Fertility Institute of Hawaii

The staff here are very friendly. Though I have hard of hearing they make sure to speak to me very clearly and not make it look like I’m stupid. They are also very caring and want the best for you. They talk you through things very thoroughly. Like when I was getting a saline sonohystergram, she knew I was nervous but she told me what she was going to do and what she’s doing. They make sure you are comfortable.

Hello, my wife and I are trying to expand our family and it has not been easy. We have recently decided to give Fertility Institute of Hawaii a shot. So far we haven’t even made it to appointment one and there is issues. One person called us when we set up our initial appointment and said oh the first appointment is free unless the test is performed at which time that cost will need to be covered. Then today another person calls and says oh no its $ 260.00 something no matter what. So from what I am gathering no one there is one the same page as far as what the prices and policies are which is creating bad customer service. At this point I am even debating canceling and going with a different clinic. Please ensure you are getting the correct information up front before wasting precious time. Thank you.

This place is a joke. Before I even went down there to talk to someone I wanted to make sure that it was a free consultation because I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go through with any of there procedures. Now I get a bill in the mail saying that I have a co pay but I didn’t even do anything there. All I did was talk to the doctors assistant to see what this was about. Before I scheduled an appointment to meet with someone I asked how much it would be and the lady on the phone said that it’s a free consultation until you start your procedure. All doctors office I have been too always tell you in the beginning if it’s a free consultation or if there’s a charge and the person who answered the phone and took appointment down said it was free. Like I said when I called earlier if I had that ultrasound procedure I wouldn’t be complaining about paying the co pay. But all I did was talk to someone and they said it’s a free consultation. They also billed my insurance company for the consultation and want me to pay the co pay when we didn’t do anything. They pretty much trick u into coming in and talking to someone then bill you and you didn’t even do anything. I told them from the beginning that I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to do anything I just wanted more info about it. I was told it was a free consultation and now I’m getting billed all because I wanted information. I would never come here again for information. This place is bs!!! DONT EVER COME HERE IF YOU ARE NOT GONNA DO ANY OF THERE PROCEDURES!!!

I have seen all of the doctors here but my regular and favorite is Dr. Sloane Berger-​Chen. She is incredibly easy to talk to and kind. She gives you all the facts in a relatable way. I’ve gone here for about 5 years and I would never see anyone else. The entire staff is always friendly and consistent and the offices are nice and clean.

I saw Dr. Fratarelli a few years back but never wrote a review at the time because I just wanted to move on and forget it. Recently though I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of ads for Fertility Institute of Hawaii and I don’t want anyone to waste their $ & time with his office like I did which is why I’m writing this review now.
I felt like Dr. F. didn’t bother to review my files whenever he’d see me. He would ask me questions that anyone could have read very easily in my file and in the end I found out that he didn’t even follow his own recommendations when treating me. I only found this out when I left his practice and requested my charts. Upon receiving my charts I discovered that the things he recommended for me (ex: mid-​luteal progesterone testing) were never mentioned to me and never done! Had I known about these recommendations, I would have made sure to remind them. Dr. F would also sometimes say things that didn’t make sense or showed his lack of familiarity with my case. Ex: He would tell me that my hormone levels at my last appointment were at a certain level when they weren’t. (I knew because I wrote EVERYTHING that they told me down.) I lost confidence in him pretty quickly.
I don’t know how his practice is today but when I was there about 50% of the time I was seen by his nurse practitioner, not him. I still got billed the same! (In all actuality though it was probably better to see her because she paid more attention than he did! But still… if you’re paying top dollar to see a Dr it’s kind of a rip-​off to get someone else.)
When my later RE reviewed my charts, the RE asked me why Dr. F. tested my hormone levels so many times. I said that I didn’t know and the RE explained that certain tests only need to be done once and didn’t need to be done repeatedly in such a short time span. A comment was made about how maybe it was because he was trying to get his lab accredited at the time which is why he was ordering so many labs but I do not know if that was true. Anyway this news made me really mad because I really HATED getting my blood drawn there. I don’t know if they use lower gauge needles there but the blood draws always seemed to hurt a lot more than at other dr offices! I told the head lab tech that I preferred lying down for blood draws because I get dizzy sometimes and she basically brushed it off and made me sit in the chair. Another time one of the nurses put someone else’s label on my vial of blood. Lucky thing she had me check before it was sent to the lab. I can only imagine what would happen if that was someone’s eggs or sperm!
Like other posters, Dr. F had me skip clomid and go straight to injectibles (Follistim). Follistim requires you to be monitored very closely which meant office visits & ultrasounds every few days. The RE that I went to after Dr. F was also surprised that Dr. F had me skip Clomid.
I did get pregnant with Dr. F on that first follistim cycle but unfortunately, my HCG levels weren’t rising fast enough and looked like it would be a miscarriage. Dr. F was very quick to make that determination and really pressured me to have it suctioned out ASAP. I told him I wanted to wait a little bit just in case. I got phone calls for the next few days from his office asking me if I was ready to come in for the suction procedure. I was so disgusted that at a time like that, I didn’t feel an ounce of compassion or support. I made an appointment with the other RE and he tried his best to save the pregnancy and put me on progesterone supplements. It ended up being a miscarriage but at least I knew I did everything I could have.
One positive thing from their office was nurse Zoe. She was really sweet but unfortunately that’s about it!
Bottom line, if someone that’s trying to get pregnant is willing to leave a Dr. that actually got them pregnant, that tells you something, right??? Please save your money and time and go somewhere else!

I first started seeing Dr. Frattarelli back in 2011 & was ecstatic to get pregnant off my very first IUI. I felt so comfortable with everyone in this office & had such a wonderful experience. My pregnancy was a success & my son was born in July 2012. In November of 2013 I wanted to have another baby so I went back to Fertility Institute of Hawaii. This time it took a little longer for me to get pregnant (I am older & heavier) & once I did get pregnant I unfortunately suffered 2 miscarriages in a row. The compassion & support I received from everyone in this office was amazing. I am shocked to see the negative reviews on here as everyone I encountered has been wonderful & treated me like family. I highly recommend Dr. Frattarelli to all of my friends & family who are struggling with infertility. After my 2 miscarriages Dr. Frattarelli did further testing to make sure my miscarriages weren’t related to genetic reasons, etc., so I don’t keep paying for my IUI’s just to miscarry. Luckily I was able to get pregnant again in Feb & we are currently expecting our 2^nd child in October 2015. Without Dr. Frattarelli & his staff I would not have my family today. I cannot thank them enough for making my dreams come true of being a mother.
Just to add, anyone going into fertility treatments should know it’s expensive. However you cannot put a price tag on your child, & in the end, it’s worth every penny!

Coming to dr fraterreli is like coming home to family. Our experience here is always great even when days are hard. I will continue coming here and recommending this place to everyone. The team here is the best!!!

I cannot even begin to thank Dr. Frattarelli and his staff for their care over the past year. Everyone is so warm and welcoming and so supportive. This has been such a great experience and my husband and I will never forget everyone. Baby Jerome October 2015!

I usually only write good reviews because I feel people don’t get enough credit for the good they do but… This is the worst place ever.
The first month we were suppose to try a natural cycle (No clomid)…I was going every other day to check my folices and they miss my ovulation. What a wasted month.
Second month they said schedule my appointment during the first day of my menstrution. So I schedule my appointment only to be told my blood pressure was to high. I ask if I can come back on day three because maybe it’s something I ate that made it high. Back on day three and i’m told it is still to high and that I need to wait for the next month an schedule on my first day.
Third month I call on my first day and they tell me I need to come in on the third day. This time they say yes my BP is a still high but the concern is my smoking. Yes, I know I shouldn’t be smoking, i’m trying to quit, but why only on the third month’s visit it is a concern. They want me to see their GYN to help stablize my BP. My BP is never high in any of my other doctor’s offices. In fact, I just went to my PCP right before and it was perfect.
Things keep changing so they can get your money. They want you in and out of the office fast and as many times as possible so they can see more patients and get more money.
Other concerns:
1) I did the HSG, why did I have to do the saline in their office when the HSG shows more. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.
2) Why injections for medication when Clomid does the same thing. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.
3) Why see their GYN when I have my own GYN and PCP. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.
4) Had to keep going in for an ultrasound to check my folices and my BF had to be on stand by for the washing.
I went to see a different doctor the next day and wow what a difference. He gave me clomid, scheduled my ultrasound, and scheduled my IUI days. No guessing, no multiple ultrasounds, no guessing to see when we have to take off of work.
DO NOT go here unless you want to keep wasting money and time.

I have been seeing Dr. Frattarelli for almost a year now. I live interisland and his staff have always been very accommodating. I feel like the clinic is a second home for me. Everyone knows me and make me feel cared about. I have always felt like I can trust the Doctor. He has been very honest with me through my 4 fertility treatments and I believe he wants me to be pragnant as much as I want to be. It’s a quality environment with the latest, state of the art technology. I would hope they charge my insurance as much as they can and I’m more then happy to pay any extra. Alot of things in life you can be cheap with, I don’t think someone creating a family for you should be one of them. I would recommend the Fertility institute of hawaii to my best friend or my sister.
Update: My boy, girl twins will be here on Monday! First IVF cycle was a success and my family is now complete. We love you Fertility Institute of Hawaii!!!

I had similar experiences as the other reviewers posting 1 star reviews. Let me start by saying I almost never write reviews. But after the time, money and anguish spent working with this facility, I felt it was my obligation to warm others about the facility. So here is the list:
–Dr Fraterelli is only interested in making money off of you. This means charging your insurance, charging the maximum for tests, as well as a large copay. Be prepared to pay a large copay in addition to paying for every blood, urine, ultrasound etc. I estimate I spent 1k in addition to the 3,300 copay and the 33k my insurance paid.
— It appears he doesn’t like his job or the patients he’s working with. He wouldn’t share minimal information (such as egg quality) to help guide the decision making process for embryo transfer. Especially since I was concerned about multiples at an advanced age.
— The place is a factory, everyone is clearly overworked and frazzled. They mixed up my blood type once telling me I miscarried twice due to RH (I’m type A).They sent me someone else’s medical records (including their HIV results!) when I requested them to transfer to a another RE.
–They also bombarded me with medications stressing my body and my mind which I’m sure didn’t help when it came time to transfer.
Bottom line if you want quality care with someone who cares about you as a patient, rather than a meal ticket, look elsewhere.

Dr. Frattarelli is an amazing doctor. So kind, compassionate and knowledgeable. His staff are not only professional but personable as well. We feel blessed to have found The Fertility Institute of Hawaii.
I am shocked at the negative reviews as our experience with both Dr. Frattarelli and his amazing staff (especially Joycelyn) were always positive. We never felt rushed. We always felt well informed and they all made time to answer our questions and concerns. I am a 44 year old woman who has been trying to have a baby since 2001.
There is a reason why this clinic is rated TOP IN THE COUNTRY!
God willing, thanks to Dr. Frattarelli we are expecting a baby boy in December.

Is there anything less than one star?
My husband and I had months of prep for our appointment with Dr. Frattarelli and when the day finally came we waited hopefully in his Maui waiting room. And we waited. And waited.
45 minutes later we were summoned to Frattarelli’s office for our consultation. We assumed he might have looked over our files as we had made sure to have them sent over but all we got was a blank stare. He didn’t even ask my husbands name. The first thing Dr. Frattarelli wanted to do was put me on birth control so he could time my cycle with HIS schedule. You see, Dr. Frattarelli only comes to Maui once a month so this would work better for him. When he asked me if I had a problem with that I told him it sounded counter intuitive to what we were trying to achieve. It was clear Dr. Frattarelli doesn’t like being bothered with questions or concerns from patients and became very condescending and impatient with one word answers after that.
Next, Frattarelli wanted to do a surprise vaginal ultrasound so he could see how successful HE would be with IVF. After a sloppy ultrasound he basically rushed out of the office without thoroughly explaining the ultrasound. When I asked him about timing of possible future IVF events the standard reply was call my nurse. It was very impersonal and borderline combative meeting. As I was getting dressed his nurse barged into our room and said sorry as she rushed in and grabbed their ultrasound computer. My husband and I were in shock and very disappointed by their lack of bedside manner. As I was getting dressed we could hear Dr. Frattarelli and his staff yelling in the hallway that they were going to be late for their plane.
The best part of this whole experience is how Dr. Frattarelli almost ran us over in the parking lot as he was trying to get to the airport.
Dr. Frattarelli and his staff will treat you like a number and will not take the time to personalize each visit and my husband and I want more out of this very trying and emotional experience. We decided after that initial consultation to NOT go with Frattarelli and to research other clinics on Oahu, he is not the only fertility doctor in Hawaii.

With multiple failed IVF cycles frm mainland, I was hopeful to come to HI and try again. I looked online and chose this one for my age group (37). Let’s start with the initial consult w Fratterelli– v disappointing. I had hand delivered my previous cycles info to him wks before the meeting and he didn’t take any time before the face-​to-​face to review it. During consult, he was busy playing catch up w my info, he didn’t even look up from the paperwork, gave zero thought to my case. Going against my gut, I stayed and cycled. I thought, as long as I get a baby, I’ll let it go.
Big mistake.
I asked if I could be tested for autoimmune issues or recurrent pg loss panel, before I started the meds (w past failures, there needs to be testing. sadly, I’ve learned this after the fact). He said ‘no’ to all my requests since it benefits him to rush me into a cycle and take my money as quickly as possible. He thoughtlessly chose a previous protocol on the spot and bombarded me with drugs… because that’s what this clinic does. Pump you up with excessive drugs and lets see what happens (regardless of your history or personal needs) It is very clear that Frattarelli is a businessman first and foremost. There is zero sense of compassion for his patients and their circumstances. Be careful of clinics that need to advertise for new patients as much as this one– I’m sure they’re not getting word of mouth referrals. And goes by at least four different names (for online keyword hits). Every question was answered with generic one-​two word responses. The nurses are overworked and could care less about you. I’ve called my nurse w questions and did not get a call back until days later and often never got a response at all. Frattarelli is the only RE… there are other names on the door, but I’ve not seen any of them. He swoops in and out of every appt within 3−5mins tops. Your concerns are ignored so he can maintain this schedule. Whether you’re covered by ins or pay out of pocket, you will be treated like a charity case– as if they’re doing you a favor. His manner is quick & thoughtless, which results in low quality of care. He has many foreign/​Japanese patients (the result of online self exaggeration) so the lack of communication there makes it easier for him to get away with his cold and dismissive attitude.
I had one fresh and two frozen cycles here. All were horrible but the last one left me emotionally and physically drained. The morning of embryo transfer, the nurse left me a vm to ask if I could come in «later». No reason for delay. Nothing. I didn’t know what time they wanted me there or if my embryos didn’t survive the thaw. As a patient, any embryo transfer day is emotional and these people treat it like it means nothing. Trying to track down my nurse was a difficult task. It took two hours to get a return call (on transfer day!) I never did get a straight answer for the delay. Frattarelli and my nurse gave roundabout responses w noticeable hesitation, so I knew they were dishonest. I asked the other nurses if the lab was busy that AM and all of them said no. You’ve taken my money, i deserved the truth. I believe they forgot about me, then rushed to thaw my embryos once they realized.
Two weeks passed and I went in for blood test, which came back neg. Fine. Few days later, had 2^nd blood test. My file was passed to the receptionist to call with the neg results. She called my «emergency contact not my spouse» and left this vm: «this is… calling from Hawaii fertility, i’m sorry but the blood test came back neg, pls discontinue the progesterone».NOT COOL. A major violation of dr/​patient confidentiality. my health and especially IVF and a failure is between me and my husband. Period. In his weak attempt for damage control, Frattarelli called w excuses– said my nurse is the only one that knows to call my cell and the receptionist thought she was leaving a vm on my home # (was not 808 area code). So their Lab is incompetent, their patient info system sucks, topping all this is a careless staff. I witnessed a nurse belch at the front desk and laughed it off (work ethic starts at the top). He added they’re «researching» how this happened and said, «we don’t know why your embryos have failed»…maybe just a bit of your attention could’ve helped you do a better job, jerk! The same generic, scripted BS responses I’d heard for 3 cycles.
It was insult after injury. I felt very unimportant, just a paycheck for them. with 25k plus spent here, I walk away with no baby. Just used. Learn from my mistake and meet as many REs as possible before you make the commitment of emotions, finances and time. Truthfully, I want to tell everyone to run from this place. There’s so much careless, thoughtless, chaotic behavior at this clinic– I can’t list it all as I’ve reached the text limit. No one here will care if you get pg and if you’ve past failures, you won’t get the attention you need here.

I have to say that if you need to see a fertility doctor this is the place to go, they have two offices, one in Kailua one in town. They offer Saturday hours half day which is so convenient. The staff really walks me through every step and makes me feel so comfortable. They are a team so you may see someone different each time you go, but this doesn’t bother me. I have had two exams by Tricia the nurse practitioner, and I really appreciate her. Exams are gentle and no big deal!