MedStar Health: Outpatient Psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

For the Early Childcare Clinic - it is impossible to get an appointment. I tried in January to no avail and then again this month. I have called multiple times and leave voicemails and no one responds. My pediatrician, also a part of Medstar/Georgetown, called to try to encourage responsiveness and still no one acknowledges it. I highly recommend the operations side of this practice go through some process review. The communications is unacceptable.

Absolutely deplorable practice. Providers here (Rao) do not respond to messages, but they sure will gas light and accuse folks with medication abuse due to needing more refills, because they won’t check messages with photo proof. The office staff are the most unpleasant people to engage with if you need something, but that’s just if they will even answer the phone.

Absolutely deplorable practice. Providers here (Rao) do not respond to messages, but they sure will gas light and accuse folks with medication abuse due to needing more refills, because they won’t check messages with photo proof. The office staff are the most unpleasant people to engage with if you need something, but that’s just if they will even answer the phone.

We have met with some good care providers but in sum, unless I press and press and press, this group is almost non- responsive which is really dangerous when dealing with mental health issues. We had a great psychiatrist, then she moved. After that, Georgetown sent us down a rabbit hole that has been truly miserable. We waited months for a new psychiatrist while it was clear that our child was struggling. Then they canceled the appointment the day before and asked us to wait another three months. After I threw a fit we got an appointment a month later but that person was going on family leave and tried to cancel again. Finally, after begging, I got through to someone. They were actually quite good but immediately transferred medication management to our pediatrician who can't make any changes and when things started getting tough again, I called. No answer. No call back. Almost completely non-responsive. Truly awful and dangerous. I highly recommend looking elsewhere for care.

It’s unfortunate that I have to give a star (should be zero stars). If you’re considering this place for your teens, I recommend avoiding their IOP program. My experience was very disappointing. Instead of addressing the real issues, they made us feel belittled. I suggest looking elsewhere, even if it means being on a waiting list.

I do not hold MGU Psychiatry in high regard. I met with my Psychiatrist for the first time several months ago, and requested that no medication recommendations be made until she knew me better and understood what side effects I wouldn't tolerate. I found it extremely hard to schedule appointments. Every request for an appointment that I submitted through the Medstar Online Portal was never responded to, and phone messages were seldom answered. The sessions we had were rushed. During today's session, I was given a medication recommendation that had hit almost every deal breaker side effect that we had previously discussed. I expressed my concern over this, and my concerns were dismissed. I'm sure the Doctor's work hard and are stretched thin, but that is a horrible attitude to take. Dismissing a clients concerns instead of working with them to find an alternate medication destroys the therapeutic alliance and ensures trust in future relationships with mental health professionals will at a minimum be diminished if not forgone. I didn't come in seeking a specific medication, but I am confident there is more than one anxiolytic medication. I don't feel good about my experience with Medstar Psychiatry, and I don't anticipate that I will bother seeking professional treatment for my anxiety again.Really bad job across the board, and I would not recommend their services. Update: I spoke with my Dr to confirm cancellation, and we had a brief conversation about it. When I explained that my concerns about side effects were dismissed and I didn't see any potential for a therapeutic alliance, the response I was given was "I am sorry you feel that way." Hey, me too. I've gotten more empathy out of change stealing vending machines. Im Autistic, and it's not hyperbole to say I emote more empathy and concern than that. Never again. I wouldn't just go out of my way to avoid this place, I would program Waze to use alternate routes when on Wisconsin Ave so you drive by it and pick up any negative energy.

I've had pretty positive experiences with MedStar offices and providers but this is, and I cannot stress it enough, an absolute dumpster fire of a department. As a potential new patient, you cannot even reach a human on the phone and must leave a message. During which time you're told you'll receive a call back "within one business day." I didn't receive a call back for a week and a half. It was at this point that I was told that I could only see a provider if I had a referral from a MedStar physician or had seen a MedStar physician within the last six months. I qualified under the latter. I was then told that at this point the only type of appointments available were mental health consultations that under no circumstances would include evaluation of current or future medications - you know, like, what psychiatry inherently is as a specialty? If I was interested in any help on medication I was curtly told I could call back in three months to discuss options then. Given their timeline, I would expect best case scenario an appointment in another two months. So, five months to see a provider for a full, medical health evaluation. Thankfully, all things being relative, I'm in a great place mentally and only had a question on a side effect of a medication I'm already prescribed. That being said, I cannot imagine going through this process/ordeal if I was under true psychological duress. This department is an absolute disgrace and MedStar Georgetown - at the beginning of an expensive and very public expansion - should be ashamed to trot this straw man of a mental health department out to the public.