I want to start by saying that I REALLY wanted to like my experience at Artemis, & am very disappointed that I my experience there has led me to seek care elsewhere & to write such a horrible, lengthy review. I am currently expecting my first baby & decided to seek care at Artemis because I have a lot of hospital anxiety & wanted to give birth at the Birth Center of NJ. Prior to my first visit at Artemis, I received a pregnancy confirmation at my PCP's office where she also ran an extensive bloodwork panel as she miscalculated my due date & wanted to ensure I did not fall behind on my bloodwork/ genetic testing. When I went to my first appointment at Artemis, I was already told by my PCP that all of my paperwork was already sent to them & therefore expected an exciting, easy first appointment... Boy was I wrong!
As first-time parents who have been trying to become parents for a while, my husband & I were VERY excited to experience our first ultrasound. The ultrasound technician was COLD & literally SILENT! Both of us held our breath throughout most of the first appointment waiting to hear the heartbeat & to get confirmation that everything was okay. Once we heard the heartbeat, my husband & I expressed some happy emotions, only for them to be diminished by the attitude of the ultrasound technician. After the ultrasound I met with a member of Artemis' in-take team & was told that I had to complete all this bloodwork & genetic testing; the exact same panel of testing I already completed & sent to them. After getting that all straightened out, or so I thought... more to come in a bit, I was told my appointment was over. I ended up getting a call from the doctor about 20 minutes later apologizing that the person told me to leave because I had an appointment scheduled with her. On the phone call, she told me my Progesterone was low and prescribed me Progesterone supplements & wanted me to come back in two weeks for a follow-up.
About a week later, I ended up calling the emergency number as I experienced some heavy bleeding late in the evening. Fearing that something was wrong, I was very emotional, but tried to remain calm on the phone. The Doctor I spoke to was very short, very soft-spoken, & it felt like she was rushing me off the phone. When I returned for my two week follow-up, I was told, again, that I needed to complete a large panel of bloodwork - the same panel that was sent by my PCP and myself. I was told in a later visit that this bloodwork was missing AGAIN - this should have been my cue to transfer right then and there.
While at Artemis I had 5 ultrasounds; out of all five of the ultrasounds, I only have ONE POSITIVE TECHNICIAN (that one being my fifth one with Anna)! The technicians were all very cold, completely silent, & somewhat rough. They seemed to be very annoyed & always vocalized their annoyance by saying that there was something wrong - such as my baby being too small or my baby was turned in a way that prevented them from getting a good image. I understand that positioning is VERY important, but it seemed like all of the ultrasound technicians, except for Anna, just gave up & made it very uncomfortable with their huffs and puffs. Anna did not let my stubborn baby stand in her way & was VERY patient when it came to getting all of the information needed to complete the second anatomy scan, & I cannot tell you how much I APPRECIATED THAT as a first time mom!
I am running out of characters & have A LOT more to say, so I'll try to wrap this up the best way I can. The wait time at Artemis is HORRIFIC! It's crazy to expect people to spend HOURS at the doctor each visit! The whole experience seems like you are visiting a walk-in medical clinic! Although you see a different provider each visit, they literally do not read your chart until you're right in front of them. My last provider struggled to answer questions I had about a questionable finding the ultrasound technician saw on my ultrasound & FAILED TO LABEL SO IT CAN BE MONITORED! I decided to transfer out because of this appointment & the fact that Artemis told me they were in network with my insurance, but my insurance company told me otherwise. When I asked for a personal copy of my records so I can use them to review claims with my insurance company, I was given the run-around. Why is it so hard to get records about my own body?! ESPECIALLY WHEN I AGREED MULTIPLE TIMES TO PAY FOR THEM! When I finally decided to transfer out, they were in such a hurry to get me transferred out that they sent my records prematurely & CANCELED my second anatomy scan (which I had reinstated) that my new OBGYN wanted done before my first visit with them. I made it very clear on my transfer paperwork & the email I sent that I was transferring AFTER my last appointment - not immediately! I didn't even get asked why I was transferring out! I guess you get the fast service you deserve when you decide to leave! read more