Women’s Health Consulting

THIS OFFICE HAS THE RUDEST STAFF MEMBERS I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH. I normally never write reviews, but feel the need to warn anyone considering being treated at Women’s Health Consulting.
First, I’ll start with Dr. Blumenthal who was a pleasure the first two times I went to see him (for an emergency procedure and a follow-​up appointment) but turned into a total asshole when I called after-​hours to speak with him after finding a large amount of blood in my stool (I apologize for being so graphic, but feel everyone should know exactly how this office operates).
I am 25 years old and have never had any major health issues, so I called Dr. Blumenthal immediately as I had a pap smear scheduled with him later that week and wanted to know if I he could provide me with any information as to how to deal with my current issue. I thought I could trust Dr. Blumenthal to guide me in the right direction given our positive interactions prior to.
As soon as Dr. Blumenthal took my call he had an apparent attitude, asked me did I know what time of night it was and told me he was a VAGINAL doctor and did not deal with «problems regarding the rectum». Still in shock from finding blood in my toilet, I basically begged Dr. Blumenthal for any information he could provide regarding rectal bleeding so I could figure out if I was bleeding internally, needed immediate attention, or anything else. The doctor provided me with NO information other than to go to the emergency room and contact him if I wanted to cancel my pap appointment. He asked me not to call him again with «those types of problems» and bid me goodnight. I have NEVER been treated so rudely by a doctor, or anyone for that matter, that is until I dealt with the office staff at Women’s Health Consulting.
Ironically, the next morning I received a call from Dr. Blumenthal which I did not answer as I had heard enough from him at that point. He ever so politely asked how I was doing and assured me that he would check for hemorrhoids during my pap so I should not cancel my appointment with him. How nice of him to give me a follow-​up call after being a total dick the night before.
I ended up having to go to the emergency room later that day and, though I was in pain, still managed to call Women’s Health Consulting to let them know that I was going to the ER and would need to cancel my appointment with Dr. Blumenthal which was scheduled for the next day. I ended up leaving my cancelation message with the office’s answering service who assured me they would inform the doctor and his staff.
Four days after my canceled appointment, I received a receipt for a $ 50 no-​show fee. My mother and I (charge was made to her card) called Women’s Health Consulting to discuss and ask if they ever received my message from the answering service. We spoke to Sheila first, who commented on the fact that she didn’t understand why my mother wanted to be on the phone during my calls to their office… which is absolutely none of her business… then proceeded to talk over my mother and I for the entire conversation. She told me I never received a voicemail from Dr. Blumenthal (a lie), I never called the answering service and that she needed to consult with other staff members to verify the validity of my story.
I asked Sheila to stop speaking over my mother and to allow both of us to explain the situation to her when another office staff member, Candice, jumped into the conversation and said they had heard enough and didn’t need to hear anything else from us. Both Sheila and Candice were terrible but Candice was the absolute worst. She is nasty, inconsiderate and an even bigger asshole than Dr. Blumenthal.
After Candice told us they were no longer going to listen to us, she and Sheila sat on the phone in total silence for over two minutes, did not answer our questions and refused to speak to us until we finally hung up on our own. CHILDISH AND UNPROFESSIONAL.
My mother called back again (without me) and Candice refused to let her speak to the office manager (Teresa), refused to let my mother re-​explain our situation, and refused to explain the situation back to my mother so she could make sure Candice fully understood why the $ 50 fee was unwarranted. Again, CHILDISH.
Candice and Sheila both sit at the front desk as you walk in and apparently like to «gang up» on patients after they talk shit about them around the office. During my first visit to the office nearly all of the women at the front desk were sitting around discussing patient’s PRIVATE BUSINESS while other patients were in the waiting room. I should have known from that moment that I should pursue care elsewhere, but I was dealing with an emergency at that time and needed immediate care.
The staff members and doctors at Women’s Health Consulting are rude, unprofessional, and stupid to be perfectly honest. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. Find a better office with pleasant staff members not hoodrats and asshole doctors. I beg you.

This review is long overdue. I had been seeing Dr. Rubin since 2009 and couldn’t have been happier however, it’s next to impossible to get in to see her now. That said, this review isn’t for her as she is kind, considerate, warm and knowledgable.
I finally agreed to see a new doctor in the practice who was taking patients while Dr. Rubin was out of the office. I needed a procedure done on my uterus and she was able to get me in fairly quickly, which was great. Fast forward to the middle of the very painful procedure, I asked if she had done one before and found out that I was her first. That explained a lot, however, I wish she had mentioned that before going through 3 different catheters in an effort to penetrate my cervix. The technician even had to jump in a few times to tell her what to do. After what seemed to be ages, she said that we would need to reschedule for another time. Now, I’m fine seeing a doctor who is new to a particular procedure as long as they’re supervised and upfront about their experience. The real reason I’m upset, however, is that I was told that she would be in touch with the next steps (if I needed dilation, additional medication, etc.) once she spoke to Dr. Rubin, but after two weeks of trying to reach her to reschedule, I gave up. I NEVER heard back from her. Perhaps she left the practice? Perhaps my records were lost? Perhaps she simply forgot to follow up? Regardless, I needed to find another doctor as my issue was painful and time sensitive.
I found a new doctor at another practice and scheduled the procedure the same week of my initial appointment. She was shocked to hear of my previous experience, that I wasn’t given any medication prior to the procedure and recommended not only dilation, but also that I be put under general anesthesia. I didn’t feel a thing and only had light spotting the day after the procedure. Easy as pie.
I really wish I could see Dr. Rubin again as she’s truly the best but alas, I don’t think I’ll be back to WHC.

Doctor Butler and her staff were terrible. They were the rudest people that I’ve met ever.
The doctor had no patient, seldom explained symptom and treatment in detail. When I asked some questions, she made a very sour face.
While I’m in there, I felt she and her staff (nurse) ignored me.
The staff sent me test result by email last week, but there was no comment and explanation about the result.

I was referred to the office by my internist and was kept on hold waiting for over 10 minutes when I called to make my first appointment. Then I was hung up on. Seriously? No surprise their office staff has the worst reviews I’ve ever read.
The doctors need to get together and realize there is a problem that desperately needs to be fixed if they want to continue to have a successful career. It starts from the ground up people!

This is my first Unilocal review, clearly a strong enough reaction to my service.
I have seen Dr. Kritzer twice now. She’s fantastic, very personable and makes «lady doctor» appointments much more tolerable. 5 stars for her.
The staff at this location on the other hand, are truly some of the rudest people I have ever dealt with. Not just in a doctors office, but in general. I was given incorrect information from another front desk staff member, tried calling to resolve the issue, and caught so much attitude from the front desk «manager.» Dealing with their front desk staff for brief moments that you have to is enough to make me look for a new doctors location.

I was a patient of Dr. Hite. He is great doctor: personable, knowledgable & caring.
This review is for his awful office staff, and particularly for the office manager — Theresa.
During my last visit in the spring I set in the exam room for an hour — naked — waiting for the doctor. I rushed out of the room looking for someone and I found ladies chatting in the hallway about their boyfriends, without even realizing I was waiting in the room! I could hear them the entire time, just wasn’t sure if they were customer or not. Well, doctor didn’t even know I was waiting. I went back to the front desk and told them I am leaving, and I am not paying for this visit. Later in the day I got a call from Theresa explaining that they were really busy and neglected communicating to me or to the doctor. Theresa doesn’t want to her what you have to say, she prefers to argue of how she understood the situation. As I needed to see doctor pretty urgently, they suggested I come back after hours. Dr. Hite was very apologetic, and said that they will wave all charges for my visit. Well, it didn’t happen: I had to chase Theresa down for a month before she got back to me. When she did, she disputed my refund, which then took a while to prove that I was promised a refund. In other words, I am done. I found myself a new doctor, and now it’s time to transfer my history from this place. I called three days in a row, leaving messages with answering service, with Theresa’s mailbox, and with front office mailbox. Nobody answered the phone or called back! I mean, it’s just unacceptable. Finally, at 6 pm on day 3 I got a call back from Theresa telling me that she got my messages, but I didn’t include my birthdate, which is why she couldn’t call back (I mean, phone number and name is not enough, AND I did leave by birthdate with the first message). She doesn’t care if you are a customer, she doesn’t care if you are happy or you need something, she takes it personal and starts defending herself instead of resolving the issue. I am confident that this is an awful attribute to any office manager. Customers need to be heard, at least.
Please don’t waste your time, even though Dr. Hite is a great doctor, you will suffer from absence of customer service at this place.

We have such a good relationship with the whole team and the front desk is always there for a small talk .
The team is guiding us through pregnancy, it’s not only a static doctor visit. It really feels like people care about you and they know you .
Our main obstetrician is Dr. Kritzer, she is very precise and knowledgable, so if there was something not 100% clear on our side or on the doctors side there was always taken care of .
They let you get in contact also with all the other doctors to make sure you know everyone on the big day in the hospital .
All in all its a great team, I very much recommend them especially if it is the first pregnancy !

I have been going here for 5 years and prior to this year had perfectly fine experiences. I found out i was pregnant on Oct 6 and called that following Monday to get an appointment. It took two more voicemails to get a call back. The first available appointment was over a month out and would have put me at 10 weeks, which is longer than they normally want to wait. She said they would call if there was a cancellation and I was hoping to get in earlier, but heard nothing. At the appointment we met with the doctor to go over everything in her office, then she did an exam to confirm the pregnancy. At that point she said they don’t normally do ultrasounds at 10 weeks. This was shocking to me as it was my first appointment and you’d think you would want to get a look at everything. They don’t even have their own ultrasound setup, which i’m learning might be normal in this area? They were luckily able to squeeze me in that day instead of coming back a week later (they only have ultrasound there 3 days a week).
During the ultrasound the tech didn’t really explain anything and abruptly said «I don’t like to sugar coat these things. This baby has no heartbeat and stopped growing at 6 weeks.» I don’t know about other people, but this is DEFINITELY something I would like sugar coated. Explain to me exactly what you are seeing and what we should have seen instead. She then left us in the room to get the doctor which was at least nice for us to have a moment alone.
The doctor came in and did explain this was likely nothing we did and considered a spontaneous miscarriage. The follow up from here is where I have the most frustration. I felt like little was explained to me. I took medication to complete the miscarriage and when I asked what would be the normal bleeding time the doctors words were literally «I don’t know», which wasn’t very comforting. Each time I had to come back in to see the nurse for blood work, they had no idea why i was there and I had to explain and re live it all over again. I asked questions about trying again and was given a vague answer of yes as soon as you get next period, but I had no idea what to expect from there. Since this has never happened to me, I had no idea what I should be asking and would have appreciated more detailed explanation of what to expect. She had ME call HER the Monday after I took the medication and hasn’t checked on me since. The nurse has never asked how things are progressing or if I have any questions or concerns when I go in for blood work, besides the first time and she made a comment that «the more blood the better» which i just found vulgar and offensive.
General observations:
During one of my blood work visits, I witnessed one of the nurses complaining about working there and them not giving her hours and how she was going to quit. One of my blood draws occurred two days before thanksgiving and I didn’t hear back until the following Wednesday. I understand the holiday, but Monday should have been easily doable.
My experience with my doctor has mostly been good and if she actually stayed with patients through delivery I might consider staying for future pregnancies, but that combined with how i felt throughout the miscarriage, I just don’t want to go back there.

I feel as though I have to write this review to counter the bad ones. I have had nothing but great experiences with this office. I was referred here for my first pregnancy and was nervous just about everything. The doctors and staff did everything to make me feel comfortable and answered all my questions. My primary doctor was Dr. McDonald and I can’t say enough wonderful things about her and her nurse. They always made time to chat with me and ensure that all my questions were answered. Both of them are amazing women who deal with a lot day in and day out but will always take the time to make you feel like you are their only patient. They never made me feel stupid for asking tons of questions and were always responsive when I called. I can honestly say that I enjoyed all the doctors I saw here and ultimately would have been comfortable with any of them.
I have to agree with the other reviewer, that I’m not surprised one of the reviewers was asked to leave after swearing at a nurse. I would ask someone to leave my office if I heard the same thing. If you are going to be rude to that level be prepared for the consequences… it’s a pretty basic life lesson if you ask me.
If I were you, go and make your own decision about this place.

I had the privilege of being a patient at this practice when I was pregnant for the first time. My husband and I got to meet the doctor that would be seeing me throughout the pregnancy. Upon our first ultrasound appointment we discovered that the baby’s heartbeat had stopped beating and that I had miscarried, at about 9 ½ weeks. They were very sympathetic and accommodating, giving us time to grieve the loss of our first pregnancy in the room that we were in for the ultrasound. Following the appointment, I had to schedule another one, and a few others after that, for blood tests, to make sure that my hormone levels were going down. I am a very open person, and feel much better when I can share what I am going through with others around me, and a few nurses told me they’d been through the same thing as well. After a few months, we had what again, was presumed to be a second miscarriage. So, I’d called them that morning, and though my doctor wasn’t in because he was delivering a baby, his assistant called me back immediately, and told me to come in right away for a blood test, just to see what was going on with my hormone levels, since I had only taken a positive pregnancy test the day before this all happened. One month after all of this, I received a call from my doctor (Hite), personally, who called to tell me that the numbers from my most recent blood test indicated that my hormone levels were going up, and that I might be pregnant. I needed to come in for another blood test. They kept going up, so he scheduled me an early ultrasound, and it turned out that I had conceived twins. During my pregnancy with my twins, I was well cared for by the entire staff– both the doctors, and the front desk. They made sure that at each of my appointments, I was able to meet all of of the doctors who might end up delivering my twins. Dr. Hite had unfortunately JUST retired from delivery a few weeks before my water broke, but this really wasn’t that big of a deal to me, because I’d already been able to meet each doctor, so I was comfortable with whomever would be on call the day I went into labor. They all went to school to learn how to deliver babies on a regular basis, and all of them had experience with twin pregnancies, so I didn’t see why it was necessary for me to kick and scream over my original doctor not being able to deliver the boys. I had wanted to push, but, after 15 hours of laboring, and no change, my boys were delivered in a pretty scary c-​section, by Dr. Hardesty and Dr. Rubin. My uterus was distended, and, had they not moved quickly, I may have lost my uterus, but both doctors managed to save it, and also deliver two tiny, but healthy baby boys. Dr. MacDonald performed the circumcisions a few days later, and Dr. Rubin and Hardesty both came to my room on two separate occasions to make sure my uterus was going back down to it’s normal size. My boys are now 22 months, and I still continue to go to this practice, because I have had nothing but a pleasant experience here. I had even brought them in with me, to my last appointment, so everyone could meet them.
I have friends who are doctors in this field, as well as friends who work office and desk jobs at healthcare facilities. They are legally not allowed to stick up for themselves when it comes to online reviews. I can’t imagine that a doctor chooses to become a doctor so that they can maliciously torture people for no reason. I can’t imagine that that was their ultimate goal when choosing to go to school for years and years, just so they can make others miserable. I do not think that someone with a desk job at an office, is simply sitting on their butt, purposely not calling people back, out of sheer disregard.
Women’s Health is a clinic in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Chicago, where they see a multitude of patients on a daily basis. I should know, since I went in there ALL THE TIME, b/​c I was considered high-​risk, being naturally pregnant with two babies, following two miscarriages. I watched women come and go. Some behaved like normal human beings, and others would come in acting like their hoohahs were made of gold. They weren’t treated poorly. They weren’t ignored. They were simply asked to sit and wait for their doctor.
I’m sorry, but I was raised to treat a person kindly upon greeting them, to wait patiently, and to basically not act like a b**** for no reason. It’s an effing doctor’s office. Have some respect. There could be a woman in the next room who just found out she lost another baby, or a woman who just found out she may have cancer, or another woman who just found out she may never conceive.
Let’s not take our frustrations with the expensive/​useless insurance system out on our doctors and their employees. I’ve read some of these reviews, and a woman who has the audacity to call a nurse a b**** in front of other patients and employees in an office, DESERVES to be sent home with no appointment. Cruelty won’t get you anywhere.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Rubin for almost a decade, and this review is strictly for the administrative staff and follow up, or lack thereof. I went in for an annual exam in August and have yet to hear anything back regarding my results. I have left voicemails for both the administrative asst. and office manager… still nothing.
I love Dr. Rubin, but will be seeking out a new OBGYN next time.

Ok so I like Dr. Rubin and Dr. McDonald. They’re the only 2 doctors I’ve seen at this facility, so I can’t speak to the other doctors. Both are very kind and understanding. They’re patient. Dr. Rubin sat me down in her office and asked about my history (personal and health/​medical) on my first visit, which I greatly appreciated.
Now, the front end and billing staff at this facility ABSOLUTELY SUCK!!! They can be condescending and you can literally hear the boredom dripping from their voices when they talk to you. Not an exaggeration. They charged me a copay for a consultation that my insurance told me should’ve been no charge, and upon calling the billing department, the lady I spoke with said she’d ask her manager if they could give me a refund and that she’d call me next day regarding the matter. Why would you ask to return a copay when you basically made a profit off a client after her insurance covered the entire appointment amount??? And then why would you fail to get back to your client as promised?
If I call this place one more time and get this repeated treatment, I’m out. I like the doctors, but the staff isn’t worth it for me. You are dealing with women and girls, sometimes coming in with delicate issues… the last thing they need from the front end staff is a freaking attitude. We all have to work, and we all don’t always love it, but that is NO excuse to take it out on your clients.

Edit: They cancelled my apt, because of this review. I mentioned I’d update that in my Unilocal review. She said they’d sue me for slander. I haven’t written anything that wasn’t true. I am beyond livid!
I should have known from the get go, this place had a bad office staff. I had to call twice and leave messages to even schedule an appointment. I finally get my apt scheduled, only to have it cancelled at the last minute. A doctors patient went into labor, so I understand. However, I had to deal with a Kim to reschedule. She was absolutely horrible, rude, condescending and not helpful in slightest. If she were my employee, I’d probably fire her. I finally talked to a Laurie, who was helpful and pleasant enough. I called back the next day to talk to the office manager. I once again had to call twice. She at least was nice and concerned once I finally got ahold of her. My advice, avoid this place like the plague.

Here’s the deal. I have been coming here for over a year now. I’ve never had a problem with the staff or getting a prescription. They are very busy but I expect that doctors here, at Northwestern and many other offices are not available during lunch. They always call back after hours. If you need a prescription that bad (and for women yes – it can be THAT bad) – stand there while they call it in to your pharmacy like I do. Helloooooo???
Dr. Kritzker is AMAZING. I understand front office staff can be tricky sometimes for some people, but I have personally never had an issue. I would never not see a great doctor because i may have an issue or two. I bring it up to the doctor kindly and see if it can be addressed.
I am very patient. It take a lot to push me. However, I will always speak my piece for the betterment of the establishment — in a non biased way. Some of the reviews on here are just not that.

Love the doctors, but my specific doctor’s medical assistant was rude and incompetent, which really soured my experience and I cut ties.
One time I had to make a call to the on-​call doctor on a weekend and I received a reasonably prompt return call.

I really wish I read these reviews beforehand! I had a very pleasant experience with Dr. Kritzer, she was extremely friendly and professional, but the administrative staff was very cold and inattentive. I didn’t mind that much even when my physician’s medical assistant failed to follow up with the email and phone call I was promised to schedule my next appointment, but then I went to the pharmacy a week and a half later to pick up my prescription and they had no record of my medication being called in. When I called the office to see what was going on, they were closed. I called back and left a message for the medical assistant for my doc that still hasn’t been returned. I called again and everyone is out to lunch until 2pm (seriously, who gets a two hour lunch break in downtown Chicago?). If this issue is resolved in a timely and professional manner today, I will raise my rating to two stars but this is just unacceptable as these female prescription and appointment needs are extremely important.

I’m updating this with 1 star instead of 2 because I have since had many more issues dealing with the administrative staff. I will not be going back.

After seeing the same OB/​GYN for years at another office, I finally followed my best friend’s recommendation and made an appointment with Dr. Rubin.
Dr. Rubin, you are the only OB/​GYN doctor who has thoroughly listened to my concerns. Thank you so much for spending so much time with me and taking a thorough, detailed medical history. Your deep knowledge and experienced medical advice is deeply appreciated. You are amazing!
For all of you looking for an outstanding OB/​GYN who will listen to your concerns, I highly recommend Dr. Rubin!

Great reason why I switched practices from Women’s Health: called to have my medical records transferred today, and as usual, I found them difficult to work with. They have a $ 15.75 fee for «shipping and processing» — however, there’s gray area in the law where they’re allowed to charge for photocopying and mailing, but not processing. My current doctor said that other practices usually just fax, but it isn’t offered here.
Why I switched? Over an hour wait time for a 10 minute consultation with the doctor, who always seemed to be in a rush and dismissed my issues regarding a medication she prescribed. There was an overall feeling of being dismissive in the whole office. The one plus was that it was pretty easy to get appointments.

The office staff & billing are the cause of my low rating. I usually have to wait on hold for 5+ minutes to make/​cancel appoints or to speak with someone. The office location is no longer convenient for me, so I’m transferring to a new practice and Women’s Health Consulting was going to charge me to send my medical history. I’ve lived in 4 different states and have never once encountered a doctor’s office that bills patients for medical records. Glad I decided to leave.
I will miss Dr Rubin though. I’ve seen her for over 6 years now and she has been a wonderful doctor. She’s kind, professional and friendly and I’ve received great care from her. I wish the office was at the same level.