I made an appointment for this office several months ago, and just a few hours before the appointment I get a notification stating that the appointment is cancelled. After asking when a new opening would be, they tell me that it will be months away. This is very frustrating, and the office staff were the opposite of helpful. read more

This place is beyond horrible.. This is the most poorly run organization ever. They hire incompetent MAs, and drive out quality nurses. I tried to praise one of their nurses, the manager was very rude and tried to talk me out of it. When I checked back with the nurse at my next visit, the manager had buried/discarded my review because she didn't want the nurse to receive any good ratings. The one star is more than they deserve read more

I usually read reviews before going to a place - and I regret not doing that on this occasion. I took a referral from a friend at face value. I hope to not make the same mistake again. I went in for my first allergy office visit ever and was hoping to get some answers to constant sinus pressure and post-nasal drip. I saw Dr. VanLancker. Well, after talking for a bit, a nurse comes in with the skin prick test. I did not request this test or understand the costs related. We do the whole test and I don't react to anything except the histamine control. Great. No answers. Dr. VanLancker just shrugs after the test and writes me a prescription for Flonase - something that I can just walk into CVS and buy. Disappointing. This is not why I saw a professional. Not getting an answer was a minor bummer, but that wasn't the real issue here. A month or so later, I get a bill. Turns out that the skin prick test costs over $1000. (!!!) I had absolutely no idea that it would cost that much to poke me with a needle a few times. I never would have approved a test that costs that much. It really does feel true - similar to what some other people have said, that this office exists to bill dollars. Forget about the patient's needs or experience. I've never had such a terrible experience with a medical team. I disputed the charges for the test that I didn't request. I agreed to the charges for the office visit and general exam, which I knew and understood. Well, I got certified mail today denying my request for a waiver on the test only. Absolutely no concern for informing patients or the patient experience in general. I hope that this review will keep someone else from having a massive bill on their hands. Avoid this place. GW Associates needs to take a cue from other providers. Inform and get consent for procedures. It isn't that difficult to inform of costs, even if you don't know how much each person's provider will cover. I would have declined, given the opportunity. **Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did have an excellent experience with the team at the front desk. The woman, in particular, was very helpful and friendly to me. read more

The front desk staff are the rudest medical office staff, and perhaps customer facing employees in any industry, whom I have ever encountered. They dispense attitude from the moment you walk in until the moment you leave, including when you call. EVERY SINGLE TIME. I would switch doctors in a heartbeat if there was another multi-physician practice nearby, but alas they have a monopoly and don't seem to care since these issues are so pervasive. So, to the physicians who run this practice: require that your staff treat your customers with respect or fire them and hire people who will. I'm tired of having them roll their eyes, sigh, speak to me in tone filled with disgust and anger when I have done nothing but open the door to your office and sign my name on the sign-in sheet. read more

Dr. Dubuske and his staff illegally try to bill insurance companies with the incorrect codes for things like allergy shots to get them completely covered without copay so they can tell patients to get the treatment because it won't cost them anything. Leaving alone the fact that allergy shots are not effective, this is unethical to improperly bill the insurance companies. I found out the hard way when I called my insurance company to check; They realized Dr. Dubuske's office fraudulently billed with the wrong codes and ended up charging me a copay for treatments Dr. Dubuske's office said I would not owe anything. I refused to pay the bills and fought MFA and Dr. Dubuske's office and staff for years but I finally filed a complaint with the CFPB when it was sent to collections. MFA's billing department is not organized and will run you in circles trying to appeal. Just email their patient experience department (patientexperience@mfa.gwu.edu) or call 202 677 6867. Dr. Dubuske is a disgrace to his profession. Constantly pushing treatments on his patients that are not proven effective and only suppress symptoms without treating underlying cause. Fraudulently bills treatments to and leaves patients in the lurch when that illegal practice is discovered. read more

Do yourself a favor and sign in via the kiosks. Don't trouble the people behind the counter with walking up to them to check in. Unless you want to be served with a sour face, eyeroll and sarcastic comments. Use the kiosks! read more

Unless you really need the specialist, look elsewhere. Scheduling is a nightmare- took six weeks to get an appointment. I've been kept waiting for nearly an hour past my appointment time. Zero empathy or concern from the office staff. read more

You will be billed for the air you breathe if you go to the Allergy Center. The first time I went at end of my appointment I was asked to give a review to the practice, and I was so happy and so satisfied with the service provided by Dr. Dubuske, that I gave them a great review because in 11 years I have been living here, is the second time that a doctor really takes their time with a patient, and it was not the typical drive-through approach... but oh boy... I did not see the bill surprises coming and here is where things got questionable, and I realized they will find ways to bill patients in a way that perhaps ensures they get paid for full services whenever they can instead of the contractual fees negotiated with insurances. Every appointment I had I was given 3 to 4 breathing tests, perhaps more, but for some they asked me to sign waivers so "IF the insurance did not cover" then I was responsible for paying "no more than $50 a test." I received the first bill and those tests were not covered by the insurance, and were more than $50. So before my follow up appointments, I did my research, and realized that those breathing tests for which they were asking me to sign a waiver, were not covered by insurance and were not considered to be medically necessary, but more experimental, or whatever the term is. The practice, however, knew already that the insurance will not cover. So talking to people in the terms of "IF your insurance does not cover" is not honest and intentionally misleading because they know first hand and for a fact, that the insurance, at least mine, will not cover. Certainly this is a questionable and unsound business practice, as they are not being honest with their patients. So what I did next was to refuse to take any tests that would require me to sign a waiver and confronted the practice on it. Of course the did not like it, but they acknowledged that it was not covered. They also may have made a note on my file that I would only get the breathing tests that were necessary and covered by my insurance. Of all the ones they administered, only one type of them seems to have been medically necessary and covered. SO KEEP THIS IN MIND IF YOU PLAN TO GO THERE. Then, the testing came, and I was told to go to LabCorp and upon asking whether that was an in-network provider, they knew in advance that they were not, but I was told that they would waive any costs because they wanted this Allergy Centers business, and it was on the same building, etc. etc. I said that I had a preferred provided that I knew was in network and even if had to wait longer due to a paper referral, I wanted to go to an in-network provider. They did their sales pitch and assured me that I was not going to be billed, because LabCorp wanted their business that they were going to waive any bills for LabCorp on my account. I gave them an opportunity, and guess what? I was billed twice by this out-of-network provider for different reasons, so of course I had to invest a lot of time and calls, and conversations trying to resolve the issue. After I met my deductible, coinsurance, you name it, the practice continued to find ways to charge for more services. I just called to pay one outstanding bill, to find out that I have two more they alleged are outstanding for services in August. Meanwhile, other than the bill I got from them of close to $1K, I had not received any others. In fact, when I called on November 8, 2018 to make a payment, no one mentioned anything about any outstanding bills in my account and the total amount I owed informed to me on the call then, was very different than the one I was given back in November, so Merry Christmas to me! My humble advice, ensure that you ask your insurance and the provider for services you are going to receive, what is covered by your insurance, and if you are asked to sign any waivers or other non-traditional documents, be suspicious, and ask, ask, ask, even if they do not like it. Also, they will claim that they will not know what the insurance will pay until they bill them. That is not necessarily fully accurate. Doctors practices bill based on codes processed by the insurances, and some of those codes will determine what is medically necessary versus not, or experimental, or what is not covered at all. So the providers know their codes and know what they are billing for, but that is the part that us patients do not see. So be savvy and responsible with your benefits management and ensure you also review your insurance coverage, benefits, or call them before going to a provider even if they are in-network. With this practice, I am very torn. The doctor is good, and while he may come across as blunt sometimes or pushing for the use of medication, I did remain under the impression that he was very knowledgeable and I felt satisfied with my interactions with him. However, the billing practices are not honest, are questionable and unsound, so I am not sure if I will return. read more

This place really is the worst. The front office staff were okay when I went, but the place was overflowing and it took forever to be seen. (side note: there were also a bunch of slimy looking medical reps when I went, taking up a bunch of the doctors' time chatting about when they could take them to lunch) Dr. Dubuske was brusque, seemed generally disinterested in me as being any different from any other of his patients, and insisted I do additional (costly) testing even though I was having no issues. I was attempting to set up a new allergist after my move from NY, a process I started in March, which I am finishing now in May by switching to yet another allergist because this place was such a mess. It took them forever to coordinate with my NYC doctor (who was constantly going on about what a pain they were to work with), and no one from the clinic would ever return my calls. After two months they finally had my serum ready (which I had to call to find out), and even though Dr. Dubuske had assured me there was a "sister facility" in Capitol Hill I could get the shots at once everything was set up - Georgetown is really really inconvenient for me - once the shots were ready no one at the clinic had any idea what I was talking about. I asked them to check with the doctor repeatedly, but nobody ever got back to me. So now, after spending money on an initial consult and superfluous tests and wasting 2 months without any shots, I have to get back over there to pick everything up and transfer to a new clinic. Hopefully the experience there is better! read more

I have been seeing Dr.Dubuske for about 2 years. I have not been satisfied. I have had asthma and allergies my whole life and came to see Dr.Dubuske for asthma management and allergy shots. He conducted testing, which my insurance company would not cover. Internet searching reveals that the test is not highly regarded as good medical evidence for my condition. Moreover, he insisted I have the test done again despite the fact that my asthma was well-under control with the medication he prescribed. This experience, combined with the knowledge that he voluntarily resigned from a hospital position to continue lucrative private lecturing (http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/01/23/doctor_quits_brigham_to_speak_for_pay/) makes it seem like he's all in it for the money. I don't feel he has my best interests as a patient at heart. He is also chronically late. The allergy shot hours are also extremely erratic and do not seem to be anywhere on the web. Certain days of the week (maybe Monday and Thursday?) they take a LONG lunch break (11:30-1:30) and also open late on certain days (Friday?) and I have several times arrived at the office to get a shot to find that they were closed and would not reopen for several hours. I have never seen a list of the allergy shot hours and cannot find them on the internet. This is infuriating. Contrary to some of the other comments here, I have only found the front desk and nursing staff to be professional and courteous (though not always totally clear about when I need to return). read more

I'm pretty unlucky with doctors appointments, but I can safely say this was the worst I've ever experienced. The reception staff is very friendly, but that's about where the positivity ended. My appointment, to have a full allergy screening, was scheduled to begin at 8:45, but I was not taken back into a room until 9:30. A nurse took my vitals and told me a Fellow would come in to ask me questions before I saw the doctor. I waited about 15 minutes for the Fellow to come in (she was nice) and we chatted about my history for another 15 minutes before she left and said she would discuss our conversation with the doctor before he came in to see me. She left at 10:05. Dr. Nicklas did not come into my room until 11:10. He talked to me for 10 minutes literally reiterating what I discussed with the Fellow and then prescribed me an epipen and inhaler....the only reason I made an appointment was to have a prick test to determine my allergies. He told me I should come back in 4 weeks to talk again and possibly get tested for other allergens. SURE. Not only was I there for THREE HOURS and seen for TWENTY MINUTES, the doctor never called in my prescription and I had to follow up 3 days later to have him call it in. To say I am livid about the experience is an understatement. What a colossal waste of time. I will not be going back. read more

I came to this clinic after other Allergist doctors refused to treat me. I came in once and described all my symptoms to Dr. DuBuske. He took a lot of notes and immediately identified my allergy - aleve/advil. He also did an extensive amount of skin and blood testing, something my previous doctors refused to do. Through that, he identified my dust allergy. I appreciated the staff's helpfulness, the doctor's willing to identify my allergies, and the ease of getting appointments. read more

I have been seeing Dr. DuBuske for my seasonal allergy for past 2 years. I do not have any problems Dr. DuBuske but their front desk and the nurses at 2300 M st NW are just purely AWFUL. My Injection Service Experience: - Nurses take so much time talking to other staff and etc. One time i waited over 1 hour to get my injection. They had two nurses who were giving injections and i don't see how they can take 1 HOUR to give me an injection. It wasn't even that busy. we had empty seats that day. - they have this stupid policy that you have to wait in the lobby for 30 mins after the injection and they have to check you out. Several times, after waiting 30 mins there was nobody to check me out. Am i suppose to walk around to look for a nurse to check me out after 30 mins of wait???? - Nurses don't discuss patient injection progress. I went to get my injection after 2nd week from my last injection. the nurse told me that she can't give me an injection because I was not suppose to come back so soon. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?????? These nurses are so useless and so unprofessional. - I really don't understand why I need to wait 30 mins. why not make it 15 or 20 mins???? When they "CHECK YOU OUT" they don't do anything anyways. I been going there 2 years, but i have no noticeable reaction and you're still making me waste my 30 mins of time??? for what? - Location of this place is so INCONVENIENT. The closest metro is foggy bottom which is 10 mins of walk. or i drive there sometimes and street park. then these shots taking so much time that i'm always in a bad mood for their treatment. I was really patient for past 2 years but after today's injection, i'm DONE HERE. I WON"T COME BACK HERE, EVER!!!!!!! read more

Very thorough doctors and professional staff... BUT... Dr. DuBuske is chronically running late. Third appointment and third time I am still in waiting room 45 minutes past appointment time. Staff says he is running an hour behind today. That is unprofessional and disrespectful to patients. How is it possible to be an hour late only two hours into the workday for an allergist? read more

I've been seeing Dr. Ein/Dr. DuBuske for over 13 years and the experience I just had there prompted me to join Yelp just to warn others. First of all, I saw Dr. Ein for over 10 years and he is a great doctor. A few times recently when I really needed to see a doctor I couldn't get in to see Dr. Ein, so I saw Dr. DuBuske. Since I saw him a few times in a row I ended up sticking with him since it wasn't a several month wait to get in to see him. Dr. DuBuske has done a great job treating my asthma and allergies too. Basically, I've been getting allergy shots for over 20 years and never in my life has it been such hassle as it is with this office. Today I showed up and I was informed that I was "too earlier" for my next shot. Granted GW changes the allergy shots protocols sometimes (use to be 15 minute wait after shots, now it's 30), but I was just there last week and was told to come back the next. Turns out I reached a certain level that the shots must be 7 days apart. The nurse just said come back next week. Since it had been only 5 days, they wouldn't give me my shots. Best part is, this was my second dose at this level! The nurse the week before didn't even mention it to me. By dumb luck I didn't go too early last week. I wish I could say this is an isolated incident. It's not. Many, many times over the last two-three years there have been delays and screw-up. One time last fall, I was in the office for over 90 minutes to get shots! There were a lot of people in there and some how I slipped through the cracks and they forgot about me. That wasn't the first that happened either. Nurses don't even really care when they waste your time. They apologize and say they do, but if they actually respected their patients' time, this wouldn't keep happening. There are some good nurses there, but there is a lot of turnover and a lot of nurses who seem like they are just out of school and don't really care. Unfortunately, I'll keep going because I have a long history with Drs. Ein and DuBuske. They do a great job of treating me even if their nurses don't read more

I saw Dr. Dubuske and while he was a good doctor, I will never go back to the Allergy Clinic. On my initial visit, everything went fine although there seemed to be a lot of waiting around for the doctor. He was almost an hour behind schedule. And I ended up missing my next appointment. It's a clinic, I figure that's To be expected somtimes. On my second visit, I ended up waiting for 1.5 hours. I didn't see the nurse to have my vitals taken until an hour past my appointment time. And then I was told to wait in the hallway because all the exam rooms were full. I waited in the hallway for another 45 minutes with no sign of any doctors or nurses. At that point I had had enough and I left without ever seeing Dr. Dubuske. It's completely unacceptable to have to wait 1.5 hours to see a Dr. It wasn't a free clinic, I had insurance, and I had an appointment. I never got an apology or explanation from anyone at the clinic while I waited in the hallway. Ridiculous. My time is just as valuable as the doctor's time and I refuse to block off an entire afternoon for an appointment. On top of that, the Clinic billed my insurance company for an office visit and lab fees. So they get paid while I lost 1.5 hours of pay. Avoid this place. read more

Dr. DuBuske was rude and unprofessional. He administered needless expensive allergy tests after I had already informed him of my allergies. He even gave me an injection of highly concentrated dust mites, my allergy, which resulted in me taking an ambulance to the emergency room because they were "closing" and could not supervise me. After the EMT medic concluded that I was experiencing anaphylaxis, Dr. DuBuske, in what seemed like an awkward attempt to cover up his blunder, said that I was simply "swooning." The end result was a night in the ER and over $1000 in medical fees all for a routine checkup. read more

I've been going here for 3 years and I'll continue to go solely because my allergy shots are working wonders for me, and it's easier for me to continue with the same office for administrative (insurance) reasons right now. BUT, generally speaking, this place is a hot mess. I dread having proper appointments with them because they are ALWAYS running monstrously behind, even for the first appointment of the day at 7:45 AM. About 30% of the time, my scheduled appointments are mysteriously canceled ahead of time (so at least there's that) because Dr. Dubuske is suddenly not available the day we set up. Sometimes the office calls me to inform me, and sometimes I am half-informed by a generic e-mail that gives no details about which appointment was canceled or why, and is made no clearer when I log into their secure website as instructed, so I have to call them and wait on hold for way too long to talk to somebody. At this point, I've stopped bothering to reschedule because I don't need the appointments, just the shots, and I'm tired of wasting my time with the rigmarole. Dr. Dubuske insists on regular appointments, ostensibly to continue monitoring my progress and seasonal symptoms, but I suspect it has way more to do with having an opportunity to bill my insurance company for a visit, push more unnecessary prescriptions on me, and subject me to breathing tests that are for asthmatics (which I am not), and are not covered by my or ANYONE ELSE's insurance. I have categorically refused to take those tests any longer under threat of leaving the practice. As a patient, new or existing, you can pretty much expect the flow of any visit for an appointment to go like this: Show up early, on time, or late. It won't matter. Be forced to fill out a 7-page long form for the umpteenth time, even though you have filled it out every other time you were here and not a single detail has changed, because let's just keep killing trees. While you're sitting in the waiting room and listening to terrible cable programming from the TVs on the walls, you'll be constantly distracted by at least one person arguing with the front desk about a problem with their appointment or their bill. Be escorted back 15-30 minutes later than your scheduled time, regardless of how punctual you were or weren't. Fight with the nurse about not taking the stupid breathing tests that don't apply to you and you don't want to pay for. Be seated in an empty exam room that, you will later find out, is more like an antechamber to the room where you will actually have your visit, when you are shuffled in there another 15-30 minutes later. By this point, your day is at least 30 minutes off schedule, and you have yet to see a doctor. He finally rolls into your exam room, and you sit on chairs with the exam table between you like a desk, while he interviews you about your condition before checking you physically. This will take 10-15 minutes. If, God forbid, you need new prescriptions or any testing, that could take anywhere from 5 more minutes to the rest of the day. To his credit, Dr. Dubuske is incredibly thorough and willing to discuss anything you want about your allergies, but he always asks the same battery of questions, even if none of them ever applied to you. He also showers you with prescriptions that really just seem excessive. I once showed up at my pharmacy to pick up my allergy meds, and they gave me 2 antihistamines, 1 eye drop, 2 inhalers (again, I am not asthmatic and have no respiratory issues), and 2 nasal sprays. I left with only the antihistamines and was just fine. I have since won the argument with him about my true medical needs and corresponding scripts, and only take the pills and one nasal spray, and he has finally backed off pushing medications at me. This has been a constant battle, though. Don't see him if you can't be a strong advocate for yourself, or you will be drowning in meds that you most likely don't need. One positive thing I can say is that Loretta and Veronica at the front desk are lovely and consistently pleasant. Most of the nurses are also friendly, knowledgeable, and solicitous. Unfortunately, it doesn't offset the rest of the obnoxious experience that is a doctor's visit at MFA. Let's just say a different set of words comes to mind for me when I look at the letters in that acronym. If you value your time and sanity, find another office. read more

Have been seeing Dr. Van Lancker for several years now. She's pleasant enough, but not a great doctor. Seems more worried about patients coming in so she can bill for an office visit even though I'm in the office at least once a month for injections and haven't been having any issues and have been using Allegra for over six years. Really? I need an office visit before you'll renew my prescription? Also, the staff is terrible including the nurses. They're slow, never communicate and give you attitude if you happen to ask them something. I'd switch to another Allergy doctor in a heartbeat if there was another close by. read more

Dr. Van Lancker is great. But her front office staff is inexcusably rude and discourteous. Although patients don't select a doctor based on a receptionist, customer service shouldn't be so totally neglected as it is here. Unless you absolutely must see one of these doctors, go elsewhere. read more