Dawn Cortland, MD

After my initial checkup, I started seeing Dr. Cortland as my general physician for a few months before I moved. Still saw the excellent service and amicable bedside manner I came to be familiar with; I needed some shots for school and wanted to explore some treatment options for an old condition and she was very helpful in getting me access to both. Overall, this was a great medical care experience.

I have always found Dr. Cortland professional and courteous. She listens well, is adept at diagnosis and eager to help. I wish all doctors had her bedside manner, wit, intellect and cared about their patients as she does.

I started seeing Dr. Cortland shortly after a hospital admission in 1998. I switched physicians due to the poor care and lack of follow up I was receiving from my previous doctor.
As a former Emergency Room Tech and Practical Nurse I’m very involved in my own medical care. On the evening of October 16^th, 1998
I started feeling bad and called Dr. Cortland. Her call was promptly returned and through our conversation she figured out I was having a heart attack without the classic symptoms, I owe my life to her!
In regards to her bedside and office manner, I have found her to be caring, concerned, engaged, professional, and compassionate. Not once has she ever been mean, rude, or condescending, over the past 10 years I can’t ever remember seeing her without a smile on her face.
As for her office, it has always been spotless. It is far cleaner than many other physician’s offices I have been in and certainly cleaner than one or two major hospitals I worked in.
I was referred to Dr. Cortland by another physician who highly regarded her skills as a physician. Not only do my other specialist physicians highly regard Dr. Cortland, so do a number of nurses who worked with her. Years ago she had some front desk staffing issues, I blame the staff members and the physician who formerly owned the practice, not Dr. Cortland.
In the past when it was necessary for me to see Dr. Cortland’s Nurse Practitioner in her old office those visits were always professional and I was totally happy with the NP’s care. To this day if I need something and Dr. Cortland is out of town I can always count on her to arrange for top notch care. There aren’t very many doctor’s who provide that type of service.
Dr. Cortland’s concierge practice is a bargain compared to other physicians offering the same service. One physician I know offers the same service as Dr. Cortland at 4 times the cost.
If you are looking for Post Street glitz go some where else, if you want good, old fashion medical care from an engaged, professional, and caring physician who will spend time with you Dr. Cortland is your girl, I highly recommend her!
John M.
ER Tech III, CNA
Practical Nurse, Hospital, SNF Unit, & Hospice

I wanted to weigh in as a newer patient of Dr. Dawn Cortland. Luckily, the nightmare office staff situation Anita describes seems to be in the past. In fact, please note Dr. C. is in a NEW office (180 Montgomery, Suite 2370; @ Bush; new phone 415−433−2110). I am delighted to have found her after a long search. A recent meeting is typical: I came in with a 6-​week-​old cold & cough that had been unsuccessfully diagnosed/​treated elsewhere. Dr. C. didn’t like the sound of my breathing and sent me for an immediate x-​ray a few blocks away. Within 2 hrs. I had my diagnosis (pneumonia) and was on the way to pick up my antibiotic… which worked. Since then she has monitored my progress by email, and wants me in for a follow-​up. When my sister-​in-​law was in a serious accident out of state, Dr. C. gave us quick and excellent advice by cell phone. She is an internist by training, and a compassionate person by nature. I like her supportive and non-​condescending manner. She is medically thorough and holistic (e.g., the initial medical history is very detailed and deals with about nutrional, psychological & social well-​being as well as the usual physical stuff). The fact that she’s a «boutique» doc means she costs more (doesn’t take insurance), but by the same token, it means her case load is a fraction of a regular doc’s. So the unusually thorough care and accessibility I have gotten so far has been well worth the extra cost. She’s affiliated with CPMC and seems to know a ton of specialists.

I used to be a patient of Dr. Cortland, and I like her a lot. She’s got a terriffic bedside manner, and she’s very easy to talk to. When she doesn’t know something, she admits it – and then takes the time to educate herself before the next appointment.
However, the quality of service in her practice took a serious nosedive about 4 years ago, and I stopped going. Her staff turnover was terrible, and the ever-​changing parade of faces at the front desk never could seem to keep my billing or appointments straight. Over the course of 6 months, they continually mis-​billed insurance that was not one but two jobs old. At one point, I told them to give me my file so I could cross out all of the old information… they assured me that they would update my records in the computer the same day, and yet the same old insurance continued to be billed.
In a number of cases, I made appointments to see Dr. Cortland specifically — on her insistance: «When you schedule your recall appointment, make sure they know you need to see me, not one of the nurse-​practitioners». But when I would show up at the appointed time, I’d find they’d shunted me off to a nurse-​practitioner.
In more than one instance, a NP who I had never met would come in and start talking to me about my medical issues without any sort of introduction — I had no idea if she was a staff member, an assistant, a doctor, or somebody who walked in off the street! And despite the fact that I was being treated for a number of ongoing issues that were well documented in my charts, every visit seemed to entail starting the whole storyline over from the beginning.
Before I gave up for good, I wrote a personal letter to the doctor explaining my concerns, and never heard anything back from her. I think that, alone, is very telling: She either doesn’t read her mail, or didn’t care enough to follow up.

I used to go to Dawn Cortland, she was great, but moved to a monthly member service plan, so on her recommendation, moved over to Dan «the man» Kalshan. I’d recommend them both, though.