Excel Dermatology

BE CAREFUL PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS! FRAUDULENT CLAIMS.
I know there are a lot of problems with the receptionist so that may be the issue. They charged me for two extra visits that I was not at. I asked for a refund for a prepaid service I was going to have after I realized these fraudulent claims and they asked if they could just give me a personal check instead of going through the insurance. I said no I am going through the right steps to make sure I have records after all of the issues I have had with them. I have come realize that they are billing out of FL and there billing department is extremely difficult to get a hold of.
BEWARE!!!

Dr. Faria is very knowledgeable which is the only reason I’d even give this review 2 stars. I did not have a good experience here. It started with the receptionist who I find to be very rude. I had a bad taste before I even entered the office because she wasn’t pleasant over the phone while scheduling my appointment. Not to mention that it was very annoying to make an appointment in the first place because the first few times I called, I got a busy tone. Then I tried to make an appointment online — no email, no callback, nothing. I finally called again and got through which is when I encountered the receptionist for the first time.
I came in for my appointment and once again was not greeted politely. I expected the administrative staff to make me feel welcome as it was my first time at this practice; that was not and probably will never be the case. I was brought back after about 10 minutes (no big deal) and a young lady took pictures of my face. Then enters Dr. Faria. She calls me by the wrong name and when I correct her, she says something along the lines of «Oh, you’re not supposed to be my patient, this is wrong.» To which I responded that I had specifically requested her when I made my appointment because I appreciated her holistic approach. She and her assistant went outside and talked. When she came back in she started her rant «I’m Dr. Faria… I’ve been doing this for 30+ years… I know everything there is to know…» She started going through her explanation of why I have acne and is spouting off a laundry list of lifestyle changes I should make while writing them down. I like to ask a lot of questions but Dr. Faria does not like to answer a lot of questions. The first time I tried to make a comment or ask a question she said «Don’t interrupt me». Well… this didn’t sit well with me. I heard her out, she rushed out of the room, didn’t say «bye», «thanks», «nice to meet you» or anything. At this point, her assistant takes over and this was the most frustrating point. Dr. Faria recommended a face wash, gel, and pill and it was the assistant’s job to wrap up all the loose ends. The assistant did not speak English well and I had an impossible time understanding what she wanted me to do or what she was prescribing me. Super uncomfortable spot to be in.
I have no desire to ever go back. The whole time felt as if I was imposing or causing trouble for simply coming in for my appointment. Read the other reviews; I’m not the only one who has had trouble with the administration. If the Excel team actually reads these reviews, I hope they take this one thing away: Get new administrative help and assistants that actually know what they are doing and care about the patients. This will decrease the stress that is caused on the doctors and hopefully allow the doctors to be better at what they do.

There are medical doctors, and then there are real healers.
Dr. Faria is more than a licensed medical doctor — she is a true Doctor. Someone who does more than push prescriptions. She takes into account intangible factors and feelings when diagnosing and educating her patients. I was referred to her by a friend who RAVED about her. He was right.
The office space is a little dumpy, but I’d walk through the snow for Dr. Faria.
Luckily for me, this mole isn’t cancerous — but even if it were, I know I’d be ok good hands with Dr. Faria!

The receptionist with the green hair is as sharp as your dullest butter knife. I called to see what building the office was in because the gps doesn’t direct you and was on hold for like 12 mins. I know why. when I finally got there shes just on the phone like «what is an emissions inspection. I dont get it. the thing on my windshield? What are they looking for on my windshield? Girl.unprofessional. After about an hour wait, I met with the doctor for my acne and a cancer screening. All she wanted to talk about was my bowel movements. Mmhmm. I was like do you think you could actual like look under a microscope and touch my face seeing as you’re a doctor? But no. Not once did she actually touch my face. She continued on about my bowel movements and keep what I was doing and left the room so I could talk to her nurse… like what the hell? I was almost in tears. The nurse asked me to finish filling out the paperwork and I was like hell no I’m never coming back here she didn’t do shit you don’t need to do shit. And so the nurse was like I’ll be right back. The doctor comes back with a completely differently demeanor trying to be nice like look you are doing great with you current regimen keep it up and if it doesn’t get better we can talk about peels, micros, etc. by that point I really didn’t care what she had to say. I was over her and I let her know I wasn’t coming back so I went to check out. Oh and about the cancer screening I had scheduled? Never got one. Thanks excel!

Researched Dr. Suarez having come from Baltimore where I often saw Hopkins or University of Maryland doctors. Thought I had made an appointment with Dr. Suarez, but then saw Dr. Faria. After a 10 minute exam during which I had no clothes on and the assistant kept walking in and out and actually talked to someone with outside in the hall. Dr. Faria actually asked me if I wanted that mole taken off. Cause if you think it looks weird, we can take it off. Uh, last I checked, you’re the doctor, you tell me! Half the reason I went was to see if she thought it looked potentially cancerous.
Receptionist was not very friendly, neither was the checkout person. Also, turns out I had scabies at the time and Dr. Faria never noticed although I had bites.
So less than impressed and will not be returning.

I’ve been to Excel Dermatology twice for acne-​related treatment. I found them using google and my appointment (s) have been with Archana. The front desk staff is friendly and efficient and the wait time for an appointment is totally reasonable. Archana is amazing. She’s super friendly and knowledgeable and has an excellent «bedside manner.» The treatment she prescribed for me worked immediately and we saw results at my 5-​week followup. I would definitely recommend her!

Came here for minor acne and infection on my finger– bedside manner was awful from assistant. Dr. Suarez was very nice, but the whole experience was less than favorable.

No complaints here. The appointment was easy to make. The office staff seemed competent & nice enough. I waited about 15 minutes before we were called back. I had taken my 14 year old daughter in for a full body mole check. Dr. Suarez was very polite & thorough in her examination. Made my daughter feel very comfortable through the whole procedure. She took her time & made careful note of the size and placement of the moles. Also took pictures of couple of the moles so she can keep track of them. I felt confident in her skills & knowledge base.

Waited 45 minutes to see the doctor (at 9am). This place must double book. There were 5 people in the waiting room and there are only 2 doctors. Extremely, extremely inconsiderate.
People who showed up after me were called before I was. No apologies for the long wait by anyone. When the Faria finally came in, she was there for less than 5 minutes.
No wonder this place always has last minute appointments available. Waiting so long completely ruined my opinion of this place

I felt the need to write a four star review to combat the low rating that some of the other reviews are giving this place. I’ve gone here twice now and both times I have come for a routine check-​up I waited no more than 15 minutes for Dr. Faria and once in, she was kind, quick, and efficient with her work. She remembered me and asked about about how things were going; she genuinley seems to enjoy her job. She does love to write prescriptions, but you don’t HAVE to fill everything she gives out and she really is just trying to help. If I had one complaint about this place it would be the completely apathetic staff behind the desk; they look like they hate their jobs and have zero interest in helping customers get in and out quickly.

I wish I had checked Unilocal before going here. As someone mentioned below, it was one of our most frustrating experiences.
It was the only place in the area that I could get a last minute appointment. Our appointment with the medical staff went fine; we saw the physician’s assistant and then she confirmed her diagnosis with one of the doctors.
Our major problem was and still is with the administrative staff; we were billed twice and still haven’t received a refund after numerous phone calls! They were very adamant that we pay the $ 110 fee with our credit card at the desk after our appointment (even though they were in-​network which should’ve been a red flag) and then they charged our insurance flex account again!
When I call, all they keep telling me is that they don’t handle billing (seriously?) and give me a number for their «billing department» out in Florida that never answers and never calls back despite numerous messages.
It’s been almost a year! I would be extremely cautious when and if you decide to go here.
And the ointments they prescribed didn’t even work.

I went to see Dr. Faria because my mother recommended her and loves her. Unfortunately, I didn’t leave feeling the same way as my mom. Dr. Faria was condescending (which according to other reviews is not unlike her) and although she seemed knowledgeable, I’d rather take advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about AND is polite. But that’s just me and obviously she has charmed others out there so if you’re not worried about the possibility of being talked down to, she is probably just fine!

Wow, so incredibly bad. I thought I had made an appointment with Dr. Suarez, but when I arrived, it turned out it was with Dr. Faria. My husband and I both came from DC to the appointment and spent about 30 minutes waiting to be seen. There was a note hanging up in the waiting room asking for those waiting to show patience because the office’s policy is to provide thorough and quality care to their patients and, once seen, each patient would receive the same level of thorough care. So we sat patiently.
I was happy with Dr. Faria at first because, although brusque, she seemed knowledgable and provided some information beyond what could be easily found on Google (which is not the case with all doctors lately). But about 10 minutes into the appointment, she suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, launched into an angry and accusatory tirade about how my appointment had gone on too long, that her other patients were waiting and getting upset, and that she doubted that another provider would spend as much time with me as she had already done. With that, the appointment was abruptly over, and I was in complete shock. Can’t believe my husband and I wasted a ½ day of work only to be disparaged and left mostly without answers. Waste of time, waste of emotion, waste of my copay. Would recommend others to seek help elsewhere.

Went in for my initial consult in an emergency situation — had a bad skin infection on deep tissue on my face. Doctor wasn’t concerned, I wanted a 2^nd opinion. Saw Dr. Faria. She told me right at the start that she would be quiet — but it was because she was thinking. I appreciate the careful consideration, and so I let her stare at me for a few minutes. She was quick in her assessment and told me her chosen course of action and what other alternatives for treatment I had. Long story short, she was thoughtful and courteous, and was very caring when I nervously came in for a procedure. I can see how some might be put off — not the typical talkative doctor — but the thoughtfulness and awareness and incredible knowledge of skin and body — that’s what I’m looking for.

Doctor Faria is probably the best dermatologist in this area. She is very experienced and knowledgable in not just the skin but all aspects of human body as well. Highly recommend her.

Dr. Faria is awful. She stared at me for 2 min. to see what the ‘universe’ is telling her. It’s a quack. Not helpful at all.

I HIGHLY recommend that anyone considering seeing Dr. Faria first read the 10 other reviews that Unilocal for some reason did not include in the overall ranking of this practice. These «unacceptable» reviews give a much more realistic picture of what a kind of treatment a patient seeing this doctor will expect.
Dr Suarez was great but doesn’t do early morning appointments. So I saw dr faria for my follow up. She told me I shouldn’t use the medication dr Suarez prescribed because I am nursing. She then made me feel like I deserve to have acne because I wear a headscarf and the scarf may be causing bacteria to linger on my skin. She kept saying «that thing is causing bacteria to be trapped on your skin»
She also told me I may have PCOS but absolutely refused to tell me anything further about the treatment for PCOS, demanding «what’s the point In discussing it if we don’t know whether you have the condition?»
This kind of treatment is rude, unprofessional, and condescending. Furthermore, I’m paying for her time and would like my health questions answered.
She also kept telling me there is not much she can do for me as long as I continue nursing. Well, thanks for the myopic view of health here, doctor. I’m not weaning to make your job easier.
Then, one of her assistants made me feel bad for putting my baby in day care. Seriously?
Dr faria is not a native English speaker. As the child of immigrants, I fully appreciate the difficulties of language barriers. So maybe she didn’t intend to be so pugilistic and rude. Nevertheless, she doesn’t deserve any more of my time or money.
I am giving two stars instead of one because finally at the end of the appointment dr faria briefly discussed diet and its importance on skin health, which I appreciated.

I am so glad I found Dr. Faria!
At first I was doubtful. I made my first appointment with Faria for a mole check and to start a new prescription for acne. I was new to the area and randomly picked her. At the time I’d had acne prone skin for years (including two rounds of accutane and numerous Rx creams and antibiotics). She put me on epiduo cream and removed two moles (both benign — but better safe than sorry).
The epido helped — my acne went from moderate to mild. My skin was oily but tolerable. However, with my history I was grateful for that. But six months later I started breaking out again. I went back to Dr. Faria and this time she said she was going to take a holistic approach. Dr. Faria told me patients often walked out of her office when she brought up nutrition, but it was something she had researched for years, and had seen real results with dietary changes. Faria wrote an order for bloodwork and a new Rx for aczone cream, and a two month antibiotic supply. I started the new meds and had the blood drawn. When I went back to her office to review the bloodwork, I noticed my skin was noticeably clearer. Dr. Faria went over all of my lab values, and suggested dietary changes that were unique to my needs. She encouraged me to increase my intake of greens (especially green smoothies), calcium, protein, and zinc. I started drinking green smoothies daily, and within two months my acne was almost gone and my skin was not nearly as oily as it used to be. About six months later I started throwing a chunk of raw ginger in my daily smoothie for joint pain. Two weeks later I noticed I didn’t have a single blemish and my skin was only moderately oily at the end of the day. I don’t even break out before my period anymore. It’s hard for me to believe my skin is this clear after over decade of persistent acne.
Dr. Faria is the perfect mix of holistic and modern medicine, and she really cares about her patient’s health. I feel like she is my GP instead of just my dermatologist.

I adore Dr. Faria! She takes the time to listen to your skincare concerns, AND is one of the rare Dr’s out there who understand you need to cure the root of the problem and not just throw pills at it. She took the time to educate me about diet, and ways I can reduce inflammation in my body. I’m already a huge health nut, and it’s rare I get to walk away from a conversation with new info, but Dr Faria taught me soooo much in a very short period of time. The first week I took her advice and noticed a big difference in my skin. Also, I have more energy and am sleeping better just from the small tweaks I’ve made from my diet and the mild gel she had me add to my skincare regimen. I’ll never go anywhere else for my dermatology needs!

Do you know that REAL dermatologists are disappearing? Seriously!
Most so called «dermatologists» are just folks trying to grow their plastic surgery practice and throwing Botox parties. Who do you go to when you really need a real dermatologist? Someone with the knowledge and experience to actually determine if that innocent looking mole on your back is benign or cancerous?
Who?
Well let me tell you about Dr. Duyen Faria at Excel Dermatology institute. This lady is an angel… she is amazing and one of THE most intelligent doctors I have ever had the honor of meeting. Dr Faria truly knows her stuff and is a REAL dermatologist. Her knowledge of all things dermatological is enhanced with her big heart and «patient comes first» nature.
From the time you meet her you’ll be impressed and she is the kind of doctor to happily answer any and all questions you may have. Not only that, but she takes the time to learn about you and will actually remember you on your next visit. The staff at Excel are also great and they’ll do their best to make you feel at ease and answer any of your questions.
If you’re driving to their office, you must know they’re on the 2^nd floor of their brick building. The door isn’t visible from the street, but once you park you’ll see signs for Excel Dermatology. For patients unable to walk up the stairs, there is an elevator that will conveniently carry you up to Excel’s front door.
I’m happy to know that I now have a great dermatologist just minutes from my office. Thanks Dr. Duyen Faria and all the fine people at Excel Dermatology.