Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists

One star is for the receptionist. I’ve seen dr Collings just once a year for my annual check up. Not anymore. They asked me to reschedule my appointment on the last minute, I agree and came late for about 10 minutes. The receiptionist have said that I missed my appointment and according to their policy it costs me $ 150. I paid the fees, but changed my doctor and never came back. I am not sure if dr Collings knows how rude her receptionist was. Oh, forgot to mention that I had to wait at least 45 min every time for my scheduled appointments. When I requested to send me my file and the person asked me the reason why I was leaving, I explained why and mentioned the waiting time as well. And her reply was: «You wait because it’s you who need to see the doctor»…

I am with Kathy on this one. I have been a patient of Dr. Collings now for almost a decade and was seeing her when they were at the older location. When I moved out of state, I continued to see her and she is my cardiologist that monitors for my health actively. Given that I am on the road a lot spending time between California and other states a lot, I have never really had issues getting the care needed. I am acutely aware that availability needs to be planned and I tend to plan my visits at times when she has availability so that I can see her. Sure, there is wait from time to time but I’d still rather see a tried and tested doctor than another one who really doesn’t know my history and hasn’t gotten to know me as a patient.
The office has gotten very busy but in reality, it’s simply because she is very good and people come to seek her out. If you want a known specialist, plan to work around their schedule vs. expecting them to work around yours. though, I seem to have no trouble having them help when I need for my care.

Dr Curatola may be a competent doctor, but I have rarely seen such incompetence, disdain and rudeness in an office staff. How long would you wait on hold for the most trivial matter? 5 min? 10 min? 15 min? Try 20 min. I’ve called the office on 3 different occasions and the wait times were between 8 and 20 min each time. Ridiculous.
The last time, I tried to do them the courtesy of canceling an appointment. After waiting, waiting, waiting on hold, I learned that they had no record of the appointment I had made. For good measure, the receptionist spat out that I had missed an appointment the previous month and not notified them. Not true — I had notified them. They just never erased the appointment from their calendar.
There are plenty of other competent cardiologists. No need to put up with condescending, incompetent office help.

I am writing to commend Dr. Curatola, who is a member of this practice, and the wonderful staff who work in this practice, for their high standard of care and caring. I am both a patient and a caregiver for a very close family member who is also Dr. Curatola’s patient, so my opinions are based on how my family member and I have been treated. Dr. Curatola is extremely smart, skilled, experienced, intuitive and proactive as well as a warm and kind human being. I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone in need of a superb cardiologist. He takes the initiative and time to get to know each patient and their personality to determine the most effective ways to work with them to increase the likelihood that the required treatment plan will be successful. My family member and I have seen several other physicians who have corroborated my opinions about Dr. Curatola. While there may be times when Dr. Curatola runs behind schedule, its understandable that unexpected delays at the hospital sometimes occur. I also appreciate that he devotes the same time to other patients that he devotes to us. It’s actually comforting to see that, unlike many physicians today who are in a hurry to move on to their next patient, Dr. Curatola takes whatever time is needed to take care of all of the patient’s needs and questions. The staff has also been very responsive and takes the initiative to follow-​up as needed by calling with information and/​or questions.

Dr. Curatola needs to quit overbooking his patients. I have seen him 3 times and each time I have had more than an hour wait. He seems to engage with his laptop more than he does me. He asks questions while looking at his computer and records the answers without looking up. When he is done inputting data he is ready to leave the room. He may or may not say goodbye when he walks out.

Whiile accompaning my Aunt to an appointmen at her cardiologist, i was appalled by Dr Dominik. Curatola ranting at one of the young nurses in the practice. I really think the situation could have been handled professionally and in private. The patients shouldn’t have had to witness this young woman’s humilitation, it was extremely stressful for everyone, not what you really expecect at a cardiologist’s office. the nurse he was verbally abusive to was Jamie. My aunt and I always looked forward to seeing her. She is great with the patients and has great bed side manner, with Dr. Curatola doesn’t have. Since then Jamie has been let go big mistake she was truely an asset to this company. I wil notl be taking my aunt there again.

Go there only if you want someone careless to take care your health. My doctor referred me to them to do a calcium test. I scheduled a 2:30pm appointment with them on the day after the Labor day. I went there at 2:20pm and found out their lab was closed indeed. Besides me there was another patient waiting outside for CT test, too. I called their main office, was put on hold for a while (5 or more minutes) and asked what was happened. The receptionist told me that they called everyone on the Friday before the Labor day to cancel all the appointment. Yes, everyone except people with 2:30pm appointments! Do yourself a favor and stay away from those careless people.

Both my husband and I have been patients of Dr. Catherine Collings for more than 13 years. Dr. Collings is great. She’s compassionate, caring, taking the time to answer my questions. Do I have to wait? Yes, someitmes 10 minutes, and sometimes more than an hour. Once, after one wait of an hour and a half, I left and asked to be put on the cancellation list in additiion to booking an appointment. I accept these waits if I want to continue with these doctors. By the way, I also have the same type of waits with my Doctor of Dermatology, my primary physician, my son’s pediatrician, my OB-​GYN, as well as other types of doctors. Am I put on hold? Sure, sometimes, but then again, CVS Pharmacy puts me on hold, so does Whole Foods, Draegers, Safeway, AT & T, and many other people including doctors and banks. Over the years, I’ve figured out a way to minimize my wait with Dr. Collings. This practice deals with many patients, and they frequently themselves in situations where patients must be dealt with on an emergency basis. The day I blacked out/​fainted/​amnesia, the staff got a message to Dr. Collings who immediately told me to get to the ER. Dr. Collings saw me on a rush basis after this visit to review the situation and to make recommendations with further testing and other recommended medical appointments. Dr. Collings and the saff were very responsive. The current staff is nice to me, especially Diana, as was the staff 10 years ago. Am I empathetic with their situation? Sure, maybe that’s why things work pretty well with me. I wouldn’t change from Dr. Collings, and neither would my husband. I gave Dr. Collings a 4 when I was sorely tempted to give her a 5. In general, the doctors at this practice are experienced, recognized in their field, and deal with crises, which translates into some sort of wait. If you can get in immediately with other doctors, have no wait times on the telephone, more power to you, but they may not have the experience, the established client base and reputation that these doctors have.
Kathy, Tom
Santa Clara

I was a patient of Dr. Curatola’s for 11 years. I left. I watched a caring office deteriorate. Over the years, his support staff went from great, to barely competent.
I refuse to abandon my right to be involved in my own care. I do not appreciate Dr. Dominick Curatola ridiculing me for trying to get clarity on my condition and proposed treatments. Three visits ago, I waited for 3 hours for a scheduled appointment. I had to leave without seeing the Dr. to pickup my child from school. I was forced to wait another 6 months for another appointment.
The usual wait in his office was about 90 minutes. I have come to believe this reflects his attitude toward his patients — we’re just cattle, and lucky to be granted an audience with the Dr.
Medically, I believe his is quite competent. He did no harm, and I think I got the appropriate care. However at the end, Dr. Curatola, without informing me, refused to give cardiac clearance for a routine foot surgery, messing up long standing plans. I believe this was done out of spite. I found a new Cardiologist and easily got the clearance.

Dr. Dominick Curatola is a brilliant cardiologist with an excellent educational and training background. He is personable, funny and direct at the same time.
However, and this is a BIG however, his office is a train wreck. You are routinely forced to wait an hour or more, sometimes two, to see him even if you have an appointment. There can be twenty or more people in the lobby waiting at the same time. Getting an appointment is a bear as well. Right now he is booked six weeks out.
In addition, the office staff treats you like crap. They shuffle you around, have attitudes, do not provide clear information and pretty much suck. For example, right now I have been on hold for 20 minutes just trying to reach their main number. Twice they have picked up the line and put me back on hold right away. Normally about this time I hang up and call back. However, since I am writing this review I am curious as to how long it will take to reach someone.
This infuriates me to no end. Having to wait so long simply to reach a human is inexcusable. When you do reach someone they are unapologetic and bordering on rude. Why do we put up with this? Why is the company getting rich on our backs while treating us like cattle?
If you are patient and have the time to deal with rude over-​worked staff, then it is worth it. The Dr. himself is great. As for me, I don’t have the patience and I am trying to get my records transferred.
Wish me luck.
Oh by the way, it took them 28 minutes to pick up my call.
Update on ⁶⁄₁₆: They «lost» my fax and I am still not able to pick up my records two weeks later. Total incompetence.