NOVA Diabetes Center

I love Dr. Gandhi and his nurses. My diabetes was uncontrolled and he helped me get it in the best control in about 10 years. He is caring and spends time with you. He also has an incredible memory, which really helps from visit to visit. I go in the morning– have never had a long wait. I recommend him highly!

If you are a gestational diabeties (GD) patient, do not go here! My first visit was my last one. I had GD with my previous pregnancy and so I know what to expect as far as treatment protocol. However, I was with a different practice in a different state then. This time around with my current pregnancy, I chose the Nova Diabetes Center because it was close to my home, declining to go to the further out facility recommended by my OB-​GYN office. Come to find out later, this facility which is an extension of Nova Medical Group, has only been open for one year. And the only endocrinologist there, Dr. McMurray has been with the entire practice for three years. If I had known this before my appointment, I would have gone elsewhere.
Moving on, check in was a breeze. Vital signs were taken quickly. I waited one hour in the exam room to see the doctor. For a moment, I seriously contemplated if they had forgotten me. The place was empty when I walked in. My appointment was at 1:30 and I was taken into the back office at 1:08 pm. I opened the door to my exam room close to 2:00 pm. No one was in the hall and I could not hear any voices. The doctor walked in at 2:15 pm! Wearing a mask and white lab coat, he shook my hand and then remarked he had forgotten to stop by the front desk before he came in. So I waited another excruciating 5 – 10 minutes. When he came in, he asked, «What can I do for you?» Seriously???
After conducting a brief physical exam and typing in information on a computer while asking personal questions about my life (which I did not appreciate), he basically told me to check my sugars 4 times a day on my meter and come back for a follow up in 2 weeks. Huh? What about the importance of diet and exercise in these next two weeks? What about meeting with a registered dietician? And no mention about medication? Asking him myself, he said Metformin was the drug of choice. For pregnant women? You’ve got to be kidding. I asked if they also prescribed insulin, which I know is the drug of choice for pregnant women, he answered in the affirmative. This endocrinologist made no mention of a plan or program, no treatment protocol for GD diabetes, did not discuss anything about the condition, or what to even expect in future appointments. He did not even mention a single fact or anything about gestational diabetes. Just to check my blood sugars for 2 weeks, call the office if it was over a certain number, and come back to see him. He faxed in a prescription for needles and strips which was nice.
Oh! And even though my OB office had faxed in my previous 1 hour and 3 hour glucose tests two weeks ago, the doctor said he didn’t have it. When my vital signs were taken, I asked the medical assistant if she wanted to make a copy of them since I had them with me, she declined. The doctor ended up making copies. And at the end of the visit, he said: «You know those nurses on the first floor with the head seats? Call in next Wednesday or Thursday and give them those results.» Huh? Basically, he wanted me to call the triage nurses and tell them to type up my results from my previous 1 hour and 3 hour exams, as I read them over the phone. He had copies of both.
I was utterly disappointed and felt like I wasted $ 30 for a specialist copay. I reluctantly submitted a urine sample and blood test and left, not making a follow up visit for good reason. When I got in the car, I was in panic mode. I was due to deliver my baby in 8 weeks and was worried I was running out of time. Still parked, I called my OB-​GYN practice in my car and told them I wanted to schedule an appointment with the Endocrinology practice they had previously recommended even though it was far away. The nurse expressed concern about the lateness of my request but gave me the number I needed to call. I called and got an appointment the following week with an endocrinologist and a registered dietician on the same day. Bam! That’s how it was with my previous pregnancy.
It was a good thing my OB-​GYN doctor warned me before I went to this ‘unknown center’ to make sure the endocrinologist (Dr. McMurray) really knew how to handle GD patients because gestational diabetes is very different from regular diabetes. Ugh! I wish I cancelled my appointment then and there but I gave it the benefit of the doubt because of their location and informative website. Maybe my misinterpretation of ‘pre-​diabetes’ (listed on website as something they treat) as a form of gestational diabetes was the pitfall. That is why upon making the appointment, I even asked the receptionist if they treated gestational diabetes and insisted on more information on what to expect as far as treatment. But she was not helpful in that respect and offered me no leads and took my information down to book the appointment. Bad mistake on my part to go along with it and assume all was well.