in, long story short the cab company was very late. He called and explained the circumstance to the front desk person. They said no problem, call us when you want to reschedule.
Be forewarned! Weeks later we get an invoice in the mail for $ 100 missed appointment fee. We call the office to explain no one told us there was a fee and that we physically haven’t ever been in the office to read a sign with this disclosure either. We fully understand that some doctor’s have fees if you miss an appointment but these are typically explained when the appointment is made or even when you cancel. We told them no one told us this so how can we be responsible for paying? They became very saucy to say the least. We apologized, explained that not showing up was out of our hands. Their responses which are troublesome:
«We don’t have to disclose we charge a fee.»
«If you write the doctor an apology letter we’ll drop it to $ 25.»
«If you went to our website you would read it there. That’s why we can charge you.»
So everyone who makes an appointment has access and should go to their website? Since when don’t offices have to disclose a fee they make you responsible for paying? And any office that tells me to write an apology note makes me cringe a little… word to the wise anyway.

A few years ago I learned that I have developed various minor allergy and asthma issues. Finding Dr. Mark D. Scarupa at the Institute for Asthma & Allergy has been wonderful for me.
My first visit to him was a second opinion, just to make sure that my previous doctor had taken the right course of action. The Institute did numerous basic tests and Dr. Scarupa chatted with me for some time about my symptoms. I ended up keeping the same treatments but feeling much more sure of the diagnosis, and much more confident in my doctor. A check-​up a year later left me feeling just as confident in my treatment, and allowed me to have some pleasant interactions with his nurses and staff. Everyone there made sure I had all my questions answered, and I never felt rushed. Dr. Scarupa also was also very conscious of how expensive treatments can be and, unprompted, offered me several tips on how to cut down on some of my costs.
The Institute has a prescription hotline that handles prescription and refill questions and requests. When I accidentally let a daily medication’s refills expire this made obtaining one refill before my next appointment simple and quick.
Their offices are also in a nice building on Wisconsin Ave just a few blocks from the Friendship Heights metro station. This is extremely convenient for anyone in the area or living on the Red Line.
I would highly recommend Dr. Scarupa, and if my experience with him and the staff at the Institute is any sign, I’d guess the rest of the doctors there are wonderful as well.