Advent Health Group

I’ve been going to Advent health group on and off for 7 years. I previously went to Dr. George and Loraine Guthrie for annual exams and on the rare times I’ve needed antibiotics or basic sick care. I’ve seen Dr. Natividad once and my experience was positive. Unfortunately Dr. George, Loraine and my favorite front desk associate Kelvin are all gone. I called the office today for an appointment and was greeted by an extremely rude «office manager» with zero customer service skills. The front office has always been disorganized and a little rude, but this encounter was unacceptable. She was trying to get me to book 2 seperate appointments instead of 1 annual check-​up. She was condesending and accused me of trying to take care of 2 issues for the price of 1 free annual exam. I explained to her that if the Dr thought I needed a follow-​up after my much overdue annual exam that I’d gladly schedule another appointment to address my issue that is not related to the physical. For some reason she kept rudely insisting that if I were to even bring up the topic of my other issue during the physical then the office office would have to bill me additional at full price. She refused to book a physical unless I came in for a regular visit first. It was the strangest conversation and what she was saying made no sense! Why can’t I just come in for a physical, mention my general health concerns (as one is supposed to do during a general physical) and THEN come in for a follow-​up if the Dr felt it was necesserary? The absurdity and profit driven nature of basic medical care has gotten out of control. I’m now in search of a new general medicine practice but unfortunately the medical offices around Arlington all seem to have terrible reviews!

I have been with Advent for 13 years. I absolutely adore Dr. Natividad. She has helped me and my husband so much. I support and back her 110%. Kelvin at the front desk has always helped me and been responsive. My husband and I saw the PA Tatijana (sp?) and she was wonderful too.
These people have been there for us. Sometimes you get back what you give in life. We all need to be kind to one another… it’s not a one-​way street. Even when you aren’t feeling well, usually people will treat you as you treat them. Rudeness recapitulates rudeness.
Dr. Natividad has been a blessing to our family, and we really love her.

4 stars only for Dr Tjajana. She’s nice .She will really listen to you to give better help. Only thing is, probably she doesn’t work everyday at the office. Little inconvenient.

We have going to see Dr natividad for over 20 some years. We have never had a problem getting an appointment of prescriptions when we needed it. Dr Natividad is the most professional Doc I have seen in a very very long time. Yes sometimes the front staff was rude, but with the changes that are going on, i think things are getting better. Now both of my sons see Dr natividad for their health needs and are very very happy. Dr Natividad is very well educated and if for some reason you need to see a specialist she sends you to the best of the best.

I’ve been going here for 10 years. And while the practice has always had its flaws, it has gotten dramatically worse over the last 12 months. When Lorraine Guthrie left, that was the beginning of the end. Apathetic staff. Unreturned phone calls. Long waits for appointments. Completely unreliable and unprofessional.
The breaking point came this week. I’ve been seeking a refill for medication for four days. My pharmacy has faxed 2 requests and I have called 3 times. No response.
Seeking a new GP immediately. You are better off taking an aspirin and firing up WEB MD than spending any time here.

I have been going here for 15 years. I primarily saw Lorraine Guthrie whom I loved. And was completely shocked when I called and they said she was no longer there — no notification to patients.
And just like the other reviewers the place has gone downhill. There have been many times that I have called in the morning to get a sick appointment and been told there is nothing available and to go to a clinic or the emergency room. So CVS Minute Clinic has been my second doctor. My husband keeps telling me to get a new doctor but I just hate change.
The staff is awful. I have battling a mysterious infection and no one called regarding my test results. I call — only to be treated very rudely by the office worker. VERY RUDELY. All I wanted to do was speak to the nurse about my results. In fact, the nurse never did return my call. In addition to that, in a recent visit, one of the techs was taking my blood pressure while another tech came into the room and I kid you not, she made fun of her patient to the other tech — in front of me!!! She tried to be coy about it but it was clear she was ridiculing her patient. Unbelievable.
In fact, just tried to call to get an appointment and all I get is an answering machine stating the office is closed — during business hours! I would never refer any of my friends to this practice. I will be sucking it up and leaving soon. I do like the doctors and the new nurse — it is a shame they can’t see or do anything about the trashy office staff.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Natividad’s since 2012, and I want to say that the practice has improved dramatically in the last year. Like other reviewers I found the office disorganized and the waits long, and I found they were terrible at getting things like test results and prescriptions sent out. I stuck with them only because I liked Dr. Natividad.
I was in this week for the first time in almost a year, and found things totally turned around. I only had to wait 5 minutes for my appointment. They’re back up to (at least) two doctors and they have a nurse practitioner (who I saw as it was a short notice sick person visit), which they never had before that I remember. I mentioned to long-​time receptionist Kelvin how well things seemed to be going, and he told me that a new management team was brought in a year ago. As far as I can see, that must be true, and what a difference it’s made. Advent is back!
I reserve one star because while they have a website with patient information in it, I think there may still be some issues with promptness when you’re not actually at the office. I have a physical scheduled in March and will update this review then.

I’ve been going to this place for years but only because it’s very convenient to my work and house. Despite being literally two minutes away from home/​work I’m seriously considering going to another practice. First of all, 9 times out of 10 I have to wait on hold just to get someone on the phone. OR if they do pick up immediately they ask you if you can hold and then they leave you there until you call back again because they’re forgotten about you. I’ve also noticed that they start answering their phones between 9 – 9:15 even though their hours are 8:30 — 5:00 and it says online that their lunch break is 12:45 — 1:45 but don’t bother calling between 12:00 — 2:00, sometimes a little after 2:00. And someone is always there, they’re just not answering the phones. I walked over to the office one day because I couldn’t get anyone on the phone and it was past their lunch break and there were there people sitting there hanging out not even eating!
Sometimes you’ll get information from one desk person and call back to confirm/​check something and you’ll be told something completely different. I’ve called them to have a prescription filled, only to get into the office to pick it up and it’s not there. It’s super inconvenient when you’re using your lunch break or have taken time off of work to get there!
I had an interaction with a very rude and argumentative front desk person (it was a lady) who seems who have forgotten that the people calling her are often sick, tired, and stressed. She was rather rude to me and at one point said, «sorry that you’re not going to hear what you want to hear». I mean, really? Grow up.
I used to see Dr. George and then Lorraine Guthrie, they were both great. I’m sure that Dr. Natividad is wonderful although I haven’t seen her personally, but aside from Calvin, the rest of the front desk staff are seriously so awful. I know, you’re probably thinking, there’s no way it could be as bad as she’s writing, well, it really is. It’s been 5+ years of having to deal with the unprofessionalism and I can’t take it anymore. Go anywhere else. This is the worst practice in Arlington.

Oh my goodness. Where to start? I will do my best to be chronological and factual:
1. Similar experience to others’ with the arguing and nastiness while booking on the phone.
2. A kind welcome to the office and the usual forms. I’m hopeful.
3. After the weigh-​in, they seemed to have no idea what I was there for. The room they expected to put me in «isn’t big enough» for my exam, back to the waiting room while they prepared a different room.
4. Into the new room. It was dirty. I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt that those dark red smears were rust with the dust and the paper pieces behind the table.
5. The last patient’s records were still readable on the screen in my room. Yikes!
6. When the phys. asst. came in, I mentioned this. She was all defensive that she didn’t leave the info up. Well, that really wasn’t the point. She leaves the room.
7. She did not have my records, just some printout that didn’t have any of the info my specialists had been sending to them. I ask about the other info, she leaves the room.
8. When I told her that I was there for annual pap, she left the room. Came back and said that they would have to have the room set up. Didn’t we just do that? Back into the waiting room for the third time I go! Now the man behind the desk is saying, «Oh YEAH, I made it HARD for the ladies in high school! Oh yeah!» Really? Dumbfounded as to how that would ever be in context while checking in a patient, female or otherwise.
9. I couldn’t discuss a health issue with the phys asst without setting up another appointment. She leaves the room for the fourth time to ask about this, and then argues that she doesn’t have enough time left to conduct the exam.
10. I had to pay $ 5 for parking after all of the insult and frustration?
Never again.

This place is CRAZZZZZZYYYYYY. They refuse to discuss MY medical results with me over the phone and think they’re going to force me to come in to have a stupid conversation about my lab results. AND they’re going to bill me for the forced visit. Well that ain’t happening, my friends. They just lost me as a patient as I am sure they have lost all the other people who have posted recently.
Dr. Annie George and Lorraine Guthrie were smart to leave when they did. This place is awful and the new owners need to recognize that they’re driving it into the ground.
Peace out, fools.

I thought I was crazy when I was dreading visiting the office after my phone conversation to set up the appointment. She was arguing with me and not helpful when setting the appoinment. I received the same treatment from the new RN and she ended up walking out on me and refusing to treat me! Luckily Dr Natividad come in to hear my concerns, listen to my needs, and assist me for the day. DO NOT go here — I’ve gone maybe 6 times over the past 3 years and agree completely downhill!

The doctors are great but something is terribly wrong with this office. How else can you explain that I have had to see three different practitioners in the past few years because they keep leaving the practice? It takes repeated calls and days to get a doctor to return a phone call regarding urgent lab results. I don’t know where the communication breakdown is, but this place is terrible.

Avoid this place like the plague. The other reviewers nailed it. The doctors are fine, but the front office staff is terrible. I’ve been going to this office for 10 years. I kept going because I liked Lorraine, but she left (and nobody bothered to tell the patients. The same thing happened years earlier when my original primary care physician left). I’ve spent many hours of my life on the phone with insurance trying to correct mistakes the office staff made. Most recently, I went in for a visit that I thought was an annual physical. Turns out they only booked me for a 15 minute follow up instead of a 30 minute physical. We argued about it (because a physical is free, it matters). Finally I gave up and agreed to just pay for the follow up visit. The office manager then tells me that during our argument, I missed my appointment, and I’d have to come back another day. Are you kidding? Awful customer service and a really incompetent office staff. Every good doctor has left this place – for a reason.

Super rude receptionist on the phone!

I’ve been a patient there for a while. Lorraine (the PA) and the new nurse practitioner are fabulous! I’ve only had one appointment with the primary physician, Dr. Natividad. She’s not as really warm/​friendly as Lorraine, but different people means different personalities. She’s still professional and knows her stuff. So I can’t complain. It’s a doctor’s office, not the social happy hour!
Other reviews complain about the front desk/​nurse staff. Honestly, the older guy Calvin, the nurse Cathy, and the female office manager have been there for a while. They are professional and really down to earth. They also try to help patients out that have chronic conditions or emergencies. The other office staff who are a younger. Sometimes they are ok. Other times they are rude or jack up anything you ask them to do. No practice is perfect, so I would definitely recommend the place to others.

The doctors I saw at this practice (Dr. Anne George and P.A. Lorraine Guthrie) were great! However the staff are extremely unprofessional, and thus this review is for you, awful front office! When you visit the office, they do not keep their private conversations private, instead they yell back and forth to one another. They have poor communication skills with patients and are hilariously rude.
A little story about one interaction I had with them: I requested my medical records be transferred to my new physician, and was told it would cost 10 cents a page. I got a call from them a few hours later telling me it would be $ 16, confused, I asked how my brief medical history at their office (I had only been in for 3 visits) could fill 160 pages. I was told that I was wrong and there is no way anyone in the office would have told me 10 cents/​page because they know better than that. I told her that wasn’t the case as I had been told otherwise that day. She just responded, «I don’t think anyone here would say that,» essentially accusing me of lying.
Also, Dr. George is no longer at that office, and they never bothered to let her patients know.

I agree with the other reviewer S.B. that the doctors are good but the staff is terrible. One time I had severe back pains and wanted to see my regular PCP who has been working with me on this matter. The staff just would not let me see the doctor since I did not have an appointment. I even went to the office and waited in line to see if there is an opening but they did not let me see her :(
I later called my doctor to complain and she had no clue I had been waiting to see her for over an hour.
What good is a doctor if the staff is horrible?

Great doctors, terrible receptionist staff. I have been going here for 6 years, and every time that I go back, I regret it every time. Dealing with the rude and obnoxious receptionist staff is not worth it. There is a gentleman that yells at people, gives customers a hard time, and is just plain out rude. I’ve complained about him to my PCP, and nothing ever happens.
The last thing that you’d want to deal with when you’re sick is a receptionist that makes you angry.