Illinois Bone & Joint Institute

I would give 10 stars to Dr. Ludkowski if I could, and 0 stars to the way IBJI overschedules, so I knocked it down a star because I think it’s unfair to a doctor to ding them greatly when the care is of primary importance and not the wait time.
First, Dr. Ludkowski. EXCELLENT surgeon and during our consultation he spent about 20 minutes explaining my xray and surgery since all cartilage was gone and I was bone on bone in my hip. Didn’t give me the rush job at all, which I truly appreciate in today’s world of medicine. I’m only three weeks out, but feel the surgery was a success. I’ve had no problems and I’m ahead of schedule per nurses and rehab people. He does the posterior approach, minimally invasive, and my incision is a very thin pink line about 4″ long. It’s located about an inch behind the side seam of my pants. He does internal dissolving stitches and then glues the outside of the incision. A cosmetic surgeon couldn’t have done a better job. I saw him two of the three days I was in the hospital and saw his PA the third day. He cares.
Very happy with his staff from Tracy in scheduling to Jan, his nurse, to Colleen who had to jump through hoops with my insurance company to get approval before surgery, to Liz, his PA. All are professional and pleasant and do a great job.
The wait time at the four locations of IBJI I’ve been to over the years can be ridiculous, however. I get that their doctors don’t rush through and take the time to really listen, and I understand emergencies come up and they do squeeze emergencies in, but the wait time can be excessive and if that’s the norm, they should do something to remedy that. It’s not only unfair to patients, it can’t be healthy for the doctors and other staff to have such grueling schedules every day. If nothing else, they should contact patients to alert them to how far behind the doctor is so we can go at a later time. They say they’ll do that — but don’t. And while I’ve called ahead of time to ask how far behind he is, I’ve been told to come at my scheduled appointment because he’s on time, only to have to wait over an hour to see him. There has to be a better way.
To give you an example of how far behind they get… I was in the office last week for a 4:30 appointment and a man who was ahead of me by I don’t know how many people, asked the nurse how many were ahead of him. She said, «Let me see. Sixteen.» SIXTEEN people ahead of him at his scheduled time that late in the afternoon!!! HOW does that even happen? Luckily, I was only going to see the PA that day, but if the doctor spends ten minutes with each patient, with a minute in between patients, you’re looking at over 3 hours to get through all of them before they get to number 18, which may or may not have been me if I was seeing the doctor and not the PA. That’s brutal for everyone involved. Look at the reviews of all IBJ locations and you’ll see many reference rude staff. Is it any wonder? They’re probably dealing with angry patients for 75% of their day.
Having said that, the end results of the surgery are most important to me, so I highly recommend Dr. Ludkowski at IBJ.

I was referred to Dr. Hill or Dr. Donahue by a good friend but when I called to make an appointment Tracy was extremely rude. She basically has a condescending attitude and talks to you like you’re and idiot. I manage a Dental Practice and your customer service makes or breaks you. Unfortunately because of my experience with Tracy, I got off the phone with her as quickly as possible and called Lake Cook Orthopedics where I was also referred. Since I live in Arlington Heights it would have been much more convenient to see a Doctor in the area. I wasn’t surprised to look up IBJI and see another bad review because of Tracy. I am surprised she hasn’t been fired yet. I wonder if the doctors here realize how much business they are losing as a result of her bad attitude?

Actually dr Brian Donahue is outstanding! I give him 5 stars +. The issue is with Tracy and getting an appt. I was in the emergency room and called to set up a follow up with him. Tracy, the person doing the scheduling was beyond rude and showed absolutely no compassion. She should NOT be working with the public at all. People are calling when they’re injured and in pain, you can explained he’s booked, and to please send info to see if he’ll squeeze you in. There are ways you speak to people, and she had no clue.

I have been going to the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute for almost a year as i have severs knee arthritis. After trying various things I decided to get a total knee replacement with Ludkowski, Phillip F MD who did a fantastic job. Three weeks after surgery i am driving and walking really good. I plan to go back to work in one week just 4 weeks post operation. Kudos to DR Ludkowski and the rest of the staff:)

Part of the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute. They lost my 1^st appt. The 2^nd one I waited 1.25 hours. The Doctor was rushed, very short and never reviewed my records before the appt. Never suggested a follow up and returned my records saying it fouled up their system.
This was the worst experience I ever had with a doctor and the staff.