I've relied on Dr. Rich Gutsin as my primary care physician for over 20 years and choosing him is…read moreone of the best choices I've ever made. If you never want to feel like a number or dollar sign, his practice is the right one for you. He strives to learn who his patients are as people. He LISTENS and BELIEVES his patients, showing kindness and compassion in his responses. If I'm anxious or nervous, he'll tell an awful Dad Joke to put me more at ease. He never rushes me when I am trying to describe what is bothering me. Even if I don't have the right words to explain my concerns, he asks great questions because it's clear he wants to help me feel better. He is like a medical detective who wants to solve the case, yet no matter how small the case may be, it seems important to him. Unlike some doctors I saw in my younger years, Doc G has never made me feel stupid for not immediately understanding a medical explanation, not even with a narrowed glance or subtle body language. Instead, he has always found ways to help me grasp the situation and solutions. He has never dismissed any of my symptoms out of hand or acted as if I might be imagining or over-exaggerating something. Instead, he has explained why I might be feeling each symptoms and why a concern might be worth investigating further. If a symptom hasn't deserved my concern, he has strived to take away my fear. He has even listened to my weekend messages when I felt sick and returned my calls promptly. (What other GP does that? I try not to abuse this unusual trait, because such a fantastic doc deserves some time off!) The nurses and front office can make or break how I feel about seeing a specific doctor, so I appreciate that Doc G's staff has always been wonderful. It's especially nice that his amazing wife and sister-in-law work in in the office, as it has always made me feel that "Family Medicine" applies beyond just his patients! If you hate the traffic and stoplights to get to any other doctor's office on or off of 17, it's icing on the cake that Magnolia Family Medicine is on Shipyard instead. Yet it would be worth the trip to me even if his office was perched on the roof of the hospital.

First let me say I am not in the habit of giving someone a less than excellent or above average…read morereview. My review concerns Dr Gustin and his very unprofessional office staff from Magnolia medicine. I moved to Wilmington North Carolina from NJ two years ago and I had to seek out a doctor. I'm a retired man with a number of health issues. I need quarterly blood test, chest x-ray (I was a smoker) a colonoscopy, a breathing test, A1C test for diabetes, High blood pressure, high cholesterol all of which my Dr. in New Jersey would schedule regularly. My experience with Dr Gustin his incompetent staff has been so bad that I been driving and flying back to New Jersey to have a professional doctor(s) check my heart, my lungs, my breathing, my blood pressure, my diabetes all of which have been completely ignored by this doctor. Let me continue. I found his staff to be incredibly rude and misleading. I explained to the doctor that I needed to see a specialist and HIS STAFF told I cannot do it on my own without they're or his recommendation. That is a lie! I called my insurance company and they said I'm allowed to see any doctor I want with my plan. His staff was aware of the insurance that I am using which is a PPO (one of the best) as I can see any doctor in and out of the network. I might have to pay a 25 or $50 co-pay which was not a problem. I'm not broke. As it turns out I went to Quest from a recommendation from my doctor up North. I was covered by insurance, and it didn't cost me a dime. I received the results the next day. One concern I have to address, there have been a few moments where I doubted his expertise as Dr Gustin took a blood test after I explained to him I just ate lunch, he told me it was OK to eat before the blood test? Basically, his medical direction with me was just refilling all the prescriptions my doctor up north gave me. He never taken into consideration it may be alternative medical treatments on the market or some of these prescriptions I might not no longer need. Here was the last straw, I called Dr Gustin's office and was told would have to schedule an appointment for a blood test and that would be at least a week. I told him I can't wait a week as medication I was on cost almost $1000 a month I wanted to see if it was working before I had to spend another thousand dollars. I told by his staff , (very angrily), we just can't you just squeeze you in or never recommended another facility I could get my blood taken in they said no and they hung up on me.! You're not gonna believe this, a few days later I received a certified letter telling me they would not treat me anymore and to find another doctor. You can't make this stuff up They are completely incompetent, unprofessional and the doctor will lose patience unknowingly. When were sick, we seek out a doctor as we don't feel good and need their compassion and expertise in a time of desperate need . My brother is a doctor up north and he said to me you have to feel empathy and compassion for a person who is scared and very vulnerable and uncertain of their outcomes. As a patient we may seem to be irritable and pesty but please don't ever shut the door in a patient's face. Dr Gustin is an very nice man but I really feel I needed someone as to my medical needs. The good news is I found an excellent local Doctor who has scheduled me with various professional specialist. I'm really lucky I went to her as I just found a small nogel on my lungs.