full disclosure: I have not visited, nor met with, Dr Sagan. But I tried! I called the office in hopes that I could ask a couple questions in my prenatal search for a pediatrician. I was told outright that Dr. Sagan doesn't do new parent "meet and greets." I said that was fine and asked if I could simply leave a few questions and get a phone call back at some point in the next week or so (reasonable I thought) and I was told that he was just too busy with actual patients to deal with questions of people who weren't even patients yet. Well, I guess that gave me all the info I needed to cross them off the list! Very disappointed as the location was ideal. Onward with the search! (also this was the exact opposite of the experience I had at Weissbluth who offered up e-mail, phone, in-person and skype for any prenatal quesitons; but it is expensive and far) read more

Dr. Sagan and his office were a breath of freshair to us after going through the first few months of our daughter's life with a decidedly wrong match with our first pediatrician. First of all, Dr. Sagan is reasonable, knowledgeable and very calming. He doesn't get worked up about little things and he is super compassionate with kids. I love how he comes into the appointment prepared with all his information on his tablet, and easily can pull up information from prior visits. He never seems rushed but is always on time for appointments--- how does he do this? I love the option for "quick sick" visits and love that we have never waited more than 5 minutes for an appointment. Weekend calls are returned promptly and the office staff is easy to work with. There is currently $2 valet parking outside and hopefully this will continue. A great doctor, great practice. read more

Everyone has a different style and approach. I appreciate Dr. Sagan's. I have been taking my daughter to him since she was born. I have had no issues with the care and advice given to me in the past 4 years. His directness is no problem in my view as I don't need to be handled with kid gloves. Just tell me the facts and get to the point. Don't waste my time with 20 minutes of unneeded antidotes. The nurses are very friendly and caring. I couldn't do their jobs. Administering shots to screaming crying kids and babies, no thank you! Also, I agree with his views on vaccines. This would have been a 5 star review except I have not been super happy with the front desk staff. Some of them are not very nice or welcoming. But I'm there for my child's care by the doctors and nurses. Not for them. So I put up with their rudeness. read more

My daughter's pediatrician is another doctor in the same practice as Dr. Sagan. Usually, our visits to the office are very positive. The office staff is great with my daughter and very caring. When my daughter became ill, I called the after hours line to inquire about whether her symptoms warranted an office visit. Dr. Sagan returned the call a few hours later. However, unlike the rest of the staff at this practice, Dr. Sagan was rude, curt, and talked down to me. I was so caught off-guard I was almost speechless! When I asked follow-up questions, he continued to speak to me rudely. I am very glad that he is not my daughter's pediatrician. If you want a pediatrician that will treat you as respectfully without judgment, I wouldn't suggest this provider. read more

I'm so happy I chose Dr. Sagan as our son's pediatrician. He's always informative and I actually appreciate his straightforwardness. His nurse Maria is always pleasant, I have yet to have a bad experience at this clinic. I look forward to all of my son's appointments as I know he's in great hands. read more

Dr. Sagan has been my daughter's pediatrician for the last 4+ years since she was born as well as my 1 year old since birth as well. He is thorough and gives advice that has been invaluable to us as we raise our kids. I highly recommend this doctor. read more

As a direct person myself, I definitely enjoy Dr. Sagan's style. He answers questions without sugar coating. I did ask about vaccines and unlike others who have complained, I was not treated like an ignoramus. He was not condescending in the least, just very direct. He is kind to my baby girl, he has fed and changed her. He is witty and has a bit of a dry sense of humor. He has lots of life in his eyes, despite one reviewer's claim. (!) He is clearly very intelligent and well-educated, a perfect match for us. A+ Doc! read more

If you are sensitive he is not the right pediatrician for your child. If you don't care so long as your kid gets the best then he is the Dr. for you. He genuinely cares and is amazing with children. We have received top notch care for our daughter since we switched to Dr Sagan and are very happy so far. read more

My husband is infatuated with the city; I am not. He makes more money than me so he wins and we live in the city though we both commute to the suburbs. When we had our baby at the end of 2009, we needed to find a pediatrician. Should we go with one in the suburbs where baby would be in daycare? Or should we go with one near home? For us, our answer was to go with one near home... but who? I asked around and a friend of mine from the south side asked her pediatrician if he had any recommendations for someone on the north side and he suggested Dr. Andy Sagan. We looked into it (along with several others we found during online research) and attended a meet and greet type of deal and decided that Dr. Andy Sagan would be our pediatrician. It was clear as day that his primary concern was the child- and not coddling the parents. And even if we are first time parents, we knew that we wanted a doctor who wouldn't be afraid to tell us that we were being stupid- if that were the case. From our first appointment when baby was a mere 5 days old, Dr. Sagan has always worked with us to help us ensure we take care of our baby with the utmost care. He suggested books early on and with every appointment, continues to mention things to look for that our child should be achieving for the next appointment, etc. The most important factor is that our baby is always very comfortable around Dr. Sagan. And really, it's always so clear how much he loves children. There's an automatic comfort when he comes into the room. The hours are decent- even being available one Saturday a month and having first in the morning type of urgent appointments. The parking was OK (there was a dollar lot next to the building) but is just recently being turned into some other structure! So parking is not so good anymore- which is the ONLY reason I cannot give a five star review. read more

Dr. Andy Sagan is the BEST Pediatrician EVER! He is extremely knowledgeable and thorough in his approach to caring for the health and well-being of my little boy. Whenever we come for an appointment, I know that I can expect to engage in a detailed discussion with him about my son's developmental milestones. Dr. Sagan takes a low context approach in his communication style, providing detailed information and instructions in a clear and direct manner, which I greatly appreciate. As a parent, I am super grateful for his knowledge, skills and expertise. I highly recommend Dr. Sagan to every parent who wants excellent medical care for their child(ren). read more

First, I have been seeing Dr. Sagan and using his office for 3+ years, first with my 2 year old (now 5) and then with my new born (now 2). Dr. Sagan is indeed a no-nonsense kind of doctor, which I really prefer after being seen by less experienced doctors who don't give that sense of calm Dr. Sagan does. Yes he is pro-vaccine (a plus in my book), he is quick but thorough, he is friendly (I have even seen him smile once or twice), he obviously loves kids and wants them to be healthy. His office is nicely located at Swedish Covenant, a fair community hospital, but he is also affiliated with Lurie's Children's Hospital, so I know any needs my children have can be taken care of. His office offers morning unscheduled visits (called quick sick visits) which are very convenient for working parents, and everyone in his office is very nice. The bottom line is, I trust him to care for my children, I trust his advice and I trust him to give me the needed information I require so I can continue any needed care at home. read more

We first had the displeasure of meeting Dr. Sagan at one of his parent seminars at Swedish Covenant hospital. Not only did it seem as if he was extremely condescending but it was also apparent that he seemed mostly lifeless in the eyes. Since he was the head of the pediatric department at Swedish and because the hospital is so close to our house we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Since this was our first child we did have many questions regarding everything from vaccines to breast feeding issues. Many questions were answered after the birth of our child in the hospital room but the vaccine issues were almost always followed by a sense of disgust on his part for us even questioning his "militant" stance on the issue. We had read the books, websites, and heard personal stories about the whole issue of what vaccines were dangerous and what were necessary; to say the least we were concerned to make the best possible decision for our baby girl. Besides being condescending and arrogant every time we asked a question about the vaccines it seemed as if Dr. Sagan just wanted to leave. So I suppose according to him we should not ask questions or be genuinely concerned about the safety of all the chemicals they were instructing us to blindly inject into the blood stream of our newborn baby girl. Did he attempt to persuade us with evidence of the effectiveness of these vaccines? NO. Did he provide anecdotes or tangible studies proving the success of theses chemical cocktails? NO. Did he listen to our concerns with a sincere attitude or the slightest bit of compassion for our situation? NO again. After our initial hospital visit we were referred to one of his associates most likely because he prefers to deal with the parents that blindly do as they are told without asking questions or having any say so in the lives of the children's health care. Even though he was against it we decided to go with an alternative vaccine schedule just to be on the safe side since our daughter did not go to day care and everyone in our home was healthy. During the office visits that we did get the shots I always did my research and asked a few questions about the vaccines she was receiving. Every time I either was giggled at or received a response that the doctor was unaware of the information I was requesting. Wow!!! So you have no answers to my questions but you have no problem charging my insurance over 1600$ dollars per visit for the visits that included the vaccines. It was all making sense now. Vaccines are BIG MONEY for the doctors??? Today we took our daughter in for the 9 month visit and were told that we were being REJECTED medical treatment because we refused to agree to give 6 vaccines in one visit. We wanted to do as we had done before and give her only one per visit to make sure all was well before giving her another one. REJECTED because we did not give her what was being DEMANDED by the ALL KNOWING SUPER DOCTOR WHO IS NEVER WRONG! Vaccines are recommended not required except for public school? So why the "militant" stance on the whole vaccine issue with Dr. Sagan? We may never know since I hope never to see that sorry individual as long as I am still breathing. As for his inept little followers of his misguided direction, I wish you also good riddance. It is quite sad when medical professionals are administering shots to little babies with no clue themselves what the shots consist of, the negative side effects, or any other relevant information to calm the minds of the concerned parents that only want to provide there child with the best possible state of health and welfare. CAVEAT EMPTOR concerned parents!!! read more

I recently switched to Northside Pediatrics because we switched primary care groups and had to pick a new pediatrician for my 2 year old son. Dr. Sagan is our pediatrician and I believe he is as good as a pediatrician gets!!! We met him at our 2 year well child appointment. He really takes the time with the child and with the parents to discuss anything that you can think of regarding health and parenting. He also has a blog where you can communicate with him about any parenting or health issues. Last week my son started to get sick. I took him to Dr. Sagan. My son's symptoms did not add to anything typical, though it seemed like either an ear infection, mono, strep...Instead of jumping to conclusions and prescribing antibiotics just to see if it works Dr. Sagan took the time to contact other pediatricians to diagnose my son's ailment. He kept in touch with me throughout the week by phone and appointments, even called at 9-10pm to ease my concerns. Eventually he referred us to the Children's Memorial Hospital because he believed that my son may have had Kawasaki Disease (there is no clear diagnoses for this sickness; only about 19 of 100000 kids get it; most pediatricians either think it is viral and will go away or they start to try different antibiotics). If KD is left untreated within the first 10 days of symptoms it can lead to significant heart problems. Even though KD is uncommon and hard to diagnose, Dr. Sagan's persistence on trying to figure out my son's case resulted in my son receiving the care he needed on day 6. We're so grateful that Dr. Sagan was quick on his feet and thought through our son's case. Dr. Sagan is a thorough, smart and caring pediatrician. He is personable, approachable and he makes us feel like he is a part of our family team in raising a healthy, well-adjusted child. Thank you Dr. Sagan! PS. The staff is also very friendly and helpful. Each visit had minimal wait time. Just an overall positive experience every time. read more

We were definitely not a match. my two year old daughter had a *horrid* patch of diaper rash on her bum... I literally tried every product on the market, but nothing could eliminate it completely. when I told him/showed him at her two year appointment, he lectured me about wasting money on useless products - this, he declared, was simply a hygiene issue. I obviously wasn't properly caring for my child. imagine my relief/horror when THREE months later i asked our new pediatrician about it... after looking for two seconds she said it looked fungal. antibiotics took care if in just a few days! poor thing had been suffering needlessly... when my son was born, we had to bring him in every two/three days for bloodwork because he was jaundiced. not only did he lecture me about how I was taking care of him... he never even remembered who we were. really? every two days? you don't remember telling me that he would be hospitalized if I didn't get his levels up? he literally had no clue who we were and why were in his office. ridiculous. i realized that this was not the guy for us... we wanted a working relationship with a doctor who remembers us and hears us and TRUSTS us... I am so incredibly happy that we left. the office staff is pretty rude too... defintely not warm and fuzzy. (maybe they forgot that that they're dealing with KIDS?!) he knows that they're not all-stars... he's really smart... just doesn't cut it. proceed with caution! read more

Dr Sagan is an amazing caring and thorough pediatrician. I have 3 children and my middle son has had pneumonia the last three years. He never makes a rush judgement and trusts my assessment of my kids. Unfortunately my kids have had a few hospital stays and he always calls to check on them almost every day until they are in the clear. He is highly intelligent and while sometimes can seem a bit dry in his bed side manner and very direct, I would not ask him to be any different. Dr Sagan takes his time with every visit and very friendly with my 6, 2, and newborn. His head nurse Maria is so soft and wonderful. She always takes my messages and returns my calls when I have a concern. We have lived in a few states and had other pediatricians so my comparison comes honestly. He is dedicated to his work and really cares about the patients. Love him! read more

Choosing a pediatrician wasn't very hard for us after doing our research online and chatting with other staff at Swedish Covenant Hospital. Dr. Sagan was recommended by word-of-mouth, so I attempted to attend one of his "baby care" workshops for expecting mothers at SCH. For some reason, we could not make it to the workshop (actually, I *think* we didn't go because I was too tired to go! Oh the joys of pregnancy) - but I went with my gut and still chose him as our daughter's PCP. We first met Dr. Sagan the day our daughter was born and had a great first impression - he was thorough, explained everything he was doing, and was gentle with our daughter (yet swift enough to not make her uncomfortable for too long during the exam). The man knows his stuff, and he is patient with the first time mommy jitters. He's returned my calls late at night to interpret my baby's cries, he's assured me that I am doing my job as a mom, and he has told me about how cute my baby is (come on, what Mom doesn't want to hear that?!). His office staff is FANTASTIC as well - whether or not they *actually* remember my daughter's name doesn't really matter - what matters is, they prepare themselves enough that when we walk in the door they can call us by name. They are very personable, and the nurse is great too (we have always seen the same nurse, not sure if there are more on staff or not). You can tell that Dr. Sagan doesn't just hire anybody for his staff - they are all wonderful! Sadly, we decided to leave and go to another pediatrician that is closer to our home and our daughter's daycare. The new pediatrician (who is affiliated with a different hospital and is part of a different medical group) knew who Dr. Sagan was and had great things to say about him as well - so even from a professional (and competitors) standpoint, he's fantastic :-) read more

Positives: -Amazing front desk and nursing staff, especially head nurse Maria -Office responds quickly, particularly if you take advantage of their online portal -Clean and efficient The reason for this 2-star review is primarily Dr. Sagan's bedside manner. I find him to be aloof, condescending, and generally as if he's on auto-pilot/just going through the motions. I'm a parent completely on-board with Dr. Sagan's old-school philosophy, I haven't challenged him on any of his advice, I am informed, but not overly opinionated, so I'm not sure why he is so cold to us. I appreciate directness and honesty, but don't appreciate unfriendliness or just being stared at whenever I answer a question. During our appointments, he doesn't smile or interact with my baby, nor does he seem to know my child's name (or even take 2 seconds to reference his name on the computer screen). At our last appointment, several times he asked how many months this well-baby check-up was for. He's made a couple comments that don't seem very supportive of breastfeeding. The last straw was the way Dr. Sagan handled a quick, but painful procedure my son needed done at his last appointment. He didn't explain what he was going to do beforehand at all. My baby screamed bloody murder, and we were both traumatized. After the fact, I've learned the procedure is relatively common, and I have no doubts it was performed correctly, but it was still a bit of a shock. I trust Dr. Sagan's medical sense, but he wasn't the right fit for our family. If you are looking for a no-nonsense doctor, he might be right for you. But I'd highly recommend meeting him beforehand. We moved halfway across the country on very little notice, so we weren't given this luxury. read more

Dr. Sagan is amazing! He is upbeat, practical and easy going. He is able to tell my twins apart even though they are identical. He has been the pediatrician for all three of my girls and I couldn't imagine them seeing any other doctor. The staff here is so caring from weighing in, documentation and vaccinations. They have such a calm approach at this office. Even though you know how busy they are you never feel rushed. The office is very well kept and they have an organized atmosphere which I can appreciate. His nurse Maria is very friendly and she is great with the babies when giving the vaccinations shes so gentle. You can just tell that she cares.Overall I really can't say enough good things about Dr. Sagan and staff. They are a amazing and I always enjoy the care and attentiveness that my children receive. read more

A really-really good doctor that will do what is best for your kid. When my kid was sick and I called the clinic he personally returned my call and was very thorough in his phone assessment and directions for me. I was a bit overwhelmed and ended up calling a second time in the same day and he again called me back and helped me avoid a costly and stressful ER visit. I totally trust him as a doctor for my two boys. Also, his office runs on time and I've never sat in the waiting room more than 5 mins. read more

My wife and I just had our first child and, needless to say, we were a little lost on how to go about finding the right pediatrician. My wife read a ton of reviews and came to the conclusion that Dr. Sagan was the best choice for us based on user reviews, location, and availability. We have seen him 4 times so far and he has been great every time. He takes the time to explain things in a no-nonsense way and is great at problem-solving when an issue arises. So far I'm impressed with his knowledge base, professionalism, and candor. I will update this review as our experience with him grows. read more

Dr. Sagan was a great pediatrician. He has a no-nonsense approach and really helped us understand what to expect from our child. I highly recommend. read more

I've been going to Dr. Sagan for 7 years now. I followed him from Northwestern and have been very happy with his straightforward approach. Also appreciate his love of reptiles, it's fun to talk about. What bothers me about the practice is that they only book 2 months out. Their system does not take reservations beyond two months... so it's up to me to "call back in 1-2 weeks" once a new month opens up. It's extremely irritating to me that you cannot book 5-6 months out--- not customer friendly at all. read more

I would like to offer another point of view based on my recent experience meeting Dr. Sagan. I am in the process of interviewing Pediatricians -- I chose 4 based on yelp reviews and recommendations. Dr. Sagan was my last meet and greet. I arrived at his office a few minutes early which was a good thing, because the staff were heading home for the day. They seemed perplexed by my presence and I explained that I had an appointment with the doctor. After some looking through paperwork, they realized that I had been scheduled for a date in June which is actually my due date. The woman who scheduled my appointment must have messed something up. Anyway, they said the doctor was indeed giving a talk down the street in another building to expectant parents and I could walk over there and speak to him. That is what I decided to do even though I wasn't in need of a basic parenting class as this is my second pregnancy. I actually wanted to talk one on one with him. I sat through the first part of the talk and then he approached me to see if I had any questions during the break. One of the questions I asked him was if he had privileges at Prentice and he said no. I told the receptionist that is where I am delivering when I called to schedule the appointment. A bit annoying, but not a big deal if I really liked the doctor. I could always use one doctor in the hospital and then transfer to Dr. Sagan after being discharged. I also asked him if he was open to an alternative vaccine schedule. Before I could even clarify what I meant by that, he became very aggressive verbally. He used unprofessional comments like "those parents are selfish" and "Dr. Sears should be arrested and locked up". He also said not only will he not have the vaccine conversation with parents, but those parents are unwelcome in his practice and ignorant". He reiterated the word "selfish" many times throughout the rant. Without detailing the entire conversation, I will say this, he has extremely rigid views. He used the word "militant" when referring to his stand on vaccines. I just realize from our brief interaction that parents aren't partners in his practice. He talks at you, not with you. He never asked me why I was inquiring about an alternative schedule or any other questions for that matter. If you are looking for a Pediatrician who is willing to have a dialogue with you about your child's health and shows professionalism even if they feel strong about a subject, I suggest you look for another doctor. I am SO happy that I have decided to interview doctors personally before selecting one. The other three I interviewed had various styles, approaches and views on vaccines, etc., but they all showed respect, professionalism and asked me lots of great questions. Plus their offices didn't screw up my appointment. Good luck with your Pediatrician search! read more

I'm sure Dr. Sagan is a brilliant and knowledgeable doctor who has helped many children and families...sadly, his condescending attitude got in the way of our being able to have a good experience with him. Maybe we just caught him on a bad day, but I have never been treated so poorly by a medical professional in my entire life. My husband and I are in our 30s, responsible adults, and have educated ourselves as first time parents. Still, we have a LOT of questions - especially since I was trying to breastfeed and was having trouble with milk coming in. We took our son to Dr. Sagan when he was 5 days old. Even though I said many times that we were supplementing with formula AND working with lactation consultants, he was accusatory and implied that I was starving my child. He threatened to hospitalize our son if we didn't get his weight up. This was totally fair - I would never want my child in danger. It was the way that he delivered this information to us that was the problem. Instead of talking to us, reassuring us, making suggestions of what we should do, we were lectured, berated, and made to feel like unfit parents. At one point, I again tried to tell him we were giving our son formula and asked for a suggestion of how much I should be offering him and Dr. Sagan snapped at me to "Just answer my questions!" I left the office sobbing. It was the absolute WORST experience I have ever had with a doctor. Again, maybe he was having a bad day - but I felt the need for others in search of a doctor to know our experience. We now see another doctor in the same practice who is wonderful (the staff there is great as well) - I just won't schedule any appointments with Dr. Sagan. Keep in mind that you as a patient are a paying customer. Don't let a doctor treat you the way this man treated us! Keep searching for the right fit. read more

Dr. Sagan has a practical, evidence-based approach to children's well-being, and he communicates in a very clear and direct way, which is refreshing since there's so much uninformed and misleading information about child raising out there. We have also had good experiences with other members of the practice. read more

I very rarely write reviews but have worked with Dr Sagan with my two sons now and have had a great experience but can see how his mannerisms could be off putting for some, hence my review. He is not for everyone, in the sense that what you see is what you get, hes black and white and likes to get to the point! However, he is thorough, knowledgeable and cares about his patients. After meeting with 4-5 different lactation consultants, Dr Sagan was the one that got me through the nursing difficulties with good practical advice, helping me focus on the essentials to get through a tough time with breast feeding when all consultants told me my son had both tongue and lip tie. Dr Sagan even called my cell in the evening to check in on weight and nursing methods, sensing I was at my wits end, he also reminded me of a cream he would recommend that was a savior. If you're someone who needs your paediatrician to hold your hand and sugar coat it, than he is probably the wrong choice for you. But if you're focus is on a straight shooter who knows his stuff than I would recommend him as your paediatrician. read more

My child was a patient of Dr. Sagan's years ago during his first year of life. He came "enthusiastically recommended". It seemed like every couple of months we were there for sick visits because he never breathed through his perpetually runny nose and was up 2-3x a night at 6, 8, 10 months old. Dr. Sagan made me feel stupid for not just accepting these "non-issues". He begrudgingly tested him for allergies (nothing) and said there was nothing else to do--his message was clear: something is wrong with you, not your baby. I'm still disappointed that I was so intimidated by him that it took me 12 months to realize I could and should take my son to an ear nose & throat specialist without the good doctor's referral or even his approval. When I finally did, the ENT not only commented on the extensive tongue tie that Dr. Sagan failed to ever notice, but immediately diagnosed him with adenoid hypertrophy and severe sleep apena. Within days his adenoids were out and he FINALLY had the first restful sleep of his LIFE! Did the fact that his developing brain got ZERO deep sleep for his entire first year contribute to the learning disorders and ADHD that he now struggles with daily? Well, I can't imagine it HELPED. And it turns out that it took me 5 minutes at my local library to locate a clear, complete description of my son's constellation of symptoms pointing squarely at the diagnoses he finally got -- in a 20 year old textbook on basic pediatric medicine. I just try not to think about how Dr. Sagan failed my son or about whether we're still suffering those consequences every day. The bitterness and guilt would consume me. But ask yourself as you read these reviews: are people saying he knows how to diagnose serious problems? Or do they just enjoy their well visits, get ear infections treated and proceed to sing Dr. Sagan's praises? Because if that's all YOU ever need him for, then I enthusiastically recommend him too. read more