To be honest, I am still completely flabbergasted by this entire experience. Normally my fellow Yelpers are dead-on and provide excellent recommendations, but perhaps the people who rated Dr. Ira Sharlip's office were just plain lucky, because our experience did not remotely resemble the positive ones I read about while doing my research.
I was so excited when I originally located this doctor. My fellow Yelpers raved about Dr. Sharlip. I had done extensive amounts of searching in order to determine a good doctor to do my partner's procedure. My criteria were as follows: unsurpassed quality of care, a minimal waiting period following the initial consultation, and a fair price for the services performed.
QUOTED COST (what they will tell you over the phone):
When I called the office in July, prior to our making the appointment, I asked specific questions regarding pricing (out-of-pocket, without insurance), so we could prepare financially and have all of the information we needed. The woman I spoke to gave me the break-down and I wrote it down exactly so there would be no confusion: for a vasectomy procedure, the price quoted to me was $350 for the initial consultation, and $1,346 for the procedure itself (and follow-up appointment) with Dr. Sharlip, for a grand total of $1,696. While this was between 7 and 800 dollars more than what many doctors are charging for this simple out-patient procedure, I decided that in exchange for a doctor with such an apparently unparalleled reputation, with only a 72-hour waiting period between initial consultation and procedure, it was worth it.
THE FIRST APPOINTMENT SNAFU:
I had my partner call and make an appointment. He was told he was on the books for his appointment in August. He was sick on the day of his scheduled appointment, but he still drove all the way to the office because he didn't want to wait for a reschedule. Upon arrival, the staff at Dr. Sharlip's office informed him that in fact he had no appointment on the books after all, and that the doctor was not even in the office! Instead of promptly rectifying the situation by moving things around to get him in right away, he had to wait another FOUR WEEKS to get an initial consultation in September.
QUOTED COST SNAFU (what they will hit you with later, in person):
When he finally got in for his initial consultation in September, my partner was informed that the cost of the procedure was NOT AS QUOTED. That is to say, not only was he told by the staff that the total for the consultation, procedure, and follow-up NOT be $1,696 (as I was informed), but he received the astonishing news that the procedure would be MORE THAN DOUBLE the initially quoted price, due to fees associated with a separate clinic that the staff entirely failed to mention when I was originally given all of the details. To go from a price of $1,696 to between 4 and 5 thousand dollars, without any warning whatsoever, not to mention the exceptionally poor staff support, is absolutely outrageous.
CONCLUSIONS:
1) This doctor employs administrative staff who do not support him.
2) Based upon our experience, it should not surprise you if your appointment mysteriously gets lost and not recorded on the books.
3) This office misrepresents to it's prospective patients, and the cost you can expect to pay for your procedure may be DOUBLE that which was quoted to you.
4) Dr. Sharlip may well be one of the best urologists around, but don't waste your time or your hard-earned money, and save yourself the stress and frustration which will undoubtedly correspond with your experience if you choose this doctor with which to intrust your care.
5) If you want to be respected as a patient and a client, and appreciate an approach where you and your pocketbook know what to expect, I encourage you to consider taking your business elsewhere. read more
