My experience with this medical practice was profoundly disappointing and fell substantially below the standard of professionalism, clinical judgment, and patient-centered care that any family is entitled to expect. After this experience, I have no confidence in this practice and cannot recommend it to others. The primary concern arose from the physician's interaction with my child. Throughout the appointment, I observed conduct that I considered inappropriate and inconsistent with the professional standards expected of a licensed healthcare provider. My child became visibly distressed and increasingly apprehensive during the encounter. When we communicated our intention to conclude the visit, I did not believe that our decision, concerns, or parental authority were afforded the level of respect they deserved. Every parent has the right to advocate for their child, and every healthcare professional has a corresponding obligation to respect those decisions while ensuring that patients are treated with dignity, courtesy, and professionalism. Equally concerning was the conduct of the office staff. Communication was dismissive, professionalism was lacking, and legitimate concerns were not addressed with the seriousness or respect expected in a medical environment. Rather than demonstrating empathy, accountability, and effective communication, the overall experience reflected a troubling absence of professionalism. The cumulative effect was a complete erosion of confidence in the practice's ability to provide competent and respectful patient care. Medical professionals occupy positions of significant public trust. That trust requires unwavering adherence to professional ethics, respectful communication, sound clinical judgment, and an unwavering commitment to the welfare and dignity of every patient. Those fundamental expectations were not met during our visit. A healthcare setting should foster confidence, reassurance, and respect; instead, this experience left our family with profound disappointment and serious concerns regarding the practice's standards of patient care. As a direct consequence of this experience, I will not be returning to this office under any circumstances, nor can I recommend this practice to other patients or families seeking professional medical care. I strongly encourage the practice to undertake a comprehensive review of its standards of professionalism, patient communication, and physician-patient interactions to ensure that future patients receive the level of respect, consideration, and care that should be regarded as the minimum standard within any medical practice. This experience was entirely unacceptable and has fundamentally undermined my confidence in this practice. It is my sincere hope that meaningful corrective action is taken to address these concerns and to prevent other families from encountering a similar experience. read more

I do not recommend this office. The nasty woman with the accent that "works" in billing is completely rude and unprofessional. I went to this practice after seeking out top pediatricians. I informed the team I was paying up front weeks in advance. Somehow, there was still uncertainty on the day of appointment. Each time I went to checkout, there was always confusion, and still I was sent a bill for a petty $15. My daughter was given a questionnaire at her appointment, no consent form, BTW, but I was later told that questionnaire was some sort of assessment and I was billed for it separately. I cannot respect a doctor, or a practice, that will hand a teenager a form, not obtain consent from parent to add more billable service after preparing in detail, and send you a bill after checkout, because one sheet set of questions was called "an assessment", separate from the physical. When you have labs drawn there, they charge a separate admin fee for EACH test done, in addition to the testing itself. It's practices like these, and nasty old lady billing attitudes, that erode patient trust and now I no longer trust Dr. Howard either. They are all there for $$$ not patient care or relationships. I waited for a refund that was due, which took some months. When I asked this billing person which credit card was it sent to to confirm, she says, "what, you don't know which credit card was used for your appointment?". I will never refer anyone to this practice. read more

Dr Mayol was wonderful. Wish she would not leave. Prefer her over other MDs. Staff sometimes a little rough or tired.

This has all of the components of a peds practice I need: Pros: *Convenient to home/school/daycare *Can always squeeze in a same-day appt if needed (even if with different doctor) *1/2 day Saturdays *Overall personable, smart, informed docs who listen, typically take the time you need, and get to know your kid *They call to check up with you on how your child is doing *Has AM call-in hours when you can call your doctor and actually talk to them live *Takes insurance! Cons: *Right above McDonald's so kids always want to go; also in mall with toy store. *No EMR; at least not accessible to patient/family; you still need to pay to print off camp forms read more

This is my little girl's pediatrician and I've been here a bunch of times over the last year or two -- basically, whenever it's time for a regular checkup or whenever there's a worrisome fever. Whenever I have to call Bethesda Pediatrics on a Monday morning to get her looked at, they always have a slot for me right away. They run a tight enough ship that we never have to wait for long in the sitting area. Fortunately, her health issues are such that that's most of what I need in a pediatrician right now. Yes, one of the doctors is a little cold, as mentioned in other reviews, and that doctor has made me feel like a dummy once or twice. This I can live with. More importantly, the doctors all seem on-the-ball, at least as far as this dummy can tell. If you have thin skin or otherwise discover a preference for one doctor or another, it's easy to factor that in whenever you make an appointment. Right now, the little one has a fever and I'm waiting for a call back from a nurse. If the phone doesn't ring I might revise my rating downwards, but I don't expect that to happen. Over my lifetime, I've been in plenty of doctor offices that are far less organized. read more

We have been going to this practice for over a year now and have been seen by both Dr Gatto and Dr Walters. Dr Walters is very caring and considerate. She is extremely knowledgeable and explains everything well. Bedside manner is excellent! We always look forward to visits with her and always leave feeling good about our visit. De Gatto is also amazing! He is incredibly kind and patient with us, which says a lot since we are new parents and always have a ton of questions. His bedside manner is awesome and has an overall chill, relaxed personality that really puts you at ease. He is very knowledgeable and goes out of his way to explain everything. We are so happy we found him! The front desk has always been helpful and fast. We have never waited for more than a few minutes for our appointment. We highly recommend both docs! read more

I have been coming to this practice since my daughter was born 7 years ago. Dr. Coringold who has retired was my daughter's first doctor. We had a wonderful experience with him despite it just being time for him to retire over his last year of being in practice. Then we moved over to Dr Gatto and had a wonderful experience with him as well. He had a great bedside manner and was very kind and knowledgeable. Now we see Dr. Hapip who is our absolute favorite doctor. Her bedside manner is phenomenal and she always makes my nervous daughter calm and makes her laugh to help lighten the nerves of going to the doctor and getting shots. About a year ago I had a awful experience with Dr. Deutch (not sure if that is the correct spelling) horrible bedside manner and consistent with some of the other comments came across as though she was giving me a guilt trip or trying to make me feel bad when I would ask questions. I had to call at about 12:30am once in the middle of the night when my daughter (a toddler at the time) was a very sick with an extremely high fever and as the on call doctor she made me feel as though I was over exaggerating. I ended up talking to her offline and seem to have resolved things but I will not take my daughter to her any longer. She noted that it was late at night when I called (strange response considering that she was the on-call doctor that night) I just recently had another pretty poor experience when my daughter came in for strep symptoms during walk in hours. we arrive right at 7:30 when they open and we're one of the first patients.We saw Dr Walters who I had not seen before. My daughter sat quietly on the exam table while she was triaged by the nurse who was very pleasant. when the nurse left my daughter got nervous about having the strep test so I did what Dr. Hapip typically does and handed her one of the doctors rubber gloves that were in an open box next to the kids books so that I could blow it up for her for her to squeeze and calm her nerves. Dr Walters walked in and immediately scolded my daughter for " taking" a doctor's glove and told her not to do that again. I tried to explain what we have done with Dr hapip and she proceeded to roll her eyes at me. She rushed just through the entire visit which lasted a total of about 7 minutes (besides the wait for the strep results) Her bedside manner was extremely off-putting. I told her that I brought my daughter to her primary doctor's office as opposed to urgent care so that I could ask specific questions about strep which she tested positive for. The doctors put her finger up in the air and told me to wait until she put in the prescription. Once she finished she said okay quickly. I said okay quickly what? She said quickly ask your question I have a lot of people waiting behind you. I then quickly asked her about any potential side effects of the prescribed antibiotic which my daughter has never taken before. The doctor seemed frustrated by my question and indicated that I should look for all of the normal side effects that can come from antibiotics. Overall it was such a negative experience that we are ultimately considering leaving the practice. This is very unfortunate because we truly love having Dr Hapip as my daughter's doctor. I've contacted the office manager in hopes that we can identify a way to resolve my concerns. Overall a really disappointing experience. And I have to just say that I typically don't provide reviews and understand that everybody has tough days and can completely understand being in a fast pace environment. That said this was such a negative experience and I felt compel to write a review for anyone who is considering having their child come here as a patient particularly for unscheduled walk-ins or when off hours help is needed. Follow up feedback - I ended up getting a call back from the office manager whose extremely apologetic about the experience that my daughter and I had. She discussed with Dr Walters and Dr Walters called me back right away to understand what she could have done better and apologize for the experience that we had. Being in the healthcare industry myself I completely understand what a crazy day looks like and appreciate both of them taking the time to give me a call to understand not only what my experience was but how it could be made better in the future. I really appreciated that and told her that I will look forward to our next interaction. read more

I give them overall a 3 star rating for having some good docs, and just one "bad" one (maybe not a poor doctor, but a cold/rude one). The office gets a 2 star rating though. I feel gouged on more than one occasion - to the point of ordering a history of every visit's billing to double check. OFFICE: Front office staff is friendly enough, to the point of not offending, but their back office seems totally disorganized. I just paid $50 to have my 2 daughter's med record transferred (we moved) and they left out their well child visits, in addition to most of their previous/historical records, so one child couldn't start the new school year in time. Also, double check your statements... the doc once asked me to show her how I administer the inhaler for my daughter who sometimes has asthma symptoms, to make sure it's effective (it was) ... I learned later there is a $75 fee for this "demonstration" which is B.S. in my opinion). PEDIATRICIANS: Dr. Walters & Dr. Vanessa Mayol are both very EXCELLENT and thoroughly good with the kids, as well as parents! I always trusted their advice. Always our preferred docs - we've seen them both a handful of times over the years, despite being assigned another doc as our primary pediatrician. They are warm, and patient, and smart and likable. Dr. Korengold is also good. He is an older/wiser type (probably a grandpa himself) , whose likely "seen it all" with regards to kids/illnesses. If you like a more hands-off approach (and you yourself do not stress over little things/don't worry so much in general), you'll appreciate him. We saw him 2-3x's. He did err once though and assumed, after examination, that my daughter did not have strep, only it turns out she did. I think the other docs would've assumed it was indeed strep and put her on antibiotics 3 days sooner. Dr. Carl Gatto is newer and youngish. He had a very good manner and my daughters both felt comfortable with him. He also seems good and has a great bedside manner. We saw him just once though. Last - and in my opinion- least - is Dr. Hilary Light-Deutch, our assigned primary doc. I have seen her multi times and simply do not care her style/demeanor...I end up feeling "judged" after each visit and do not find her friendly. The last time we saw her, I finally put an end to our visits with her: I sat in her exam room, not the waiting area, with 2 kids (age 3 and almost 7) in tow for over 45 min before she arrived. We read every book, used up the iPhone battery, wrote notes on the Rx pad, and played games, etc. as much as we could to pass the time. My 3 y/o would not sit still any longer though. She finally arrived and tried to calm my 3 y/o with no luck and asked me to do something more so we could proceed with my other child's check-up. She did not acknowledge her tardiness, let alone apologize for it or cut us any slack for having been patient already! What angered me most though, was when she criticized my parenting when I in turn scolded my 3 y/o for not listening to the doc and not sitting still/ behaving. Dr Light-Deutch may be a knowledgeable pediatrician, but her colleagues give off this vibe, while managing to be personable, as well as helpful with their advice. read more

My children became patients at this office because the practice is conveniently located and has great office hours. Please do make the mistake I made. The place is a factory. Dr. Walters and Dr. Deutch are particularly terrible. (Dr. Gatto is great, but he's not always available). My children ended up in the ER on TWO separate occasions in only three years because of mistakes and/or lack of thorough treatment by the physicians at Bethesda Pediatrics. read more

My three kids have been going to Dr. Walters for the past 15 years. She is kind, compassionate, and relates well to them - even as teen boys. Office staff is very pleasant and easy to deal with, the location is great, and appointments are generally on time. read more

We left this practice because they were not equipped to handle a serious illness, The doctors never seemed to talk to each other about the case so when we call during the night, we would have to explain what was going on with my son. Dr. Gato in particular was horrendous. He would never take responsibility for helping us and left my son in pain instead of helping him get into the hospital. I know of 2 other families that left this practice because he missed diagnosing strep. The difference in the quality of the doctors to where we switched to is no comparison. They were on top of the case, all the doctors familiarized themselves with the case and sent us to great specialists. I still kick myself for staying with this practice as long as I did. read more

Lets face it -- all the doctors at the practice have different personality and their own method of medicine. Just because you don't get the right "vibe" from them, doesn't mean they aren't going to give your child the full attention they deserve. The doctors really are dedicated to their patients and that is their top concern. Dr. Walters and Dr Mayol are very understanding, and great with the kids. Laid back, no fuss. They are thorough, I haven't ever heard of any issues with them and I think personality wise parents typically prefer them. If you want someone to be 100% honest, see Dr. Deutsch. If you don't want to hear that your kid is 50 lbs overweight, then don't see her! Sometimes the way she comes off doesn't appeal to parents, but she does this all for the health of the kids. She is extremely intelligent and does not mess around -- if something is wrong, she'll find it. Dr. Korengold has been there for years, nothing would probably surprise him. He is laid back, he has that grandpa type of feel to him. Dr Gatto is one of the newer ones there, and I haven't had much experience with him. He is good with the kids and it shows when he interacts with them. One especially nice thing about this office is the calling hour -- in the mornings during a certain time period you can call and talk directly to the doctors and find out if you should bring your child in that same day. read more

We've been going to this practice since my first daughter was a few days old (she's now 4+) and continued when daughter #2 was born. Over the years we've probably seen most of the doctors in the practice and all have been great, but we primarily see Dr. Walters. She is terrific! Always takes excellent care of our kids, and will answer any question we have. We have even left voicemails with questions for her and she always calls back and answers everything. As I assume with most pediatricians there are times when they are swamped, but even when we've been there during peak hours, if we have an appointment the wait is very minimal, if at all. We have called with sick kids and they generally accommodate us either that day or early the following morning. Walk in, no appointment hours on Monday morning (I think) which is also terrific. Highly recommend this practice and Dr. Walters! read more

I used to take my son to this practice and looking back I wanted to leave the first chance I could if it was not for the reason that they were close by. The doctors' bedside manner and the heavy handed ness of one nurse during a blood draw was just too much to bear. Sometimes I wondered they must be a handful of unhappy people all stuck with each other in one confined place. How awful!! The pediatricians should be by definition a patient warm doctor who should explain and collaborate with parents in the care of the young patients that come to them for their expertise. The parents also need to be respectful and understanding of the offices time . However when one Saturday I called to take my son in because he had fever and sick I was told by their doctor (I think her name was Dr Walter) that my sons sickness does not qualify as emergency so on sat he can not be seen!!! How does a Dr determine that over the phone with such callousness!!! Isn't fever sign that there's an active infection and she didn't even give me time to explain the rest of the symptoms and any other details. That was enough for me as a single parent. I took my son out to another Office who happen to be polite and caring and compassionate. read more

Overall this practice is really great. I'm surprised by some of the negative comments. We love Dr. Gatto - he has fantastic bedside manner and the kids really take to him. We also see Dr. Deutsch - while she seems to be very opinionated, we know how to "manage" her and I think she is an excellent doctor. The practice has walk-in appointments, same day appointments and even Saturday appointments - needless to say - very convenient. All three of our kids are at the practice. The reason for 4 stars is that the billing department has gotten charges wrong 2x and the receptionist has messed up 2x on appointments. I wish they would be a bit more organized. But overall I would absolutely recommend this practice! read more

We are overall happy with Bethesda Pediatrics. Having four kids and having been to several pediatric offices in the area, I can say this place is consistently good. Both of us are in the medical field and we are happy with the level of care they have provided. Yes, there is a doc who can be a bit cold, but if my child is sick and they are the doc for the sick visit I know we will receive good care. That doctor is consistently thorough, knows their stuff, and genuinely cares. That doc caught a heart murmur on a friends child that was previously overlooked. We also like the walk in sick appointments. We are happy there. read more

We have loved Bethesda Pediatrics. Our son is seen there and he has been in for both sick and well visits. We normally see Dr. Gatto, as our primary, but we have seen Dr. Korengold as well, for sick visits when we needed to come in right away. I have also been phoned back by Dr. Deutsch on an after-hours call. We actually live in D.C. but we drive to Bethesda Pediatrics because we have been so impressed with their office. All of the doctors that we have seen have been professional, caring, and supportive. This was incredibly helpful as first time parents. As our child moves into all of the developmental milestones of toddlerhood (bumps/bruises, ear infections, other illnesses, etc.), it is nice to have a team of doctors that you can ask questions of and find that they are patient and understanding. read more

We could have written this same review word for word. Same nightmare happened to us and our child almost died. We also left the practice and feel idiotic for staying with them for so long. 2/28/2011 We left this practice because they were not equipped to handle a serious illness, The doctors never seemed to talk to each other about the case so when we call during the night, we would have to explain what was going on with my son. Dr. Gato in particular was horrendous. He would never take responsibility for helping us and left my son in pain instead of helping him get into the hospital. read more

I totally agree the other people said, "The front desk staff are also condescending, does not smile and isn't very welcoming. They also seem to not be in communication with each other. So you'll find yourself repeating your situation more than you should." read more

Receptionists here are so rude. I seriously cannot believe the partners in this practice would have these individuals be the first people their patients come into contact with at their business. Feedback on a few doctors I've seen there with my two sons... 1. Gatto - only works part-time, but is great. He listens, has a great bedside manner. Prefer to see him for annual check-ups/well child visits (and sick visits when he's available). 2. Korengold - old school and cool. He doesn't over-medicate and while he's not warm and cozy per se, he has a nice bedside manner, too. 3. Deutsch - total, complete awfulness. I'm not even kidding. Horrible bedside manner. I think her middle name is Bully. Doesn't listen or care. Should not be a pediatrician. She should do colonoscopies or be a dentist or something because children are not her strong suit. If you don't do exactly what she thinks you should do, she's a...what's a non-curse word for bitch? She doesn't appreciate at all that you're the parent, and that treating your child should be, in many ways, a joint effort. A collaboration in terms of their health care. There is no conversing with her. No back and forth. There's her dictating to you, and if you're not in agreement with every syllable, she tells you to see a different doctor in the practice next time you're in (she might even tell you twice, like she did with me). Don't worry, sweetheart. My kids would have to be on their deathbeds before I'd see you again. Seriously, I'd wait until the next day for a sick visit if she was the only option. read more

Doctor Walters is probably great with peds if there isn't anything wrong with your child. Our pediatrician had retired and I took my daughter to her to help figure out why my daughter was ill. I followed her directions and came back after antibiotics didn't solve the issue. She was so unhelpful and annoyed that she didn't know what the issue was, at one point she said to my daughter, "Why don't you tell us what's going on!" My daughter said, "I don't know, I'm not a doctor." When I asked her why my daughter was still ill she said, "If I knew I'd probably be a specialist." This was not helpful. She reminded me of all of the incompetent doctors that are unhelpful in a "medical mystery" scenario. After switching doctors my daughter has finally been diagnosed correctly and treated. read more

We've been very pleased with the doctors and staff here. Appointments are easy, the doctors and nurses/aides are good with our infant, they're attentive, responsive to after-hours calls, and advice has been spot-on. We're especially happy with how they've worked to get us onto the schedule when our baby has been sick (even bringing us in by a back door when he had a rash of unknown origin - appropriately thoughtful for the other patients and families). We haven't had any serious emergencies to date, but I feel good about the likelihood that Dr. Korengold et al would be there to help as needed. For what it's worth, the office has easy parking and egress, too. (Downside - or upside, depending on how you look at it: there's a mcdonald's just below the office.) read more

Rude female doctor who did a strept test when there was no sore throat, but a tick bite and aching joints. The doctor's there are in denial that Lyme disease exists. They did not look at the tick bite or examine my baby's painful joints....These doctors are not willing to take the time to really examine the patient and think about what is making them sick. I have since found another pediatrics group who does not scoff at the parents. read more

I never write bad reviews simply because ! but I really feel obligated now to write this review because I went back to their office to pick up medical records and not that they have not improved, they are probably even worse! I was with Bethesda Pediatrics for 7 years after moving back to Potomac and every single time I took my kids, I thought I am never coming back! Couple of the doctors are ok but in general everyone is rude and obnoxious. The front desk specially is not helpful and friendly and just plain RUDE! It's almost funny that every new employee they hire is just as rude and nasty! I wonder if they advertise "Nice People don't need to apply". I stayed with them for as long as I did because it was a convenient location to work, home and school and more manageable with a very busy life but just bite the bullet and move! They are not worth it! I read more

Rude receptionist, told doctor but he didn't care. It seems like they are pushing for school forms for which they charge. Everything else is average. read more

I find Bethesda Pediatrics very response... for a large practice, they take the time with each patient, particularly with my elementary school daughter and with teenage son to explain their health and health issues to them (never talking down to them, explaining and answering questions with care), as well as to me (especially Dr. Gatto with my teenage son). read more

I had the worst experience of my life at this place. All the customer service people here are excellent except Jackie who i never saw before was covering for someone. She keep on saying that I owe $30 for my daughter missed appoitment three months ago and refuse to let my 2 weeks old son to see the doctor. I tried explaining her that her appoitment was rescheduled and see saw the doctor about a month ago. After trying to reason with her for few minute , i gave up and scheduled a appoitment at a near by pediatrician and very happy that we left this place after three years.you not only lost my family business for many years to come also, many more referrals. Word of advice- hire people who are passionate and have some emotional intellegence. read more

Excellent pediatricians and medical staff. No concern at all on this end. However, the quality of service received from the admin staff including front desk and billing has serious shortcomings Front desk personel is not very welcoming at best and back office staff are certainly not customer oriented when dealing with insurance and billing issues. read more

Both of my children have seen Dr. Light-Deutsch since they were infants. They are now teenagers. I could not ask for a better pediatrician. She may be no-nonsense but she is very knowledgeable. read more

If you only need vaccinations for your very healthy child please go here because that's all they are good at. There knowledge of anything outside of that is stone age and they are not at all willing to expand there knowledge. Gatto once hung up on me during an after office hours page on a Sunday afternoon for my child who had a red rash all over his stomach after a vaccination. Any other time I paged for illness outside of office hours he always seemed he was inconvenienced and how dare you bother him. Deutsch..... OMG. She definately makes you feel judged and is not willing to listen you or what have to say about your childs health. Honestly, I feel sorry for people who take there child here because they are not thorough in the examinations and miss things that should be caught early on. read more

I have been bringing my daughter to this practice since she was born. Since day one they have been great to us. My daughter is a healthy child but as new parents that we were we used to call these doctors all the time even during overseas trips and they always had an understanding aproach and were very helpful. My daughter has seen dr. Gatto for every check up and Dr. Karengold and Dr. Mayol and they all have been great. They nurses are wonderful and very patient. The receptionists are fine some better than others but here is when a review gets tricky. If I have to rate them on curtesy and PR manners yes, they are not the perfect people in this department but they are at least courteous and efficient and to me, that is what matters most. read more

I don't normally respond to these, but I was surprised by the negative comments. I have four children all of whom have been at Bethesda Pediatrics over the course of many years. My youngest, now eleven, has been a patient of Dr. Gatto's since birth. Dr. Gatto has always been there for us and for me, particularly, when my youngest was first born. He also has a good relationship with my other boys who are now too old to see him. I always appreciated the extra time he spent talking with them and answering questions as they went through puberty. The office's after hours service is quite reliable and in emergencies I have always experienced a quick response rate and sound advice from one of the doctors on call. I've never had any issues with any of the receptionists and have found many of the nurses particularly good with small children. They are real pros when it come to administering both shots and strep tests. I would agree that Dr. Deutsch lacks a good bedside manner but the other doctors have been good for our family for many years. read more

I have been without health insurance for a year. And now the one I have for my kids, Bethesda Ped doesn't accept it , otherwise I would come back. I took my kids to this practice for eight years. Dr. Mayol, Dr. Walters and Dr. Korengold are wonderful. Yes this practice has a lot of patients. After reading the other reviews I agree the front desk ladies are rude.I had problems with insurance cards as well. They would even get annoyed when I would call for an appointment and I was behind on my kids visits. They would make me feel like I was neglecting my kids. I would say " hey I didn't have insurance for a while i'm doing the best I can!" I originally started out with Dr. Deutsch and yes she is direct and not friendly. Very opinionated even how I dress my babies. I still used her when the other were booked . Funny she was always available. I hope the guards at the gate wont give me a hard time If I need a copy of the medical records. But yes great doctors overall. read more