National Spine & Pain Center

I have no idea where some of these posters went, but my experience at the clinic in Washington, D.C. off of Washington Circle was a night and day comparison.
While I didn’t find the front desk staff especially warm (they are not helped by a loud sliding glass partition that quickly clatteres back into place the second a patient turns to step away), the rest of the staff feels as welcoming as good friends or family.
The two procedures I have had performed here have been efficient and effective. Dr. Beverly Whittenberg is a wonderful physician who takes time to carefully explain the benefits and pitfalls of her prescribed treatment without ever sounding like she is talking down to you — she details everything with a warm, comforting smile.
My injury has been a long and frightening affair — I was warned early on that the mental battle is almost as challenging as the physical one. The people who have helped me heal at the National Spine & Pain Center have done an exemplary job at attending to both.
I honestly cannot thank them enough for their care and professionalism.

I had a horrible experience at the National Spine & Pain Center. They told my doctor they could prescribe a medication (that merely kills pain without getting one intoxicated) that I’ve been using successfully for years. When I got there, informed me that they in fact did not have the license for that new medication and they would give me the trans-​dermal patch for it instead. I asked for help with prior authorization and they promised to take care of it. Two weeks passed and no prior authorization. These people threw me to the wolves. I had to pay $ 300 over the counter when I was out of town to get the patch and then the patch did not work AT ALL. Apparently Dr. Gordon got the dosage wrong. So I had to interrupt another day and a half of work in New York to return to another doctor in DC (paying again out of pocket) to get the medicine I have been using successfully since 2009. These people do not care about their patients, just their money,

This is not a review of their doctors… I never even got there. This is a review of the business overall. Tried the West End office, and they couldn’t see me for 3 weeks. Back pain is super easy to live with for 3 weeks, right? So, I asked if they could check the Friendship Heights location. The girl on the phone said she couldn’t schedule anything outside of DC, so she transferred me to another number for MD. After going through another 10 minutes of hold time and a dozen questions, this girl told me she couldn’t schedule for that location, but continued to list off the 15 other locations that she could schedule for. Super helpful (that’s sarcasm). So, she said that she would transfer me to the right number for FH. After 10 minutes on hold for that one, I gave up. Both girls were rude and condescending. I will take my back problem to another physician group, I suppose.

Update: After finalizing payment on my bill, which was never fully addressed by either the DC office or their remote billing office per their promised actions, 3 months later I get the same bill and a $ 189 collections fee, despite both the DC office and billing office ASSURING me they were rescinding the collections request because it should not have gone through based on our conversations working towards a ensuring this bill was processed correctly. You should NOT have a better working relationship with a collection’s officer v. your doctor’s office. Nightmare.

Dr. Robinson got the diagnosis correct and his first few treatments were great, but I started to feel like I was in an assembly line. After the first three treatment sessions (epidurals), I had 80% pain relief. Wonderful! Then he suggested trying a different kind of injection. It didn’t work. Then another kind of injection. It also didn’t work. I felt like he had a list of injections that he just went through with each patient. I have a rather complex problem (three herniated discs, each likely causing different types of pain), so I found a more personalized experience elsewhere.
As a side note, I had far less pain with future epidurals at other locations. This may not have been his fault, as my original pain (before I saw him) was so intense that those first few epidurals might have hurt no matter who did them. Also, I saw him 2011 – 2012, so perhaps things are different now.

This place is fantastic for so many reasons. The office staff and techs are on top of every issue including the fact that they communicate the status of referrals and calling to offer an appointment when another cancels. The docs are so great that they give you the feeling that you’re talking to a good friend. There are so many options for pain management and they give all options so the patient has some control of their own pain plan. GREAT!!!

I highly recommend Dr. Robinson. After several months of PT and various otc and prescription drugs for a herniated disc, I was referred to the center for an epidual shot to shrink the disc back into place. Dr. Robinson, who is very measured and polite, explained each step of the process before doing anything. He has a super light and precise hand because I never felt a thing! After all the anxiety of getting a shot to the spine, the procedure was under 10 minutes, and at each step, he gave a heads up about what he was about to do. The woman assisting him was also excellent. While he said it would take 3+ days to kick in, I felt back to my old self the next day! I head back for the second shot in a couple of weeks.

I have some back problems. Nothing obvious, but the pain has been tremendous at times. The doctor that has been treating me here has been super super considerate, polite and professional.
Any time I mention that I have some kind of pain, he asks me questions about it, but not to the point where it’s intrusive inasmuch as that can be.
The waiting room has a TV that has always been tuned to some news channel (I think CNN) and a water cooler that has a hot and cold spigot. These guys have offices everywhere.
I’ve gotten a series of injections here (epidural nerve blocks), and the procedure has been super pain free, and worked. I would highly recommend these guys to anyone who has any type of pain or spinal problems.
Plus they always have candy at the checkout desk!