Suzanne M Austin, MD

Most unprofessional, incompetent and dishonest front desk staff I have ever encountered. I scheduled an appointment weeks ago. Got a message intended for a different patient requesting to cancel an appointment for a different day. Called back to make sure they had my information captured accurately and to note that they called the wrong number. Idiots at the front desk lie and say no one called me and there’s no patient by the name I referenced. Seriously? I’ve got the recording of the call. I have since cancelled my appointment. If they’re that unprofessional at the front desk, I shudder to think what the appointment will be like.

So I cannot judge Suzanne Austin as a doctor as I never actually got to see her, but this one star review is for her receptionist. Unhelpful, rude and obviously bored… it was like she took pleasure in putting up roadblocks to stop new patients from using Dr. Austin as their primary care physician.
To be fair to the receptionist, I am sure the issue was not specifically her fault but likely due to Dr. Austin’s practice not aligning to how Anthem Blue Cross PPO works (even though she is in my network), but a little decency and politeness on the phone would have gone a long, long way.
Shame, because I’d heard good reviews about Dr. Austin. However, the thought of dealing with the receptionist and her less that desirable attitude has meant I will look elsewhere.

I should have listened to most of the Unilocal reviews… No follow up, require an appt to get prescriptions refilled and very rude, I wished michelle worked somewhere else because I would just go there. If I have to hear how she has to fight SCIPA to get paid and abour her huge house full of cats I’m going to lose it. Calling SCIPA tomorrow to file a formal complaint and calling a new doctor. This woman needs to retire and raise more cats…

Gonna keep this short, and I usually don’t write reviews because I don’t feel the need to.
Dr. Austin’s receptionist lied multiple times to me over the phone, telling me that they could take me under my insurance.
I had a deadline i had to get cleared by, and was counting on her to get it done, only to be told 2 days before that they couldn’t take me.
Further, tried to contact them one day at 2 PM on a tuesday. Was told by the receptionist from another office that they had «gone home for the day.»
What a load of BS. Don’t go to this MD. not worth dealing with.

The worst ever!!! I am always spoken to like an idiot when I call. That is of course if they are ever actually there, especially recently. They were supposed to have moved over the holidays, and no one bothered to tell me they hadn’t. Imagine, y surprise when I walked into the «new location» and there were no floors, walls or doors. just a bunch of construction guys on lunch.
Then there was the time I came in for chest pains. I didn’t know what was going on (it turned out to be severe anxiety) and dr. Austin made me feel so small. When she found out I had stopped exercising, and she decided that caused the anxiety, she asked me if I wanted «to get on the floor and start working out on the spot» because I was fidgety. She almost had me in tears. She asked me about being abused as a child (relevance? and no, I wasn’t abused) and made me feel worse than when I came in. I had a huge anxiety attack as soon as I left. During my follow up appointment a week later, first thing she says is «what do you want?» HELLO! read my file, YOU asked ME to come back in a week. Her bedside manner is terrible.
I have since started seeing the NP 9 not by choice) but at least she listens and cares. I too however, walked in for an appointment on a Friday morning where the medical biller was the only one in the office. No assistants or front desk people or doctor. he tells me maybe come back later? What kind of office does that??? It wasn’t his fault, but where are the employees?
Now that they have officially moved and are not close to my home anymore, I am considering moving somewhere more friendly and efficient.

I wish i could put zero stars. But the medical assistant was nice and empathetic to what happened today, so the star is for her.
Made appt 2 weeks ago to establish primary care. No reminder call. That’s fine. I“m on time. I showed up 15 minutes early for my 8:30am appt being a responsible new patient to fill out paperwork. The office was locked until medical assistant arrived at 8:27am. She was unaware that I had an appt. But no big deal. I started on paperwork – which took 25 minutes. Meanwhile I was told I would be seeing the nurse practitioner not Dr. Austin, as others reviewers have said. I was ok with that. I asked, since it was after 8:30, if the nurse practitioner Michelle was here. I got vague answers but I could tell no one else was in the office.
At 9:00am I was weighed in, etc. She wanted to start vitals and explained that Michelle would be there in a few minutes. I questioned if she actually knew that to be true, i.e. did you talk to her? She said no. So I said before we get my vitals –let’s have someone call her. So we waited. Then heard that it would be 5 more minutes. I reluctantly agreed to proceed.
I felt bad that the med assistant was apologizing over and over to me. It wasn’t her fault that someone was so late.
Note to Dr. Austin and Michelle: don’t put your office staff into this position of having to apologize consistently. Or having to explain your policies and procedures. why would you have them show up at 8:30am for a 8:30am appt? Let them come in and set up – I was told this was a «recent’ change in your policy.
While waiting – I learned that I would have to go to another lab downstairs for blood draw. Disappointing – I could have done that while I was waiting for the office to open!
Five minutes later – still no Michelle. I gathered my belongings and headed out, stopping to tell the assistant that not to proceed with requesting my med records from previous drs. No need I will be seeking another dr. asap.
I’m VERY disappointed – it’s not only a waste of an hour today – but waste of two weeks that I could have been seen by another dr. So disrespectful.

This story starts on AUGUST 30, 2013!!!
After 3 years of visiting Dr Austin (or more like her assistant Nettie) for my unusual high blood pressure and other ailments, I changed insurances and now have Kaiser. My new Dr. requested my records of all testing, results, and medication I was given. I called Dr. Austin’s office to request this, and the receptionists (who were their usual unfriendly and short selves) responded that my new Dr. needs to submit the request formally. When I contacted Kaiser, they said they do not request medical records formally but would provide me with the Kaiser Medical Request Form that I could fax in myself.
August 30 I filled out the request form and wrote a cover letter for them to send my medical records to my new Dr. (giving them her name, office number, Kaiser’s address, etc). I faxed it in 5 times over the course of a week, and each time the receptionst said they were not receiving my fax. So I asked my friend to send the fax from her work office. She attempted 5 times, and Dr. Austin receptionists still said they were not receiving it. I gave up, and just told my new Dr. to start new testing.
Today, NOVEMBER 7, 2013!!!
I get a call from my friend saying Dr. Austin’s office FAXED MY MEDICAL RECORDS to her work fax machine!
I AM FURIOUS!!!
When I called to ask WHY they would send this information to my friend’s fax machine when I CLEARLY requested they send it to my new Dr.‘s information, she simply stated that she sent it to the fax number that requested it. When I explained to her what happened (and had they ACTUALLY READ the request form that they insisted that I submit they would have known!), she basically responded to give her my new Dr’s fax number and she will resend it. REALLY?! Like I have that information lying around after 2 months?!? How ’bout you check the form I submitted?! Nope! She says its shredded already!
I am BEYOND ANGRY that they would be so careless with PERSONAL MEDICAL RECORDS! On top of that, the service I have received from the front desk as well as Dr. Austin has been sub par! They are dissmissive, shuffle you in and out without so much as looking you in the eye, and now have shown to be CARELESS! I would never recommend this DR/​office to anyone looking for a primary care physician!
AVOID!

Dr Austin is both my primary care doctor and nephrologist. She is extremely knowledgable and very direct regarding my condition. I see her monthly and she is on top of things every time I see her. So lucky to have found her!!! Office staff is wonderful as well. Highly recommend her and her staff for your healthcare needs!

Awesome office! Great care and I would recomend them highly!!!

Dr. Austin’s office was fairly nice, good neighborhood. I never actually got a chance to see her personally, but one of the assistant doctors saw me and was very kind and courteous. I got the medication I needed and she even stressed continuous follow up appointments so she could be supportive and keep up to date with how I was reacting to my meds. The front staff is also very kind and helpful.

If I can give a zero review, I would. I made an appointment to see Dor Suzanne Austin for a second opinion. Why I reached for my appointment, a nurse came in to get all my information and then, instead of a doctor a nurse practitioner comes in and again I am asked the same set of questions. After the checkup I asked if the doctor will be in soon and I was told that she is making her rounds in the hospital.
I WAS PISSED!!!
I was there for a second opinion and I should have been told that the doctor will not be present during my visit., and that I will be seeing a nurse practitioner.
Furthermore, ladies sitting on the front desk are rude and seriously have no sense of customer service.

Dr Austin? Where are you? It really should be Dr Nettie, her assistant, as that is the only person I’ve ever talked to in TWO YEARS of having Dr. Austin as my doctor. I’ve only stayed on as I have received good care from Nettie.
I see others have given the doc 5 stars. I would love to do this but, of course, I need to meet her first!

We went to Dr. Austin’s office first in 2008 and that whole year as new patients between both my husband and I we only saw Dr. Austin once (his first appointment). We decided to come back to her office this year because we liked Nettie the assistant, but it is still the case. Where is Dr. Austin? I am not sure why she has her physician’s assistant is doing ALL of her appointments and prescribing the medication. They should call it Nettie’s office because she is the only one who will see you.

She is listed on my health insurance provider’s network and I called to set-​up an appointment. The person who answered the phone was rude and not helpful. When I asked if she took new patients she said that they did, but then proceeded to tell me that the next available appointment was until March. When I mentioned that I needed some blood work to be done, she then said that I should go into the ER if I was sick. I never mentioned what I needed the blood work done for, and she just assumed this. Her demeanor was not welcoming and I will be looking for another doctor’s office that provides better customer service.

Dr. Austin is a wise and experienced physician. If you want a doctor that has seen it all, this is the place to go. Be prepared to discuss all of your symptoms specifically (any doctor doesn’t like vague and nebulous descriptions), and she will talk through your symptoms, determine the problem, and send you to one of the physicians in her network of specialists. She is not arrogant like many doctors today, and I found her especially professional.
By bringing in nothing but a set of lab results on my first visit, Dr. Austin immediately suspected two very rare blood disorders, and sent me to have a few tests in preparation for my visit with her specialist. The specialist confirmed her suspicions, and now I treat my conditions periodically to assure they do not interfere with my health.
If you are going in for something simple, don’t hesitate to see her physician assistants. They are a couple of very knowledgeable young women who obviously graduated at the tops of their classes. With the help of one of them, I discovered another disorder that I now treat, and which has improved my quality of life noticeably.

There is only one word to adequately describe this doctor: Useless.
I have been seeing both Austen and her assistant Netty a lot these past couple weeks, as I was recently hospitalized and needed a primary care physician I could follow up with. Austen was around but did almost nothing except a short physical examination, not answer my questions, and tell me to ask my specialist. It was her assistant Netty that followed up with me, got my records in order, even had the foresight to order up a couple of tests before I went in to the hospital which came in handy as a baseline.
So it happens that, although I had seen Austen in the hospital, this was my first actual appointment with her. She was vague, did not seem able to respond to any of my questions unless I spoke to her slowly and simply and did not even say hello when my sister and I greeted her. She has this penchant for just staring at you for a couple of seconds as if trying to put together a coherent thought just a tad slower than the rest of us. She will smile pleasantly at you and proceed to say a whole lot of things that do not matter. Every so often she will ask a question, but seems taken off guard by even the simplest inquiries you make. For example, I asked if it was normal, given that I was sick, that my lymph nodes were enlarged. It took two tries to get an answer that corresponded to the question and wasn’t some strange tangent.
Just so it is clear that this is not solely my opinion, my sister turned to me at the end of the appointment and told me that she was actually appalled at how useless the visit was, even after having seen how she was in the hospital with me. The only positive about the ordeal was that Netty, her physician’s assistant, was wonderful. If you ever visit this office, request Netty and DO NOT EVER see Mz Austen because it is a waste of money and time.
Note: Also her clothes manage to somehow be both unprofessional and ugly and she wears open-​toed shoes even in the hospital which is just downright dumb.

Came here after searching Unilocal for a doctor’s office close by home. I didn’t even get to see the doctor. They got the physician’s assistant to take a look at me instead. I’d injured my pinky playing volleyball a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted someone to check it and make sure I didn’t need a splint or something. When I called, the receptionist told me that a physician’s assistant would be available to see me, and though I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to entrust my pinky to a physician’s assistant, I agreed to it.
My appointment the next morning went fairly smoothly. The ladies at the desk were nice, and the physician’s assistant was professional and friendly as well. The clinic itself is very well-​maintained.
The physician’s assistant suggested that I get an x-​ray to confirm that there wasn’t a fracture, and that was arranged easily enough. She simply filled out a form, handed it to me, and told me to go across the street to O’Connor Hospital.

Dr. Austin is GREAT!!!
She took great care of me last year when I had bi-​lateral phenomena.
She kept me out of the hospital and away from work for two weeks.
Working double shifts on the patio in winter will kill you I tell ya!
I recommend her to anyone looking for a primary care physician.