North Atlanta Endocrinology & Diabetes PC

Dr. Shore was THE WORST doctor I have ever been to. He rushed in like he had somewhere to go, didn’t do any examination, treated me like I had no idea what I was talking about, walked out before I even knew that it was over. I spent more time in the waiting room then I did seeing him. Less that 5 mins. THE WORST! The rudest doctor in my entire life. Please do not go to him.

I had a 9:30 appointment and I have been waiting for over a hour! I hate busy places like this. Now I’m late for work and my stress level it to the roof

They screwed up our appointment time. A squat woman with a bull dog face on his staff went into some kind of «sister girl» impersonation when we told her we would let Dr. Arkin know about this. I can’t believe he has such ignorant people on his staff.

I have been a patient at this practice for more than 10 years. The office staffs is the absolute worse I have ever delt with. It is literally a treat if they answer the phones. In all the years I have been dealing with this group I can honestly count on one hand how many times I actually called & the phone was answered. The 97% of the time that I have ever called I have always had to leave a message only to have no one call me back even though their recorded message states they will call you back within 24 to 48 hours. I have had to walk into their office on more then one occasion to make appointments or to get refills.
In the last 4 or so years I left their practice due to having to move out of state now that I am back I tried to make an appointment to get labs done because I am almost out of my meds the unprofessional appointment scheduler proceeds to tell me I cant be seen as a regular patient & need to be scheduled as a new patient even though she had pulled up all my previous records from the practice. I said ok fine set me up. She then tells me I can’t be seen for 3 months. I asked about getting my labs done sooner so that I can get meds she said no. I asked would this not be considered an emergency since I am a patient who needs daily hormone therapy due to not having a thyroid gland? She again said no. I would like to know who gave her a PHD when her job is to simply make appointments. Hello lady I am a patient who does not produce hormones that are needed & no meds for 3 months could send me into a crisis.
I once took this up with my doctor there who treats me & he told me he knows nothing about how the front office is ran & that it was unexceptionable that I am having to walk in to schedule appointments because no one answers phones or calls back. He assured me then he would address this with the office manager. Things did get better for a while but I see things went back to the same old way.
I honestly think it’s time for a new office manager cause this ones system is not cutting it or working.

Positives
Knowledge — Some of the experienced Doctors are very knowledgeable. Dealt with Dr. Odugbesan & Dr, Arkin — very professional and knowledgeable
Opportunities To Improve
1. Completeness of Care — The surgeon notified a doctor about a surgery. As a Patient, I left the Physician Asst voicemail (2 weeks before surgery and 4 days before surgery), with questions about allergies to typical medications, and follow up appointments — but NEVER heard back. Should not the PA or some else in the office be proactive about helping a patient schedule follow up appointments once notified by a surgeon.
2. Returning of phone calls — Voice mail has been saying our systems are being upgraded, and we will return your call within 24 – 48 hours. But once, I got a call 6 days later about making an appointment. In the meantime, I had already driven 45mins one way to the office and made the appointment as it was important for me. Only once was a hand written note returned in 2 days, else …
3. Appointment Scheduling — Good luck. They are booked out months ahead, and even if there is an urgent need (like follow up after surgery) you will need to wait !
The doctors are very knowledgeable. But if you have an urgent need or are expecting proactive care and helpful staff (beyond the experienced doctors), then don’t count on this practice — look outside. If its status quo endocrine care, with peridic visits, then this place is great. I only wish life did not have medical emergencies or urgencies !

Doctors are knowledgeable but have no ‘bedside manner’ and schedule your appointments VERY EARLY because the office, specifically Dr. Lu, runs way behind. My 3:00 appointment was after 4:00 before I was called back and another 30 minutes waiting in the exam room. Because he was running so late the other patients in the waiting area began to discuss how this is a chronic problem with Dr. Lu and they then discussed their appointment times and when people started to get called back I noticed that people who had LATER appointment times than me got called back before I did! BEYOND FRUSTRATING! Also irritating that they charge a copay ($ 50 for me) to come in for bloodwork /​ultrasound (thyroid) then schedule another appt to come (waste your time) to listen to the dr explain the results — couldn’t that be done OVER THE PHONE w no inconvenience and no copay? And THEN you have to go back again for the biopsy. I dread this visit for the hassle of it all more than the damn needles in my neck!

My experiences were often bad over the 2 years I saw Dr. Lu and North Atlanta Endocrinology & Diabetes PC.
1. When I had painful symptoms similar to serious complications from taking Victoza, I called Dr. Lu. His assistant returned my call, and she told me to go to an emergency room. He did not talk to me, although he was the prescriber. He told me to call him if I had any of those painful symptoms. So why didn’t HE return my call, EVER?
2. When I complained about the incident in a phone message, Dr. Lu still did not return my call. The office manager returned my call. She insisted that my symptoms were just «common» and said she would search emergency room records to see if I sought out care for those symptoms. I just wanted an apology or explanation from Dr. Lu, and she threatened me. Additionally, searching for my personal medical info in that manner, and with those defensive intentions, is not appropriate and felt like an invasion of my privacy.
3. In the lab, the woman taking my blood test asked me, «How long have you been married to your wife? Do you have children?» I’m obviously, to most people, a gay man, so it just felt insulting and probing. I shouldn’t have to explain my personal life or information to a nurse or phlebotomist.
4. A pharmaceutical sales reps brought doughnuts for the staff and gleefully dispersed them to the medical staff in view of the waiting room full of diabetic patients.
5. My A1C increased to over 8.0 under Dr. Lu’s care, so I sought out a new endocrinologist that has helped me bring down my A1C (general blood glucose level) and weight.

I have been a patient of Dr. David Arkin’s for about three years and he is very professional. The support staff are nice, but are notoriously difficult to get a hold of sometimes and to have a reasonable call back. Sometimes the guaranteed 24 to 48-​hour call back is not met. But the medical service is great, as is the service of the nurses and physicians’ assistants.

I’ve been going here since 2010, seeing Dr. Goswami who is highly competent. When I first started going here, they were a little understaffed and it was hard to get anything done outside of a regularly scheduled appointment. However, they have corrected that problem and now things get done in a timely fashion. In fact, considering how many people they see on a daily basis (the waiting room always has over a dozen people in it, and names are being called out constantly) it’s a minor miracle that it works so smoothly, now.
This is a very large practice, so if you’re looking for an intimate atmosphere this is not the place. However, if you’re looking for competent endocrinologists this is a good choice. I don’t get attached to doctors, but Dr. Goswami has gone to bat so many times for me that I would not consider going somewhere else.

Dr. Shore is a very good doctor and knows his stuff. If your the type of person who want things sugar coated, then keep looking. But if you want a doctor who will help you because he cares then this is the place. Dr. Shore is this rough around the edges person, funny, direct, and patient all wrapped in one. I’ll give him 5 *‘s but I hate the wait so I’m deducting a *.