Jefferson Family & Community Medicine

I really like my doctor, Dr. Altschuler. But the fact that I can’t get a sick visit in the next two weeks? Something is wrong with that. Sure, I can see other doctors. But what, then, is the point of having a primary care physician, or in visiting a PCMH (Patient Centered Medical Home)?
I would understand if he was out of the office or on vacation or something; but that’s not what the JEFF NOW people told me. When I worked in a doctor’s office, we always booked in advance 3 – 4 slots as «sick» visits for last-​minute sick appointments. Don’t understand how that’s not happening here.
Also, yea, the phone tree is terrible, and customer service is less than friendly.

If I could give this doctors office less than one star I would. They people that answer the phone are rude, and do not know what it means to try to help you. Reasons to never go back here:
1. When you call, you are on the phone for a minimum of 10 – 15 minutes before you get a live person. You have to press 1,000 different buttons just to get to the correct channel. When you do finally get a live person, they usually don’t even know who to direct you to.
2. Getting the same doctor two visits in a row is next to impossible. Doctors leave so fast, you are constantly getting different providers so you never are able to build a relationship with a doctor.
3. Getting a prescription filled is next to IMPOSSIBLE. They make you jump thru hoops just to get a prescription, even if it means you have to go days without your medicine.
NEVER going back here EVER.

I saw Dr. Miller at this location and he was very caring, friendly and returned my calls promptly. The staff were friendly and helpful. They were able to see me on short notice which was great.

Impossible. Impossible to make an appointment or even talk to someone. They say they open at 8:00, the phones do not open until at least 8:15. Very frustrating and unprofessional. When they do answer after being on hold for an hour, they say «Good morning, Jefferson family, hold one moment» and then you wait an additional 10 minutes. The Dr. s are great but that doesn’t matter much when you can’t make an appointment.

I can’t begin to describe the incompetency of those at Jefferson Family. I have spent hours and hours of frustration and tears trying to do simple things such as:
1) obtain referrals. They require you to leave a voice mail on their system. Not once has the referral actually gone through for either my husband or myself. On numerous occasions, we have not been able to see our specialist, get needed testing done, etc. because we show up to our appointments and the referral is not there, even if we were told it would be. When my husband told them he would be switching primary care providers because of the nightmare of referrals alone, the woman was surprised. She didn’t know what he was talking about.
2) talk to someone in person to make appointments or get information. Average wait time on hold is 15 – 20 minutes. Each time I’ve called, the front desk workers do not know the answers to my questions beyond scheduling questions. They try to connect me to other departments. I’m often actually hung up on («oops, sorry I accidentally disconnected you»), or sent back to the main menu. They will say, «hold on,» then before I know it, the phone is ringing and someone random picks up: «Hello, can I help you?» I don’t know who the person is, or why I was transferred. On many occasions, I have been given false information and talked down to.
3) actually have a primary care doctor. Because the residents rotate so quickly, I have never seen the same person twice. Currently I don’t even have my own doctor to my name. They just didn’t assign one to me, and have blamed this fact on me.
Good luck trying to get ANY good care at Jefferson Family. Navigating their ludicrous nonsense is like being tormented in an endless labyrinth.
I am switching to a new Primary Care doctor TODAY.

I scheduled an appointment weeks in advance as a new patient. I scheduled my appointment because I needed to get a Hepatitis A shot for my honeymoon in South Africa that is quickly approaching. You need to get the shot 2 – 3 weeks in advance for it to take full effect. I went in for my scheduled appointment 20 minutes early, it was scheduled for a Tuesday night at 6:15pm. When I got there they started to try to look up my health insurance. They could not find me on the insurance website and then tried to call my insurance company. They said they could not get through to anyone and can not find me on the website so I could not see the doctor. I was upset at this point because I am leaving for my honeymoon in 3 weeks and need this shot right away. I ended up spending 40 minutes there with no progress. I ended up leaving and called today to schedule another appointment. The woman I spoke to today was able to find my insurance right away in the system even though yesterday the woman couldn’t find anything. However, now they told me I will have to call back tomorrow in order to schedule an appointment for Friday even though they messed up. On top of all of that, apparently shots are only given during pharmacy hours which are until 5pm and I wouldn’t have been able to get the shot during my scheduled appointment anyway even though when I called I specifically stated that was my reason for coming in. I will never go back to this office and I would not recommend to anyone.

Dr Shpigel and staff are Very polite, professional and well-​versed in a myriad of health issues. I have been inspected by Dr Shpigel twice in the past year and his bedside manner is very professional and thorough, without being rushed or making one feel like a ‘number’.
If you are making an appointment to see the doctor for the first time, you may have to wait 3 to 4 months like I did, and the wait was worth it.
In the past, I have wasted my time, energy and money on other healthcare «professionals» who are clearly only in it for the status and money earned. These types only scratch the surface as far as being thorough, are condescending and are always trying to rush one out the door. This will not happen to you at Dr Shpigel’s office.

New to the area, I was recommended to this clinic by a friend. I unfortunately got Janis Bonat, a rude and condescending, overly stressed CRNP who actually looked like she needed about 5 months at a spa. I was being treated for something I was very worried about, and new to the clinic. I literally would never go back. Bonat was so condescending and snide, smiling to herself at my «symptoms» and basically shaming me about something I needed her to discuss with me instead.
A recent article in NYTimes described the crisis in medicine in the US today, and how many doctors and students are suffering from «burn out» before they even begin work. They also subscribe to the commonly believed «hidden curriculum» of detachment and sarcasm preached in med school. This is a sure-​fire way to lose patients, decrease trust, and continue the ongoing crisis in American medicine.
I do not recommend «Dr.» Janis Bonat (CRNP) to anyone who would like themselves or someone they love to feel respected and well-​treated as a patient. The place is a zoo, and she needs to go somewhere tropical and re-​evaluate her profession.

Wow, what a joke this place is. After months and months of neck pain I went to physical therapy at the recommendation of my primary care physician Dr. Watkins of Triangle medical. He’s a fantastic doctor but limited in his in office capabilities so after PT didn’t work I went to get an MRI at Jefferson. This also meant that I had to talk to a doctor in Jefferson’s sports medicine department within community medicine.
So here’s what I get; the resident comes in and asks me questions and then a senior doctor comes in to talk to me. He tells me that my neck is in the advanced stages of degenerative disc disease but by looking at me he tells me I don’t look like it is from the outside so that’s really what we should go by. I inform him that my father passed away at Jefferson in February from complications from neck and back surgery and it’s very important to me to get this taken care of early. The senior doctor suggests if I want more PT he’ll write me a prescription for some and with that he leaves.
So I’m sitting there with this guy that’s fresh out of med school and I ask him where the pain comes from with my condition. This is the what he tells me «so let’s say you have a car that you have to keep for the rest of your life and you can’t change the tires. The only thing you can do is take care of the tires and make sure they’re in shape because you’re going to need them for a long time. That’s like what your body is.» Oh wow, how insightful Mr. Rogers, how about you shove that diagnosis right up your ass.
Any decent doctors I’ve ever seen here have moved on immediately after their residency was up. Jefferson is becoming little more than a mint printing it’s own money, feeding off our healthcare system, and caring less and less for patients well being.

Getting appointments is difficult. A mix between you can only schedule in advance & you have to call us the day of are the norm.
The office is consistently busy & if you want to have a copy of your records you have to deal with a separate department & pay for them. Hooray they use electronic records… but not for you, you’ll have to call this number, make a payment (PER PAGE) & then wait a few days.
What fun.

have been going there for years and my doctor quit and moved on. called gt an appt. with new doctor for 9:45. got there signed in, half hour later am taken back to get weighed and blood pressure taken. sent back to waiting room. an hour after that i ask front desk person if there is an issue with my doctor this morning. am told i have to speak to somone on her team. team three personnel says dr. is running late but if it makes me feel any better i am next up. i explain i have another appt in another part of the city for one on the afternoon and will i be able to keep that appt? she doesn’t seem to think so but i should wait till she calls me back into exam room.
every single person and family that came in with me and after me is now no longer in the waiting room, they have all seen their doctors and left the building.
at 11:30, i am called back into exam room, and am then told there are two people ahead of me still waiting to see doctor as well. i ask how long the wait will be after that? no definitive answer and am told this doctor runs late quite often. i explain i will have to reschedule as it is now close to noon and i must leave to get to other appointment. btw, this employee was quite pleasant and seemed apologetic about the wait and super friendly, and competent in her duties
front desk receptionist quite the opposite. i explain i have to reschedule and inquire if perhaps i could switch to another dr. since i have no allegaince yet to this dr. also explain that i live over a half hour away and it is quite inconvenient to have to allot three hours or more for a simple pap smear appt. i get nothing but attitude from her, no apology that i have been waiting for well over two hours. she says they see over 1500 patients a day and are very busy. i say i understand that but need to schedule for a time that perhaps i could be first in to see the doctor at next appt. get nothing but heavy sighs and eye rolling, and am then told no appointments until the end of may.
i make the appointment, get my co-​pay back and leave. i am fuming at the rude way i was treated at the end of a two hour wait that resulted in not seeing a doctor. of course, i have a parking ticket, b/​c it never occurrecd to me that it would take over two hours. i am not going to back and would not recommend them at all. nasty end to a 12 year relationship with this establishment.

I have been seeing these doctors for approximately 3 years. I implore you to seek medical attention elsewhere. I am suffering from a condition that they have yet to find. I have spent (my hmo) well over $ 25k in medical bills with this outfit. I recently lost my job due to my illness and yet they have no answers. While I was on short term disability, one of the mandates is that the pcp (jeff med) supply my short term provider with my medical records. I placed a records request that took 6 weeks to complete. My short term disability was cut off because of this. When I called, if I could speak to someone, they would say that it has been escalated to the manager and completed within 3 days. Never happened.
On my most recent visit, 10 days ago, I saw a doctor who spent more time looking at her watch than listening to my symptoms. If you think you are going to this provider and discussing your health issues forget it. I had blood work taken immediately after the appointment and I have yet to get results back. 10 days and no phone call with results nor a mention of a follow up.
This place is nothing less than a factory. What the patients don’t realize is that they are only allowed a specific amount of time with the physician and the physicians have quotas to meet to ensure they get as many people in and out as possible.
I could write so much more but i’ll save it for a lawyer. If you think for a second that your health and well-​being is a priority you are terribly mistaken. I can attest to the other reviews posted too. Please, just stay away.

I don’t think I’ve ever dealt with a health system that was as much of a pain in the ass as this one. Appointments are difficult to get/​make, and it’s a real crapshoot as to whether you get someone who gives a damn about you. Janice Bonat in particular is very mean and condescending, and doesn’t believe Fibromyalgia is a real condition. The resident I was assigned to afterwards was nice, but of course she eventually left. Now I get another PA yesterday who acted like I was a junkie asking for painkillers when I asked for antibiotics for a sinus infection. I am seriously considering eating moldy bread right now in the hopes it has penicillin in it. Or going to one of those Walgreens or CVS’ with a $ 50 Dr. to get a $ 5 Rx. What is it this stupid town has against giving people the medicine they need? This is a phenomenon that seems to be unique to Philly, and not just limited to Jefferson. But I speak of Jefferson because that’s what I’ve had while I lived here.

It’s a glorified clinic. Depressing waiting room. Mostly apathetic staff who do not look or act happy to be there. And forget about building a relationship with your doc. You get used to a resident, and then *poof!* they’re gone. For this reason, I had started seeing some the the PAs and nurse practitioners; at least they stick around.
Speaking of residents, it’s a teaching hospital, so they routinely have residents sitting in on your appointment and taking notes as the doc examines you. You can also often end up as nothing more than a teaching tool. (Remember, you can say no to this if you want)
Some staff members are friendly while others are downright apathetic. As others have stated, impossible to get an appointment. Residents are new docs, and several have missed diagnosing some problems that I think were pretty clear cut. I have finally stopped accepting so much abuse and apathy and changed doctors.
Two highlights: Tara DiBruno, a PA, is great. And Dr Du, sports med doc, is also great. Other than this, go elsewhere.

1. It is nearly impossible to make a same-​day appointment.
2. If you call later in the day, they will tell you to call back at 9am.
3. When you call back at 9am, you will be put on hold for a long period of time (15+ minutes, probably because everyone else was told to call back at 9am)
This is a problem if you have a job that requires you to be WORKING at 9am.
Honestly, it was easier for me to get tickets to the 2008 World Series than it is for me to make an appointment at Jefferson.

Ok look. I come from a small town in New Jersey where everyone knows everyone else. Back at home I run into the doctor that delivered me in the hospital 25 years ago. Now that I’m on my own in a big city, I can’t go running home every time that I need my doctor.
Why did I choose Jefferson Family? Maybe it was the word «family» that did it for me. I’m not really sure what I expected from this practice, but it definitely was not my cup of tea. When it came time to choose a PCP for my health insurance, I tried to do some research to find one of the doctors with better reviews and a better rapport. My first visit resulted in my doctor sending me to have bloodwork done and after waiting around for her to see me from a room full of close to 100 other people and tech’s shouting names from random corners and «zones» and then later sending me down to a phlebotomist, wasted a good 5 hours of my day to later be told that the bloodwork didn’t show anything that would indicate what I thought might be the problem with me. Now here’s a novel idea, if I give you some symptoms and the bloodwork is inconclusive, why don’t you help me look into it further? I mean, you’re the one that went to school for this, I’m the one paying you!
My second trip to Jefferson Family was because of a urinary tract infection (sorry for being graphic, but I’m clearly not reserved). I wasn’t able to get an appointment with my doctor, but was scheduled with someone else instead. Clearly she was forgettable as I have no recollection of her name, but she looked like she was only a few years older than myself and like she had no idea what she was doing. She told me that the sample that I gave her showed no indication of an infection and after both her and her Jefferson Med School shadow checked me out, sent me on my way feeling like a complete idiot for wasting all of our time. When the symptoms only worsened it was now Saturday and I was unable to get an appointment at the hospital. I dragged my poor fiancé with me to the women’s wellness clinic or «planned parenthood» (imagine what was going on in his head)…not only did the clinician tell me that there were no indicators in my sample of an infection, but they charged me $ 20 for some B.S. 3-​day supply of antibiotics as well as a $ 40 copay for being a specialist. Believe me, there’s nothing special about visiting planned parenthood.
Now, clearly I’m not buying what these «doctors» are selling… and I can’t say that they implied that I was making it all up just to get another copay out of me, but with all of that the only saving grace was ultimately finding the practice that I now call «home». After a $ 35 copay to Rittenhouse Internal, I was told that not only did I have a urinary tract infection, but that it was halfway spread to my kidneys as my back was in so much pain that I could barely walk.
So let’s re-​cap…
$ 35 copay to Jeff for a failed doctor and med student.
$ 40 copay to Planned Parenthood for a failed clinician.
$ 20 copay for a bullshit prescription from PP
$ 35 copay to Rittenhouse Internal for a proper diagnosis.
Grand Total: $ 130 (I work at a non-​profit, imagine how much those copays hurt me)
Finding My Awesome New Doctor: Priceless (errr $ 35…whatever)

This was my first attempt, having moved back to Philly, at finding a primary care office. Pros and cons:
Pros: Convenient location, large office, lots of doctors. Easy to get a fast appointment, although I wasn’t requesting a specific doctor so I don’t know how that’d be. Very efficient in that you sign in on a computer, are given your entrance questions by someone sitting in a cubicle in the waiting area while you wait to be taken in. The doctor (I think she was a resident) that I saw was very nice, friendly, took the time to talk at length with me about my questions. She followed up very attentively afterward. Her supervising doctor came in for a quick chat at the end (kind of like the dentist), and he was very nice.
Cons: Very efficient in that you sign in on a computer, are given your entrance questions by someone sitting in a cubicle in the waiting area while you wait to be taken in. I felt it was a very impersonal and faceless office. While the resident was very sweet, the doctor popping in at the end seemed pointless because he wasn’t the one getting the info from me so what help was he supposed to offer?
In the end I decided I much preferred a smaller, non-​hospital-​esque doctors office. I also finally learned the difference between Family Practice and Internal Med Practice; the former sees a wider range of ages soyou’ll have kids in the waiting room. That can be a benefit if you’re looking to stick with one office for the whole family, but for me I’m happy going to Internal Med for now.