Lisa Oldham, MD

I read these reviews and have to ask myself what the median age is of those giving negative reviews. 25? I don’t say this to be condescending, but to point out a major fact… Dr Oldham is thorough!!! Maybe at 25 you think it’s an insurance scam, but when you’re 40 and have constant issues and all the other Dr’s say everything is «normal» and brush you off, you’ll appreciate a Dr that says, «I won’t stop until we know why this is happening». I’ve never had a gyno spend more time just chatting with me about how I feel, what my concerns are, and whether or not I want to actively preserve my fertility. I did have some scheduling issues in the past, but now that she is part of Northwestern those are no longer an issue. She is professional, kind, caring, and the best gyno I’ve had in my 40 years. I’m moving to Denver soon, but I can guarantee I’ll be flying back to Chicago for my women’s health needs. Dr Oldham is amazing!

So disappointed.
I have been going to her the past three years or so. Trusted her opinion loved the way she did things up until recently. Found out I have endometriosis. Had been on Nuva ring for a couple years and it worked great. Started getting heavy bleeding and saw her right away. She told me my only two options were to go a taper of double doses of lo loestrin. Well insurance doesn’t cover that much bc a month. She said no problem you can get samples through me and one pack through insurance. She could’ve gave me a generic version instead of having to pay the $ 50 per pack. My other option was to get a Depo Lupron shot which is $ 6000! She told me she wanted to do a hysteroscopy d&c and I paid $ 2300 out of pocket for it! I called the office for weeks about my samples because I was running low and didn’t wanna go from double doses to nothing. Still had bleeding everyday. Didn’t get a call back for two weeks straight. My friend who is a nurse gave me a sample to get me through the week while I got a second opinion. Went to planned parenthood had a wonderful experience. They gave me a depo provera shot (which dr. Oldham had said wouldn’t do anything for me) he shot was 100% covered through insurance and I haven’t had bleeding or cramps and it’s been almost four weeks. I probably didn’t even need that surgery. She’s all about money so take it elsewhere. I trusted her! Don’t make the same mistake waste of money and two months of stress.

I’m updating my review. Dr. Oldham is still absolutely fabulous. Her staff and my insurance still clash. However, now that my health issues aren’t as pressing– see her for check ups and regular visits are a breeze. However, make sure you know your insurance. Every time I go in, they try and charge me a copay when I don’t have one at all. For a while I was paying it before I contacted my insurance and they told me I don’t have one. I don’t think I’ll get that money refunded but I also haven’t asked. Now I just politely remind them that I don’t have one.

She is the absolute best! She is so sweet and made me feel very comfortable. She is also very smart and helpful!

Everything written in these reviews about the staff are completely accurate. I do want to make it very clear that I loved seeing Dr. Oldham, and had no issues while I was at my appointment. I had gone to see Dr. Oldham last year, and was told IN PERSON that I should come every 3 years instead of every year for a visit. When one year came around, I went to get my prescription and the pharmacy like I do every month, and they told me I had no refills. They said it was no issue, and they would contact Dr. Oldham’s office for the refill. A week passed and the prescription still wasn’t in, and Walgreen’s told me they never heard anything back from the office. That’s when I decided to call, which led to nearly a month of leaving messages and not getting a single call back. I would call during the daytime, during the week, on the weekend, in the mornings, and I could never get someone on the phone. When I finally did after numerous attempts, I explained that I have been calling and leaving messages, and the lady rudely told me that I did not leave a message or I must have called the wrong number because they didn’t have any voice mails. Out of the at least 5 messages I left at that office I find it hard to believe that they mysteriously did not get a single one (and yes it was the correct number with the extremely long voice mail message). I explained to the receptionist that there must have been a mistake because my refills were out, and that Dr. Oldham specifically told me I didn’t have to come back for another 3 years, KNOWING that I was coming in for my prescription. She told me that she can’t refill a prescription unless I come in for an appt. I understand that you can’t refill a prescription without seeing your patient– but I should have received a call or even an email or text stating that I need to come in for a yearly checkup. Instead, I got hit with a surprise to find out I had no more refills, followed by a month of calling the office with no response. I mean– what can a dr.‘s office possibly be doing on a Tuesday afternoon at 1:00? What made me even more mad is when I asked the receptionist why I didn’t receive a call or email about coming in to schedule a visit since my refills were going to be out, she went quiet for a little bit and then told me they did. I didn’t receive anything so I asked her how they contacted me to tell me this. She said they emailed me, and I asked her to read me back the email address. She repeated it all correctly, then stumbled and changed the last letter in the email so it’s incorrect. Smooth move. I’ve received emails before from this office, I find it hard to believe they changed my email in the system for this ONE instance and that’s why I didn’t get a reminder. After all that, I will not be returning here– I am not completely off my birth control schedule and it’s all because of administrative mistakes and because of their inability to communicate with the patients. It was all a huge headache.

Dr. Oldham is as good as it gets! Her staff was helpful scheduling (and rescheduling) appointments as well as navigating insurance, which isn’t easy. Dr. Oldham was thorough and clearly explained the treatment options, pros and cons and issues. She is friendly and straight forward and an advocate for women!

Dr. Oldham is a fabulous doctor. She is by far been more thorough and more concerned than the other two gynecologists I have seen. I appreciate that she is straight-​forward, explains everything thoroughly, and thoughtfully advises on follow-​up care and future courses of treatment. Dr. Oldham deserves five stars all day, every day.
The office staff at the Belmont location USED to be insufferable. However, in the past year, I feel like things have changed, and the receptionist and nurses I have encountered seem much more receptive to helping patients. The long wait times can be annoying, but those can be found in just about every office.

My first two visits with Dr. Oldham were okay. I did wait over an hour for one of the two appointments and felt slightly rushed when I did get in to see her. She diagnosed me with PCOS, which made sense since I’ve always had abnormal periods and felt much much better and regulated when i was on the birth control pill to help level my hormones.
The third appointment is what made me decide to not return. The third appointment was scheduled due to her not refilling my birth control prescription at the pharmacy because I was 2 weeks past due in my annual appointment. TWO WEEKS. I called to ask if they would kindly refill for one month so i’m not missing days on my birth control prescription. The doctor would not refill it, even for one month until I came back in for an appointment. I have gone to many doctors and they would never let me go without my prescription and would refill it for me so I wouldn’t be without pills. This infuriated me! So, I made the appointment to get back on the pills that i was now without (mind you this doctor specializes in abnormal periods and knows that my cycle and hormones are reliant on these pills). So when I arrive at my appointment, they told me that I was not scheduled and there was a new receptionist so maybe she forgot to schedule me. Yes, as most other Unilocal reviews state, the office is dirty and the white couch in the waiting room is very dirty. I waited 45 minutes and then the receptionist gave me a cup to pee in. You have to walk down a long public hallway past another office with pee in hand. Slightly awkward! After waiting in total of 1 hour since I arrived, they finally called me in. I walk into the doctor’s office and she asked me when the last time I had a pap was. I said I think last year but don’t your records show this? She had to step out for 5 minutes to go look. She comes back to tell me that I’m not due for a pap for 2 years so she checks my lower abdomen and sends me on my way. All I could think of was, wow this appointment was completely worthless and I waited one hour to have her feel my abdomen. She didn’t even give me a breast exam as I remember past doctors doing that every year especially if they know I have breast cancer in my family. Needless to say, I will be going to a different doctor in the future.

Horrible, horrible experience. Really unhelpful office staff, unwilling and made no actual attempts to work with me to resolve a issue. Would only help if I was willing to self-​pay for an unnecessary appointment, which would have cost hundreds of $, which is stupid because I have insurance.
Edited to add more:
For some reason she refused to extend my BC prescription by one month to last a full year, as my insurance plan is changing on Aug 1^st. All that needed to be done was for her office to approve a one month refill with my pharmacy.
My new insurance will cover a visit 100% and so I wanted to wait until after policy started on August 1^st to have the appointment. My current insurance will not cover the cost of another visit since I have used up my coverage for this policy year.
Her office said that they needed to see me again to write the prescription and that Dr. Oldham would not write the prescription without seeing me because, «365 days had passed since my last appointment»…which is not true because my last (and only) visit with her was August, 2014. So even writing this now, a few weeks later, it hasn’t even been a year!
They kept on saying that I needed to come in (and pay for a visit) in order for her to write the script. They said that if my insurance would not cover it that I would have to self-​pay for the visit if I wanted the prescription. I told them that was stupid as why would I pay out of pocket for a visit that would be completely covered in a few weeks?
My pharmacy even called them and told them they were being ridiculous. It didn’t matter who I or the pharmacy spoke to, they all just refused to help, or even speak with the doctor about the situation. The staff was rude and just kept stating that I could self-​pay.
Also, the whole thing doesn’t even make any sense because shouldn’t I have had enough months of BC to last me the full year between appointments???
Anyway, I went to another doctor’s office who wrote me a one month script and ended up not even charging me anything for the office visit because he felt like the whole situation was ridiculous.

So I’ve read a lot of the previous reviews and was actually pretty shocked. I went to Dr. Oldham on the recommendation of my amazing primary care physician who not only works very closely with her but also sees her as a patient. I have a number of chronic illnesses so I spend way more time at doctors offices than the average person and maybe that changes my perspective a little bit, but I also that makes me a little more knowledgeable on what is and isn’t acceptable in an office. Trust me. I don’t give good reviews to doctors very often. I had no trouble making my initial appointment with the office and they could get me in in about a week which was faster than I was expecting. The morning of my appointment I woke up feeling sick and before I even called to reschedule they called me to tell me the doctor had an emergency surgery and they needed to reschedule. Worked out perfect for me, could see how that could annoy someone else. I went in a week later and I did have a little trouble finding the office suite, but was redirected by the receptionist in another office. I arrived about 15 minutes early and as a new patient was handed a ton of paperwork to fill out. It actually took me almost 25 minutes to finish getting it all completed. They wanted more info than most new docs and was then sent down the hall to the semi-​public restroom for a urine sample. I’ve seen some other comments about this. The restroom is down the hall from the office suite but it’s not that far and does require a key from an office for entry. The cup I was given obviously had a lid. Sure a brown paper bag or in office bathroom would have been more discreet but I didn’t see another soul in the bathroom, hallway, or waiting room so it wasn’t the end of the world. I was taken back almost immediately after that and after the nurse took my vitals the doctor was in immediately after that. So I really can’t complain about a long wait, although I was prepared to wait, if necessary.
Now, the real reason for 5 stars was Dr. Oldham herself. She is absolutely a no nonsense, straightforward, tell it like it is person, but after seeing a lot of doctors who either try and sugar coat things or tell me it’s in my head, I really appreciated her bluntness and attitude. We had a good discussion not only about my gyno health but also my overall health and I really felt like she considered the big picture. Many doctors really work in a silo and treat their specialty forgetting that we are part of a whole. After discussing all this and bringing up any concerns she stepped out so I could change quickly and came back for the exam which was as brief and comfortable as it could be. Even better, she told me that using a new test that she is doing for women under 35, I can visit every 3 years instead of annually unless issues arise. Basically the best news ever.
We made plans to replace my IUD in the coming weeks and her nurse gave me information about an app so I could get all my test results faster, although they said if anything came back abnormal I would get a call, if I was fine, no call. Which has always been the deal with previous gynos.
In waiting to schedule my IUD replacement I did get a call from her office that the usual pharmacy they work with does not normally work with my insurance and I needed to make a call to authorize them to put through the necessary forms and whatnot.
I want to also mention that I had a great chat with the doctor about some of my experiences with different doctors offices and hospital systems. The good, the bad, the ugly. She gets it, she commiserated. I think if people were having issues with her staff but like the doctor they should stick with it and bring it up with the doctor at their next appointment. I truly believe she would be receptive and would want the feedback.

DO NOT COME TO THIS DOCTOR!
All of the reviews regarding the poor communication and bad staff is true and accurate.
The experience I have had with this doctor and staff has been horrible. I selected this doctor through my insurance’s website since she was the closest to my apt. I did not check for any reviews. A month ago I visited her for a routine exam, but I asked for an ultrasound which she performed, she provided a diagnosis that could not be possible for my age. I seek for a second opinion that she did not like at all, at the end this doctor gave me a misleading diagnostic totally inaccurate. Then, I have been asking for a copy of my medical records has been an awful journey they take for ever and they never returned my phone calls.
On top of all the above, they have submitted a claim in my insurance for a service it was not rendered for U$ 300.00 my insurance has process the claim. Even though I call the doctors office asking them to remove the claim since I just went to the office for a referral which they never did by the way. Their reason of billing me the service is because I «saw» the doctor, and I only asked for the referral and left, and the staff told me I have to came to the office otherwise the doctor will not extend the referral. Now I have to deal with my insurance in order to appeal the claim, because they don’t want to remove it.
Finally, I ended up spending a lot of money, and energy just to deal with this practice.

DO NOT GO THERE, EVER!
I just got a debt collection notice filled from Dr. Oldham office for $ 808 for a basic routine yearly gyno exam that is free with my insuranece. That was last year. They billed it differently right away and I talked with my insurance and Dr. Oldham’s incompetent staff who assured me it was being taken care of… which, of course, was not. Three months later I get the same bill and call the office again who say they will deal with it and call back, which they never did. Now I have to deal with this.
Additionally, I had to call back 3 times to get my results after that appt and I never gotten a chance to speak with doctor. I ASSUMED that everything was fine. But all my previous doctors or their assistants called back even if just to say everything was ok.
I fould Lisa to be nice to deal with even if I had to wait for a while to see her. But in that office nobody is to be trusted. They also insisted to draw my blood and for me to take a pregnancy test eventhough I told them there was no way this was possible. Money suckers is who they are. Of course I did not take any of those. Beware and do not waste your time with them!

Dr. Oldham is fine, I go in yearly for a routine exam and it’s usually quick and easy. She’s a ‘no frills’ doctor, very blunt and not very caring/​sweet.
My biggest complaint here is the staff. They’re extremely rude on the phone, they never call you back and treat you like you’re inconveniencing them.
I’ve actually called the office 4 times in the last week with NO resolution. Each time they promise to call me back (all I’m asking is why my refills are out when they shouldn’t be). Seems like a pretty simple resolution, right? I’ve become so fed up with this office I’m switching doctors (of course had to write a Unilocal review to warn others). The frustration isn’t worth it, we all deserve a doctor’s office that cares.

DO NOT COME TO THIS DOCTOR
The other reviews regarding the poor communication and bad staff/​nurses are completely accurate.
The experience I have had with this office & staff has been horrendous. I originally came to see Dr. Oldham for an annual check up. What struck me as strange about the entire experience is as follows:
–Office is not clearly marked. I originally entered the building and ended up in another office. I then had to find my way to a dirty basement office. Confused from the get go.
–Had to carry a urine specimen in a plastic cup down a hallway publicly and then hand it to the receptionist in the reception area. Weird. Public. Uncomfortable.
–Dr told me she was in a hurry and had to get to meetings. And that she could not spend the time to talk to me about the labs i «needed» done. Thanks a lot for caring about my health and choice to visit your practice. I should have spoken up. She was friendly otherwise.
After the visit my experience got worse. I was never contacted or sent any information regarding my test results. After a reasonable period of time not hearing anything, I called the office. I was then told that the Dr would call me back. Never did. I called almost DAILY at reasonable times and I was either given attitude by the receptionist but I was always told the DR would call me back. I have never been called back and have reported this experience to the proper authorities.
Save yourself the discomfort.

I’m writing to agree with the majority of reviews on here. Dr Oldham is an excellent clinician, however her staff is insufferable. They mumble, are rude, and frankly don’t have sufficient clinical knowledge. I work in a clinical setting and I certainly would no longer have a job if I acted like this staff. Even when I call with something simple they ask me to repeat my name and DOB over and over. I’m very strongly considering switching, despite my good relationship with Doc herself, and that saddens me.
I hope that Dr. Oldham takes feedback about her staff seriously, as it is costing her referrals and the opportunity to serve many women in the Lakeview area.

I saw this horrible, unethical doctor in October.
Dr. Oldham was 45 minutes late getting into her office. The place itself is filthy, with balls of dust and dirt on the floors and walls. She started her check up with racist comments that were not only unrelated but also not even slightly true. She really speaks down to you and acts as though you simply do not know anything about medicine or health.
I went in for a certain procedure, and she replied they didn’t do it on that day. Why was I scheduled to come in on that certain day when I made it explicit what I needed?
Lab results took more than a month. Rather than being upfront, her incompetent staff simply replied that they would call back the next day. They never called me back. I called in at least five times and that was their standard, lying response. It is now December, and I am still waiting for a prescription. It has been five weeks. I shudder to think what it would be like if I had a more serious condition and this was the doctor I had to wait months before getting my medicine.

I have seen dr Oldham a couple of times and have been satisfied with her bedside manner and her knowledge. She is honest, straightforward and very intuitive. It’s a shame her staff isn’t like her. Twice I’ve been poked and prodded for a simple blood test and have left with bruised arms.
I also have an issue with her «billing department» charging me an absentee charge when I wasn’t even a patient. Her ghetto nurses and staff are not qualified enough to run her office. The receptionist couldn’t even explain the charge properly and said it was from a previous visit. So I paid. When I got the billing statement it had some bogus $ 40 charge on it. When I spoke to the billing department she said then why did you pay it? Uh really!?! Knowledgeable doctor with a terrible staff. Not worth the frustration.

Terrible experience. The worst.
Dr. Oldham is possibly an okay doctor, but I’m not sure. After a colposcopy, she diagnosed me with high-​risk HPV (a process which, altogether, took about two months because the office is so dysfunctional). Five months later I went to a different gynecologist who told me she was very surprised that, since I was only 23, I was even given a colposcopy (a very expensive procedure, mind you). My new gynecologist then did a pap that came back completely normal. I’m not necessarily making allegations, but to me that is very sketchy.
The office is terrible, yes. They make you walk down the building’s public hallway carrying an open cup of your own urine. The staff is condescending and inept. It took me months to get results. I was put on hold for over ten minutes multiple times throughout the diagnosis and billing process. When I finally got my hpv diagnosis (after calling every day for over a week to ask about it) the conversation went like this: «Oh yeah, sorry about that. You have high risk hpv. Come back in six months.» The end.
I literally just created a Unilocal account solely for the purposes of ranting about this office and warning people against it. I’m considering filing a report with the Better Business Bureau. The whole experience was completely effed-​up.

I would really like to rate Dr Lisa 5 stars but due to the experience (or lack of) with the staff, I have to give it 3 stars.
I agree with other reviewers opinions that the doctor is knowledgeable, direct and straight forward. I will add that she is an over-​communicator which is great. She will explain things in great detail and answer all your questions. I would recommend her to friends and family as being a rock star.
Concerns are with the staff and follow up. I had blood work done on two different occasions of which I needed to call several times to request the results. I was also quoted a co-​pay and co-​insurance estimate that was more than expected which I was completely OK with. My concern was that I had to call 3 times, leaving voice messages that were never returned to request a refund for the over payment.
I would still recommend this doctor if you have the patience to deal with the staff and the have time to follow up.

If you have endometriosis or think you might have it, Dr. Oldham is a great doctor to go to for diagnosis and treatment. She performed a pelvic laparoscopy on me and also helped me with a treatment plan for nearly a year after surgery, all with great success.
I have no complaints about Dr. Oldham’s bedside manner or general care. As I said her course of treatment for my endometriosis was successful, and I’m very grateful to her for that. However, when expressing my frustration with weight loss issues she did recommend that I buy some strange supplement system with unlisted ingredients, and also made a few other kooky recommendations like «eat more spicy foods to speed up your metabolism» or paying to have my metabolic rate tested at the office once a month.
Ultimately, it was my bad experiences with the office and staff that lead me to another practitioner. Like many other reviews, I constantly had to wait for my appointment (sometimes hours) even when I showed up on time, and they were generally very disorganized and not always pleasant. One time the doctor was so late I had to have my appointment with her over the phone– me sitting by a phone in the nurse’s «corner» and her calling in from her car. I could have a) done that from my car or home and b) should not have had to pay a co-​pay for a phone call.
My advice would be for the doctor to perhaps join a practice with another GYNO, and hire an experienced office manager and staff. Your practice will run smoother and thrive.