I'm in the minority here it seems, as I visited the office for severe/cystic acne treatment rather than skin cancer or something more life-threatening. However, I do have input I'd like to share on here about this office in general as I'm pretty fed up.
There are a handful of reviews mentioning obscenely long wait times and rushed appointments. This has been 100% accurate every time I have gone in. The very first time I went to the office I waited over 1 hour after my scheduled appointment time just in the waiting room. Then a little longer sitting in a separate room. By the time the doctor got to me, he was in and out in less than 5 mins. He didn't actually give me any room to speak about why I had come in, and had clearly already decided what medication he wanted to prescribe to me (the one which would likely require the least amount of effort and time from him). He told me which medication he would send to the pharmacy, and promptly walked out of the room without even a word of confirmation from me. I was confused, and when one of the assistants came in I asked her if he had just finished with me, and told her I hadn't even gotten to talk to him about my specific concerns and didn't agree with the medication he wanted to put me on. When he came back, he seemed somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, and was doing anything to avoid addressing my concerns. I understand that severe acne is not the worst problem you could have with your skin, but I'm paying money to be seen and taken care of same as the other patients there.
Since then, I've given this dermatologist many, many chances. Truly, the ladies at the desk are very friendly and personable. It is not hard to get a hold of them on the phone during open hours and schedule appointments or have questions answered. Dr. M is not really a bad guy either, albeit a little strange. His sense of humor and "great bedside manner" is more unprofessional and off-color than anything else. It's more important to note though, that he is the only doctor there and therefore has way more patients than he can reasonably manage. This explains the long wait times, rushed appointments, and his generally disheveled and haphazard demeanor. Additionally, his availability is not great since the office is closed Saturday-Monday. Honestly it might not even be open on Fridays anymore either, which is crazy to me. Dr. M told me that he commutes every day from Scottsdale - that's also crazy. Don't trust the timeliness of a doctor that has to commute an hour and a half on route 17 every day. There was one appointment I had in the morning where he did not even show up and the office ladies couldn't get a hold of him. Me and a few other people who had appointments before me waited for nearly TWO HOURS all to have to reschedule because it wasn't certain if the doctor was even going to show up that day. Another more recent occurrence that pushed me over the edge was with lab testing. Two separate times I was told by the derm receptionist that an order would be sent for me and ready by the time I got to the lab. I showed up to the lab multiple days later on both occurrences, and after waiting a while to be seen and fasting, found that they had received nothing. Twice. And since the derm office is closed from Friday to Monday, I could not call and have an order sent immediately with stat fax while I was still at the lab. These two mishaps were just three days apart. How hard is it to get a lab order properly sent? So much of my time has been purely wasted.
Dr. M and I had reached an agreement to put me on Accutane (granted, there was a lot of hemming and hawing from him. I'd since been treated with a degree of sarcasm and complaint, and had been mildly made to feel that my case was an inconvenience to him. Me: "I just have a few questions, I hope you don't mind me asking." The response: "Well, I do mind, but you're going to ask anyway"). This medication had been offered to me before by other doctors who knew my case well, but I'd been too afraid to go on it. Accutane does have some pretty scary reviews but a lot of success stories as well. However, it requires constant monitoring by the prescriber to ensure that they are on top of your health and any side effects throughout the whole process. I wanted to stick it out with JM Derm because of the friendly staff and because I've been trying to get the extensive Accutane process started for so long, but finally decided that they are not trustworthy. I simply do not feel that my health would be in good hands if I chose to stay. Others may have different experiences, but in mine, the office as well as the only doctor is disorganized, sloppy, and unprofessional. You have to be constantly on top of everything just to make sure that they are doing their job correctly, and even then, the doctor may not even care about you depending on what your problem is. I really do not recommend. read more
