The Neurology Center

I can’t find enough good things to say about neurologist Dr. Phil Pulaski. I first saw him 15 years ago when I was having two severe post-​operative problems: Sciatic nerve pain so bad I was seriously considering having my foot amputated, and burning-​feeling flushing that made it nearly impossible to work or sleep. Consultations with various neurologists and other specialists had failed, producing only minor improvements but major bad side-​effects. He quickly diagnosed the problems and gave me a single prescription that to my amazement cured both of them. Subsequently I have seen him as needed and he has always been sharply focused, pleasant, and above all effective. I recommend him with enthusiasm and without reservation.
Full disclosure The Neurology Center staff totally screwed up my first appointment, canceling it in error and without notifying me. But I insisted on seeing Dr. Pulaski anyway, and he cooperated and straightened the mess out.

I went between giving the K Street location a one or two stars. I’ll give it one. I saw Dr. Herzfeld. She was fine. But be warned she is not a warm and fuzzy type of physician. My care was fine. I got in with her within a week or two. All fine. I see her and she orders an EMG and an MRI. As i check out, they tell me I can have the EMG done right then. Fine. I thought the two gentlemen who performed the EMG were good especially the first guy whose name I can’t remember. Seemed competent and friendly. I then checked out and tried to make a follow up appointment w/​Dr. H. I was told the first appointment would be one month from that day. Yes, one month. Ridiculous. I asked to be put on a waiting list. I was told that i was put on a waiting list. I had the MRI the next day. I kept calling the practice to see if there were any cancellations. It was near impossible to get through. The wait time was insane. I contacted an administrator. He had a woman called me. She stated that this didn’t seem right and that there had been plenty of cancellations. She said i should have asked to be put on the waiting list. I told her that I had and assumed I was on such list. I found the office staff in person to be ok. Some are friendlier than others but no major complaints. i have not yet received a bill. Sounds like atleast one reviewer had issues with billing. I think it is very difficult to get in to see neurologists in town. And many end up coming to the neurology center as it easier to get in. When making an initial appointment, I’d find out first when you can get in for a follow up. I give this business one star because of having to wait for one month for a follow up appointment.

This is a late review, but still makes me angry. I had an appointment in 2013 since I was having atypical headaches that were not like my classic migraines. I queried some work colleagues and a physician highly recommended a neurologist here. When I was finally seen, I was shocked when I was told that it sounded like I was shopping around for a head scan. Inside, I was like WTF?!! This was the first neurologist I was seeing about these atypical headaches and I have no idea what impression I must have given for this. I found this statement to be highly unprofessional and never went back and would not recommend.

My doctor referred me here; I saw them winning awards for best in DC in a bunch of magazines and stuff, so I thought this had to work, right?
Met with Dr. Herzfeld, which was a nightmare — she’s pretty cold and has the bedside manner of a brick wall. Then, thinking maybe she was the problem, I met with Dr. Pulaski. Nice man, but his friendly attitude was the only change; the service was still abysmal. He helped none, he avoided emails saying «they were lost in a box or something», and when I did get a response he never answered my question, just lectured me that «things might never get better».
Great. Rockne like pep talk there.
Perhaps Dr. Herzfeld is a brilliant doctor, but she could really work on her human touch. Initially she asked for two MRIs and an EMG. At the time, my insurance wasn’t great and my bill would’ve been close to $ 1,000. When I told her this, her response was simply «Well, there’s not a whole lot I can do for you, then».
Lovely. Thanks for the empathy.
When I got a new job, new insurance and a lower bill, I had all three tests done. Despite my pain, the tests were inconclusive. So she told me, again, «There’s not a whole lot I can do.»
With dr Pulaski, I’d be in his office and he’d suggest one solution, then when I emailed a few days later, he’d backtrack; a lot of «I never said that; you must be mistaken».
Emails took weeks to be answered, or never were, and even on the occasion I got a reply it wouldn’t answer my question.
Finally, I had to give up on the Neurology Center. I got two more opinions and, not shockingly, both were stunned that Dr. Herzfeld and Dr. Pulaski didn’t do more to help my symptoms. I’m currently wearing a splint, have a new physical therapy regiment, and feel some better. If nothing else, I feel better about my doctors.
Life’s too short to worry about whether your doctor sees you as a patient or just a paycheck who’s nagging about their condition.

Unfortunately, I don’t see an option for rating individual neurologists there so to be clear — my 5 stars are for Dr Pulaski only as Herzfeld is a minus 5 star.
Dr Pulaski has been my neurologist for almost a year now. He typically sees me within 10 – 15 minutes of my appointment time and front desk staff have been mostly very friendly and effective. Pulaski spends plenty of time with me each visit, I have never felt like I am being rushed. He has explained everything to me at each point of my fairly complex neuro issues. I’m included in deciding what to do next after he gives me the alternatives with pros and cons for each. My primary care doc gets a thorough report after each visit which helps him manage my other medical specialists for unrelated problems. With many medical issues, I have seen too many docs in the past few years and Dr Pulaski has been one of the best.
With that said, I did have one procedure in their office and the ability for the doc (can’t recall his name but not Pulaski) to communicate with other people does not exist. Granted, there is nothing fun about an EMG /​NCS but this guy made a physically miserable procedure an overall nightmare. Wasn’t my first, so I have a few reference points to compare.
Finally, Dr Herzfeld whom I saw a couple years prior to Pulaski when my issues were just starting — I don’t know why she is in this line of work as she was the biggest waste of time ever. She has no outward signs of emotions or empathy whatsoever. But OK, if she were at all competent that might be overlooked but she isn’t. With multiple neurological issues — this woman basically said that there is no major neurological issues she thought needed to be addressed. Later, I was diagnosed with multiple fairly major neuro issues — thanks to my primary care physician for continuing to find the right folks for me. Interesting enough, my wife had seen her in the previous year (we didn’t connect the name before I went) and my wife had almost the exact same experience! I don’t know if Herzfeld specializes in one neurological issue and tells everyone else to go away unless it is the one thing she knows how to treat? Bizarre, but she needs a new career…

I was suffering profound short term memory issues, motor function issues and muscle ticks. I thought I was suffering from a major neurological disorder. I had a series of tests, including one that I had to schedule months in advanced that was basically a nonsubstantive interview that left me wondering what the doctor performing the interview went to school for. After the back and forth and lack of answers, I learned independently that I was suffering from a gross Vitamin B deficiency. They never asked about my diet. At the time I went to see them, I was a strict vegan. The Vitamin B cured the tremors and improved my memory and motor function greatly.

I had a few visits here. At first I thought the neurologist was okay, though she didn’t spend a ton of time with me. She didn’t seem particularly warm or interested, but I chalked it up to the fact that she sees tons of patients with much more severe problems. I was dealing with a lot of issues related to my condition, which for an otherwise healthy 20-​something year old was new and pretty scary. I felt the neurologist’s bedside manner could have been more reassuring. I thought the staff was sometimes unprofessional and uncaring but functional.
The reason I gave the practice 1 star (0 stars if I could) is the neurologist referred me to another provider in her practice for testing. That provider ended up not being in-​network so I had to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for those tests. I find it somewhat bogus that two providers in the same practice do not accept the same insurance (maybe this is not uncommon but I have never encountered this before or since), but I just felt the office could have better handled this issue and been more transparent about it. In fact my primary care provider who referred me to the neurologist made sure he was referring me to someone in-​network, so it just takes a little more effort.
Also the tests turned out to be pretty useless and this other provider was very dismissive about my condition, which made the whole situation worse. It was a horrible time for me and I really wasn’t in a state to navigate such billing complications. I hope other patients are not struggling through the same issues. I recommend looking elsewhere.

My ENT referred me to Phil Pulaski as he has been unable to figure out my chronic ear pain. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about seeing him due to 1) the negative reviews and 2) being a migraine specialist, he would push that diagnosis on me. Also, I had seen a previous neurologist at Georgetown who said nothing was wrong neurologically and sent me to a headache specialist who didn’t listen to me, pushed certain symptoms/​diagnoses (tension headaches, tmj) and wasn’t responsive when I had negative side effects to the medication (Topamax) she prescribed. I was not too happy about having to see another neurologist, but my recent appointment was better than I expected. Phil agreed that my symptoms are not neurological, did not have migraines and disagreed with the headache specialist that I had tension headaches. He gave me a list of medications to ask my psychiatrist about and said I could get an MRI of my head and neck done (as the MRI I had in October was just on the temporal bone), but did not feel that more tests were necessary. I really appreciated his not pushing tests, diagnoses, or medications.
Fortunately, I do not need to see him anytime soon – which I mean in a good way – but if I have any neurological symptoms, I would definitely see him/​his Neurology Center colleagues over the docs at Georgetown. The staff I interacted with were friendly and professional so I guess they’ve changed their staff over the last few years. The main downside for me was that I had to wait 3 weeks for an appointment. Wait time was 15 – 20 mins. I’m pleasantly surprised that my experience was not like the negative reviews I’ve read here and on Vitals. :)

Dr. Herzfeld at the Neurology Center is one of the best doctors I have ever worked with. I was very anxious and did not have a clue what could be wrong with me when I first went to see her. She is extremely thorough, patient and kind. She took time to answer all of my questions carefully. I would absolutely recommend her to my family and friends.

My experience with the Neurology Center (K St location) has been very mixed. As patients being treated at specialized care centers, we are beholden to practices that have a good relationship with insurers. That’s one positive aspect of the Neurology Center — and the only thing keeping me from finding a new neurologist.
My main problem has been that the Neurology Center simply does not notify people of their tests results. When you are able to get results, it usually takes several more weeks for a follow up with Dr. Herzfeld.
I brought the issue up with Dr Herzfeld and she seemed genuinely apologetic, but I fear that the fundamental issues with her practice are now outside her personal control. I think she may have too many patients, or a poor front office staff, but I am unsure.
And, not for nothing, my issue has still not been treated or even diagnosed.

It seems painfully common that patients get horrible service from the Neurology Center.
I was referred here by my primary care physician. The initial appointment was fine. Reception seemed a little unprofessional (threw forms at me without greeting, extremely loud personal conversations from staff heard throughout the waiting room), but whatever. The actual doctor I saw was polite and seemed knowledgeable.
I then had to schedule a follow-​up months in advance, which they never called to remind me about. I remembered on my own, and had to reschedule due to work obligations that had arisen in the meanwhile. First, they give me serious attitude on the phone and implied that I’m irresponsible and a delinquent and can’t follow the rules. And then they tell me I can’t get another appointment in less than two and a half months. I ask if I can get an appointment directly with the sleep specialist that performed my sleep study instead of hearing it from the referring neurologist, and they say no, because they don’t «rotate» patients. Um, if I’m not the sleep doctor’s patient, what does he do? I’m adamant that all I want to hear is test results (because really, I know they are just bringing me in so they can charge my insurance hundreds of dollars for an office visit for 10 minutes worth of conversation), and they consider allowing me to leave a message for my neurologist.
This is absurd. For a large network of doctors, they have no patient-​centered practices at ALL. No email, no voicemail, no online portal, short office hours, inconsistent appointment reminders, and jam-​packed schedule with no consideration at all for people who have jobs or family obligations, or worse, perhaps even immobilizing conditions that is what they are trying to get help for in the first place. Even my dentist knows to leave a little bit of wiggle room in his schedule, that’s just optimal scheduling! These are ALL considerations I’ve had with other doctors, especially decent sized medical groups like this.
I’m going to ask my primary care physician to request the test results so I never have to deal with these people again.

If you have migraines, please don’t see Dr. Pulaski. Everyone at the office was super nice, don’t get me wrong– but at the end of the day I left Dr. Pulaski’s office a million times worse off than I entered it. He put me on some very serious treatments with no advance warning of brutal and dangerous side effects. On top of that– he refused to help with very basic paperwork needed for my insurance company because it would «take too long and never be accepted» that later took another doctor less than 10 minutes and went through without a hitch. He had no conception of how lifestyle might play into migraines and was singularly focused on drugs above all else. He had difficulty viewing illness outside the context of his office– as in he couldn’t figure out why side effects that would impair my ability to work would be a problem. It’s not worth the pain, the heartache, and the money to spend your time here. There are good neurologists in DC, it’s worth looking for someone with a bit of compassion.

God help you if you need to speak to your doctor outside of a regular appointment. I have been struggling with multiple health issues (including debilitating migraines) and am currently on fmla status (so, unpaid leave). The sooner I can get back to work the better. However the Neurology Center keeps getting in my way.
Any time I have a question or require a prescription it involves an endless back and forth with the office staff, because Dr. herzfeld steadfastly refuses to have a direct conversation with me. Things that could have been resolved with a two minute conversation take weeks. And those weeks are spent frustrated, in pain, watching my savings diminish, and feeling like the Neurolgoy Center cares more about money than patients.

I had my first appointment back in October. The first thing the doctor said to me was, «how involved do I need to be with your condition?» I assumed he was being funny and thought nothing of it. When I dropped off a one paragraph form I needed the doctor to fill out for a scholarship, he said that it would cost $ 60. I refused to pay it and had my primary care physician fill out the form.
The staff has not been helpful in any way. The doctor told me it would cost a certain amount for an EEG, and it ended up costing more than twice that amount. The staff didn’t care about what the doctor told me. I got letters from my insurance company regarding appeals the Neurology Center made with regard to my coverage, and the staff new nothing about them. They never responded when they said they would, and they were not helpful when I got them on the phone.
Time for a new neurologist? Yes. Yes it is.

I have no gripe with the medical care I received here but after three years dealing with rude and careless staff, I had to find a new neurologist. There’s also the issue of the billing. I give them my insurance card and I hear nothing, until I receive a notice that my outstanding bill is being sent to collections.
And while I say that I don’t have a complaint with the medical care, I do place this horrible business culture at the feet of the physicians. Shame on them. This is a simple fix: hire someone who knows customer service to run the business.
The final straw: I was lectured by the receptionist that it was my fault they didn’t have records of my perscriptions. When I told her to cancel my appointment I would find another neurologist, she litterally said «Fine.»

I visit the office in Friendship Heights and have seen Dr. Fortune and Dr. Savani for ongoing issues I have with post-​concussion syndrome. I have the utmost respect for both these two doctors. They are both professional and kind. When dealing with a chronic condition that remains fairly unresponsive to treatment, it helps so so much when you feel your specialist acts in a patient and compassionate way. I have seen other neurologists who were much more brusque and disinterested, I feel like Savani and Fortune know how to do it right and am very grateful for the hope they have given me.
Sidenote: Dr. Fortune especially was also great about encouraging me to approach my headaches from a broad lifestyle perspective. She encouraged me to pursue alternative treatments like psychotherapy, yoga, physical therapy and even acupuncture. She explicitly told me it does not offend her when patients seek other options or treatments and she doesn’t mind communicating with these other people. I dig that.
Other reviewers have mentioned a less than stellar office staff which has unfortunately been my experience too. At one point I really needed a rx refill and they neglected to call me back when I needed to get in touch with Dr. Fortune. Afterwards there was no acknowledgment of their mistake, but rather a hostile defensiveness. Ultimately, I visit an office because of the doctor, not the staff, but this is something to keep in mind.

This practice is a case study in top medical practitioners being totally incapable of managing their staff. The Neurology Center now has multiple locations and numerous respected specialists, but the corporate culture is dismissive of the patients and seems to encourage workers to find a way out of doing tasks properly. Making an appointment or getting a prescription refilled can take several phone calls. Asking a doctor for a telephone consultation when I was out of town and needed advice was, someone named Regina told me, «against the rules.» When I couldn’t get through to my doctor on another occasion (She doesn’t accept email.), I resorted to a fax addressed to her personally. The staff didn’t tell her or put it in my file, which is still kept on paper.

Terrible front desk.
Unresponsive doctors who seem to be only interested in running expensive tests. They pushed a sleep study on me every time I was there despite the fact my issues had nothing to do with sleep disorders.
You can do better elsewhere.

The doctors here are great, until you really need them. My mom saw two doctors — Savani and Coerver — both excellent clinically. But when we really needed their help, they completely abandoned us.
My mom has Alzheimer’s and was being treated by these doctors. When it became clear that she needed to move into assisted living, I petitioned for and was granted guardianship for her. As part of that process, the court requires two physician certifications as to her capacity. There is a standard form on which to certify such things which is recognized by the court. When I requested they complete the form for my mom, I was told we’ll do the certification, but we don’t do the form, we do our own letter. Perhaps you could do both, I suggested, as my lawyers are telling me we need the form. Oh they always say they need the form, but we always do the letter. OK, I relented assuming they had more experience here than I did.
So time being of the essence, I go to pick up the letter in person. I opened it, and read it and note there is a mistake. In the form letter they use, they have failed to replace some other patient’s name with my mother’s in one spot so the letter is wrong. I point this out to the receptionist and say I need this corrected, it’s for court and that won’t do, can you please correct it. Yes, it can be corrected, I’m told, but not now because Dr. Coerver does these on her own computer and the receptionist doesn’t have access to the letter. OK, well I’ll wait for it, I need this for court. Oh no, Dr. Coerver is with patients and won’t have time until later this afternoon. Then we can mail it to you. Fine. I take the wrong letter, give it to my attorneys and tell them a corrected one is coming. A new letter arrives in time to make it to court.
Problem is when my attorneys present this to the court, the judge says it is unacceptable, because it’s not on the form and their wording doesn’t do the job. Why didn’t they just do the form the judge wants to know? So I call the office, now having wasted the time and expense of a day in court based on their whims, and the staff is completely unapologetic and continues to argue with me that the letter is acceptable, «they» just always say they need the form, but they really don’t. IT’S THE JUDGE WHO IS SAYING IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, I explain. My jaw drops at the next statement which was well, we don’t really deal in law, we do health care here … I KNOW, THIS IS WHAT I’M SAYING. So I need the form. Well I’ll check to see what we can do.
I get a call back, Dr. Coerver is now out of the country and will be back in ten days. She can do the form then, but there will be a fee for that service. Ten days will not work for me, I explain again, I have to be in court on Monday and it is now Friday afternoon, and I’m in this box because you didn’t do the form as I asked initially. I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do, Dr. Coerver will do the form when she gets back in the country. That’s too late, as I explained, I have to be in court on Monday. Dr. Coerver can do the form when she’s back in 10 days, and there will be a fee. What about Dr. Savani, perhaps he could do the form since he has seen her and could consult with Dr. Coerver. No, he will not do that.
This was the last time I spoke to these people, about a month ago (April 2012). I had to go to another doctor to get the certification. If you go to this practice, pray that you never need their help beyond setting up basic appointments. Just hope that you don’t need them to understand that their patients need them to be thoughtful and understanding some times. Just know that if you ever DO need a doctor to be there for you — and if you’re going to the Neurology Center, you likely will at some point — you just can’t count on these guys. Not only were they sloppy, rude, and unapologetic they wouldn’t do the most basic thing their patient needed to get the care she needed. I can’t even understand why you practice medicine at all if this is how you’re going to leave your patients high and dry. Just makes no sense. My mom is now getting the care she needs — COMPLETELY IN SPITE OF The Neurology Center.

These guys are amazing. I was actually a little apprehensive going to them based on the two strongly worded negative reviews here on Unilocal,but those fears were completely unwarranted. Everyone was so helpful, so nice, so polite that I wish they had doctors in every medical discipline so I would never need to go anywhere else. Wow, I rushed home to write this review because it was such a great experience. And because I almost let the other two negative reviews «talk me out» of going there and I don’t want others to have that same quandary. I know DC can be a tough place to get good service and when it is bad it can be downright day ruining, particularly when you’re dealing with medicine, pain, forms, insurance, etc.
These guys are easily the polar opposite of usual DC service. I had some insurance issues (who doesn’t) and Brenda was incredible in A) helping me understand what I needed from my PCP, B) faxing stuff from here to there and back, and C) working with me to schedule an appointment even while we were still working through some of the issues. I went 30 minutes early to fill out paper work but they have a great system and there was little to fill out. Instead of making me wait, they – get this – took me early! Really, in a doctor’s office!!! Unheard-​of. And so nice about it. Then the testing started, and these are relatively unpleasant tests with electricity and needles and the like, but my testing technician Steven was so kind, gentle and explanatory that I never felt unease or uncomfortable. He was patient with my questions, thoughtful with his answers and generally positive and encouraging, which can’t be understated when you have electricity pumping through your body. Finally, last but not least, I was seen by Dr. Blazina, wow, another great bedside personality that puts you at ease even though he’s plugging a needle into your muscles and measuring all these crazy pulses.
I almost enjoyed it. Granted I don’t want to have to go through it ever again, but as close as you can come to enjoying an otherwise unpleasant medical test, all because of the people. Also, y’know what says a lot about the practice, check out how long the doctors have been with the Center, some of them 30+ years, same place. Says a lot. Even the technician and front staff, 20+ years. Happy people give good service. And they gave the best.
10 stars if I could.