Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center

This is by far the best care I’ve ever received by a primary care physician. I highly recommend Dr. Monica Duvall. She is thorough, thoughtful and clearly cares for her patients. After a year of being on medication for depression and anxiety, SHE reached out to me to check in, follow up and see how my mental health was doing. Along with that, every appointment starts off with her asking me about how I’m feeling physically, emotionally and mentally. She is wonderful.
The office staff are very timely and I have never waited more than 5 minutes for my appointment to start. Having my doctor be my primary AND my gyno makes me feel like she knows everything about my health and wellbeing. I never feel rushed or anxious. The doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners take plenty of time to answer my concerns. I am also blood and needle phobic and the office accommodates my needs very helpfully. Their online portal is also wonderful — it’s a fast and easy way to ask my doctor questions, request referrals and stay up to date with my medical history and appointment reports.

I am a new patient at the Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center, and absolutely love it! The doctors, nurses, and staff are extremely friendly, professional, and caring. They take their time with patients, and it seems as though they genuinely care about their patients and their experience.

as someone who also works in medicine, i really am reluctant to leave any negative feedback about a business, even if my experience wasn’t the greatest-​however, after giving Rittenhouse several chances, I can’t help but feel like i need to publically address a few things.
when my husband placed me on his health insurance plan, my priority became addressing some gynecological issues like irregular periods, cramping, and spotting. I called Rittenhouse Women’s wellness center in center city based upon their proximity to my home and images that showed their office and clinicians in a manner that seemed professional, caring, and geared towards empowering women. my experience was the exact opposite.
I was told ahead of time that i would owe a co-​pay for most of my routine visits. Alright, fine by me. However, at my first appointment, the physician who saw me (im omitting her name to protect her integrity) ran a bunch of seemingly routine tests to attempt to rule out causes for my irregularity. I was never told (and empowerment should mean being informed of financial responsibility) that these tests were not covered under my plan and that they were using a lab that would send me a bill for $ 1500 several weeks later. When i attempted to call the lab, i was informed that rittenhouse could have used a different lab that likely would have picked up a portion of the cost. Kind of crappy of the admin team to let that go. That’s one of their job duties.
Not only was it disconcerting that all of these «necessary» tests came back normal, but after going for an ultrasound and being diagnosed with Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome, the initial physician placed me on birth control that contained estrogen. After a few weeks, my heart began palpitating, so I discontinued the medication. When speaking to the clinician on the phone about this side effect, her only feedback was «well…if your body can’t tolerate this amount of estrogen, you wouldn’t be able to tolerate a pregnancy.» Sort of a harsh blanket statement for a physician to place in a patient’s ear via telephone.
The three stars on this review are mainly for Dr. Shannis, and even with that, im being generous. She was the final OBGYN that i saw at this office, and while her feedback was great, and she steered me in a more constructive direction by recommending an IUD, my initial experiences in this place left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention, I scheduled an IUD placement and was prepared to pay out of pocket to get somevrelief, only to receive a voicemail by a receptionist hours before my appointment telling me that Dr. Shannis left early for the day and that it was my responsibility to call back and reschedule. Um, what? Then don’t have a cancellation policy where you charge patients who miss appointments. It doesn’t make sense.
I hope this office begins to project genuine concern for their patients in the future. It’s a great facility and a great concept, but i essentially ended up paying about $ 2000 and ended up with the same issues, plus a bitter reminder that people who practice medicine are content to believe in easy answers for complicated problems.

As a 45 year old, peri menopausal woman I find that my needs from a GYN are very particular. It is important to me to find a practice that meets those needs. That was the reason for my initial transition to this practice. My old one was okay, but I sensed I wasn’t getting the personalized level of care I was expecting. On paper The RWWC looked like a perfect fit. Well, on paper.
The first appointment I scheduled was a few month after I had my annual with my former gyn, I specified I had few concerns I wanted to discuss with a gyn. I was scheduled with a general practitioner. Fine. During the appointment the GP acknowledged I would benefit indeed from consulting a gyn, and I was scheduled for a week later to the specialist, Dr. Shanis.
The appointment with Dr. Shanis went well, she was attentive and knowledgable, only she didn’t find a need to conduct an exam, nor do an ultrasound, although I did request for it, after my former gyn recommended I got one. The appointment was a long conversation, ended up with a recommendation for me to get a Mirena IUD. The office told me they would need to call me to schedule, since they need to call my insurance to confirm eligibility. I waited a week until I got a call back, and was scheduled for almost 3 weeks later. (All this for getting an IUD, which I could have done on site during my last wellness appointment with my previous dr.)
When I came back for my third appointment I was first notified I had to pay a co-​pay for my
last visit, for the following reasoning: since I mentioned to the gyn I had lower back pain, this was no longer considered a gyn appointment, as lower back pain is not a gynecological concern (!) I have a great health insurance, never in all my years going to doctors have I encountered such a ludicrous excuse for unnecessary billing.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was to follow: walking in into the appointment I discovered I was scheduled with a nurse practitioner for the procedure (was never notified about that, I was stupidly assuming I was scheduling a follow up with Dr. Shanis.) She was unable to locate the strings to take out my old IUD, and therefore wanted me to come back for another appointment for (wait for it…) an ultrasound with Dr. Shanis, scheduling me for 2 weeks later. To sum up: 3 pretty useless appointment, in a course of 2 month for a routine, simple concern.
My impression is that this practice operates on shaky, somewhat shady basis. All about the money. It represents itself as a women’s wellness center, but there is only one part time gyn on staff, claiming all other practitioners are well equipped to deal with gynecological needs. Well, not so much in my case, which by no means is a complicated one.
On top of all that, the office staff is unpleasant, borderline rude. When I was waiting for my last appointment one of the receptionists sneezed so loudly I jumped in my chair. Would have never mentioned such a petty, ridiculous detail, only I feel it speaks to the overall sense of disrespect I got from the office.
I canceled my next appointment with Dr. Shanis, won’t be going back.
My journey to find a decent gynecological care in the city still continues.

Just say NO
They don’t care about you as a women or your health.
I made an appointment for 5:15 pm because I had been sick for a few days.
I told them at the time I would be coming after work from Penn at 3400 spruce street.
Where I was working till 5pm.
The receptionist said that was fine an didn’t tell me they had 7 min late policy. This would have been the time to mention that.
I left work at Penn and went strait to the cab stand. Waited my turn and got in a cab.
We went directly to the wellness center.
I arrived at 5:29 pm 14 mins late and was told I had to reschedule.
I told them his was a silly policy for a doctors office in center city because it can take 10 mins to drive around the block sometimes…
They said whatever 7 mins late is too late. Didn’t care not their problem.
Maybe if I would have been getting Botox or some crap eye would have welcomed me in.
A women wellness that pushes cosmetic instead of health…
You decide.

This review is for Dr. Rowbotham. She is truly a compassionate and caring physician and person. I really admire her willingness to help as well as her knowledge of alternative therapies. Thank you, Dr. Rowbotham.

I had my first gyno appointment at this office. After going through their website meticulously to make sure that it would be free under my insurance, as my annual gyno appointment, I came in for my appointment. The desk staff was professional and efficient, as was the nurse. I enjoyed my entire experience — something I never thought I would walk away from an obgyn appointment saying! My doctor, in particular, I found phenomenal. Dr. McGinty was personable and made me feel very comfortable. She was professional and clearly qualified. When I had some blood drawn for a test, the nurse who came in and took my blood was incredible. Albeit, it may sound odd to rave about a blood draw, but having had my blood taken previously this month by a medical professional whose only job was to take blood, the nurse who performed the blood draw at the Women’s Wellness Center was much quicker, pain free, and all-​around better! I couldn’t believe how fast she worked.
While I have seen reviews saying they had to wait on the phone when calling for an appointment, this was not my experience at all. I called and was immediately answered, and then penciled in for an evening appointment later the same week! In short, I found my experience pleasant and professional. The office is in a row home as well, which provided an aesthetic experience I much preferred to it’s more typical overly-​sterile feeling counterpart.

I started going to this center and really loved it at first. It’s in a great location, nice interior and all women.
I needed an emergency visit and they were able to schedule me the day of. I met with a nurse practitioner and expressed my anxiety about a medical problem and she ended up prescribing me the INCORRECT DOSE.
I went back the next business day for a regular appointment with my doctor. She was 20 min. Late to our appointment. When I expressed my dismay with incorrect dose, she was apologetic and prescribed me the correct dose which was 6 times as much. She told me to get an otc lotion. Turns out it’s not Otc and I need a script.
So far they have gone so so wrong on so many things. I don’t think I’ll be going back.

I have been a patient at Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness for 2.5 years and it is time to find a better healthcare provider. I am young-​ish and healthy, so my wellness needs are mostly preventative, and I have not had to deal with RWWC for any chronic health needs. I have seen the providers here only for routine physical and annual gyn checkups, and the occasional sick appointment. Recently, I have had some really poor experiences and unfortunately cannot recommend this practice to anyone.
At my last GYN annual, I learned that there had been abnormalities on my tests from the PRIOR YEAR that I was never made aware of. I had never received a phone call, or an email, and the test results were never posted to RWWC’s online portal where I access my medical information. I was shocked and I told Dr. Mazzotti that I had never received these results. Rather than explain their significance or even apologize for the oversight, she immediately became defensive. I found a new gyno that same day, who was shocked to hear that no follow-​up appointment had ever been made to deal with the consequences of these results.
I went in a month later for a sick appointment with Dr. Rowbotham. In the 5 minutes that she spent with me, she managed to be tremendously insulting and condescending. She informed me that the pain I felt was non-​existent because when she looked at the site, she could not «see» any infection. She insinuated that I was after a prescription (for antibiotics?) and reprimanded me for trying to harm myself by obtaining unnecessary medication. She left the room without resolving my concerns and did not return – a medical assistant was surprised to find me still in the exam room 10 minutes later, expecting the doctor to come back. I had to find Dr. Rowbotham to find out what my next steps should be – she then informed me that she had called in a prescription, and sent me to the wrong pharmacy to pick it up.
I like the concept of a medical practice that focuses on women, but I have noticed in the last year and a half or so that this practice is aggressively monetized, not patient-​focused, and not women-​friendly. The Center solicits patients to become «members,» for a substantial fee (not covered by insurance, of course) and touts the privileges that only «member» patients get, such as same-​day sick appointments. The practice sends me frequent «newsletters» which are actually advertisements for the services offered by their cosmetic dermatology practice. I find it demeaning that a specialization in women’s health equates with aggressive marketing for Botox, Juvederm, weight-​loss gimmicks, and chemical peels.
Finally, and this is something that has always bothered me but would be insignificant if the rest of the practice was good, there is always extremely LOUD, banal Muzak playing in the office.

I never had a bad experience with the front desk staff, however I am not satisfied with at least two doctors that served me. Dr. Rowbotham and Dr Mazzotti. I am in the process of finding a new primary doctor however I just decided to try another doctor within the center.
I was unsatisfied with both doctors. Neither seemed to care or even fake care. Dr Rowbotham was telling me all these negative things which could happen but didnt actually happen. I never felt so discouraged leaving a doctor’s office. Dr Mazzotti rushed through my exam even though I had to wait at least a half hour inside the exam room, it was ridiculous. She did apologize. After reading the other reviews I am definitely going to find a different office.
I think the best thing about them is the office hours, it is very convenient.

I guess I should I have read the reviews before I made my appointment.
Hmmm… medicine is just so bad these days, seriously. Corporate and insurance influences are awful, physician training has to try to do too many things in a short time, and yes primary care is not considered a sexy specialty anyway and is not prioritized by insurers. I get that primary care physicians have to do too much in too little time and are overworked and expected to do everything! I just want to point out some more specific things about this practice — not reflecting on these larger influences — which impacted my visit.
First the good: I got a pretty quick appointment (within a week). I was being seen for the first time but I called for something specific — to be evaluated for something specific. Seriously it was really the only reason I made the appointment!
Now, the bad… I will echo what other reviewers have said — the front desk staff is, well, not stellar… Not terrifically polite or professional. At one point I even worried about the safety of my very private health information. (btw, they have you provide info on the phone, provide it again on a long form in hand when you arrive, provide it on the ‘portal’ (worst health care portal and history taking instrument I have ever seen!), and then nobody has reviewed it when you get there).
I saw Dr. Barhemand (sp?). First thing she told me was that I should have seen one of the other providers, given that I wanted evaluation for something specific which she does not handle. So here I am after work, paying out of pocket for something which is the reason I made the appointment in the first place, and I cannot get it with this provider. Why didnt they schedule me with someone who could provide the thing that I clearly specified I was making the appointment for?
Then she did a bare-​bones history, shamed me for some (not so great) health behaviors, basically told me that they wouldn’t give me what I want because of these behaviors (not that I was going to be evaluated for what I asked anyway), made a thinly veiled comment about my weight, and then talked about herself for 10 minutes. Weird. She even asked me to guess how old she is. Seriously! Why?
Anyway, I wont be returning. I personally feel that primary care should be a safe, welcoming place, and this was not it. And now here is a place that has all my personal and health related information. It honestly makes me uncomfortable.

Matter was resolved. After a couple reviews (chuckle), I was not made to pay an additional copay.

EDIT: Though my experience below was less than stellar, I do appreciate the clinical manager’s swift and appropriate resolution.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
I have been a patient of this practice for the past 3 years. Today I had a very bad experience with the medical technician and though I think highly of Dr. Duvall, I am reluctant to return for future appointments based on my experience today.
I arrived for my 11:30 appointment at 11:25 and signed in with the front desk. At 11:55, the medical tech called me back. She could barely speak English and was not personable at all. There was a dirty speculum in the sink and medical waste from a prior patient’s appointment. When Dr. Duvall entered the room, she informed the medical tech of this and made her clean it before my appointment continued. My visit with Dr. Duvall went smoothly, but after Dr. Duvall left the room the medical tech needed to provide 2 vaccinations. The medical tech could not find a clean needle and did not communicate with me during the process. She searched all cabinets, left the room, came back in with someone else, and eventually found the supplies she needed. My right arm injection went very badly; air bubbles were injected into my muscle with the vaccination and it made a huge fart noise (for lack of a better term). She looked alarmed but did not say anything to me. She did not inform me which shot went into which arm and when I asked she said she didn’t know which vaccines she injected me with. I ran out of the appointment and called my mom (who is a nurse) and discussed the vaccination mishap. My mom said that since both vaccinations were intramuscular, I should not have major issues, but this was still an alarming experience. The medical tech’s lack of communication and skill were both very evident.

I have had several negative experiences with RWWC over the past couple of years — multiple voicemails with no return calls, incorrect prescription filling resulting in lots of back-​and-​forth w/​insurance and pharmacy before figuring out that the doctor made the mistake, office was unable to provide me with medical records from 2 yrs ago bc they lost the e-​files during a system update, receptionists who complain about patients being late (and carry on unprofessional conversations in general within earshot of patients), and so on. I took the plunge and changed to a new primary care provider just a few blocks away, and I feel SO much better in their hands. I used to recommend friends to this office, but I really can’t do that since I have had this many issues.
If you are reading this, you are probably trying to decide if this is the doctors office for you. It has a nice website, has pleasant office atmosphere, is a women’s practice, and in general seems great. Don’t fall for a nice façade when the interior is a mess. I am not sure if they are understaffed, under poor management, or what the deal is, but there seem to be a LOT of communication /​organization issues, as well as an unpleasant attitude with some of the people that work here. After reading a couple of other reviews, it seems like I am not the only one noticing this. I am not a picky person in general, but I do need to feel like a priority when it comes to my health. I appreciate that someone from their office is taking the time to read some of these reviews, comment, and (supposedly) take corrective action. Hopefully they can get more organized and professional over the next couple of years, but I personally do not have the patience to ride that out. Bottom line, find a better practice because this one needs some work — it’s just not worth the hassle.
Another completely separate concern to point out is the fact that although the office does offer routine gynecological services, none of their doctors are OB/​GYNs. I was not even aware of this until my new gynecologist at Penn Medicine asked me about my last check-​up. After googling RWWC, she stressed to me the importance of seeing an actual OB/​GYN once a year, in addition to a primary physician. I felt that this was common sense, but did not realize RWWC doesn’t have OB/​GYNs upon making an appointment for my annual last year. Just an FYI for anyone looking for a lady doctor!

I have been a patient at RWWC for almost two years now and have had a great experience with this practice. Dr. Mazzoti is by far an excellent physician who spends time talking to you, answering questions and ALWAYS responds to notes via the patient portal. I have had no trouble with prescription refills, or office visits.
I did see Dr. Robotham once and had a less than stellar experience (I just felt like I was being hurried), but even that one was ok. I got what I needed and despite feeling kind of rushed, her diagnosis was spot on and she was helpful. I have also had a visit with their new Nurse Practitioner Eterial Burrell. she’s great too!

I had my first appointment yesterday with Dr. Rowbotham and she was great. Super attentive, listening to my ramblings and concerns as well as asking pertinent questions. Since it was a full appointment with physical and I hadn’t had blood work done in a couple of years she had the tech take blood and not even 24 hrs later she called me with the results! I mean the level of service so far from this practice is amazing and a full 180 from my previous doctor & office. I also like that they are very technology forward with the patient portal and they have convenient evening and even Saturday hours so I don’t have to worry about burning all my personal or vacation time at work for routine doctor visits.

I discovered this place 2 years ago after getting so annoyed that all doctor office hours are 9 – 5 M-​F … like as if most people don’t work those exact hours. So I Googled «doctor weekend hours» and this beautiful place came up.
1. Totes thought this fancy «wellness clinic» would cost me a crazy co-​pay or something. Nope. in fact for your annual gyno, it’s FREE (thanks obamacare!). I came in for a internal medicine problem visit and it was free too! Woot! Fancy wellness clinic experience without the extra $? HYFR.
2. The docs/NP’s (holla @ Eterial) are really nice, take the necessary time to answer your questions.
3. Online portal to see lab results/​prescriptions, etc really convenient. It says you can request appointments which would be DOPE. but it never works. Just gotta bite the bullet and stay on hold for 10−20min to make an appt. via phone.
4. The weekend/​evening hours are in high demand, and you prob gotta wait a few weeks. Regular appointment avail within week.

Had my annual check ups last Monday and today. Couldn’t have been more satisfied with the service and level of care. I saw Dr. Duvall both times. She’s careful and very thorough. Her advices are great. She made me feel that I’m being understood and my issues are addressed properly. I came on time at both appointments and I was called on time. There was no unreasonable wait time at all.
Definitely recommend this office.

Where else can you get a pap and a flu shot all in one visit? The answer is no where that I know of …
Was referred here by many friends and I absolutely love the staff here. Dr Obrien is my gyn and she is always so professional and I can tell she is really concerned about her patients.
Our visits are always informative and educational.
The facilities are clean and relaxed and they offer every kind of service a woman would ever need .
It’s nice to know so many of friends trust their lady parts to Rittenhouse Women.
Would recommend this place in a heartbeat.

The office is cozy as it’s nestled in an old row home.
Perhaps due to the later appointment time– the wait was minimal; the staff are kind and warm. On my way out one of the girls at the desk gave me a Peanut Chew (I can appreciate a little treat in unexpected places… plus I don’t think this is always the case. Seriously, don’t go up in there and look for candy. I can’t be held responsible for your not getting candy. Just go to wawa.)I digress…
I saw Dr. Duvall, and she was great. A mellow disposition and great bedside manner.
Considering I think medical dr. s are a bummer, this experience was ok.
Only 4 stars because unless they’re mind blowing and change my life they’re never going to get that fifth star.