Austin Thyroid & Endocrinology

07/21/08

Horrible Experience With This Office

by scottie8 at Citysearch

There are not enough words to explain the disappointment I felt after trying to find the answers to my thyroid issues with this practice. Wow, I wished I had read all this before going. My records were lost twice, after 3 visits and many request and promises to see the doctor I have yet to meet her. Seeing 3 different PA's of which on one visit the PA looked like a little girl with bows in her hair and lacy socks. I know for a fact that I was never given any true attention to my problems. After lots of lab work and still no answers to my questions I just gave up. The staff seemed clueless in every direction I was taken. I have been in the medical field for over 20 yrs and have never experienced anything like this. I had my yearly physical with my Gyn and I ask him about Dr Scumpia and he said word for word "DO NOT GO THERE".. I have since been told by 3 other physicians NOT to go there before I even told them my story. I take some of the blame for not investigating her before I went, I just never dreamed that my attempt to find a great doctor would go so wrong. This practice and the MYSTERY DOCTOR will not help you in any way. Oh, and I also received collection notices without ever getting an original bill. I tried to call and straighten it out and all I got was a recorder off and on all day. I dare you to get through the phone system...Please do not make the same mistake I did ---this practice is a lose lose situation both with money and your health...

• Pros: None
• Cons: The Mystery Woman and Her Staff

08/21/09

You're not worth her time.

by QE3 at Citysearch

After a 30+ minute wait AGAIN, I decided that a doctor who does not value my time is not going to get another minute or another dime from me. I am obviously a lower life form than a rude doctor, so I guess I need to slither back into my slimy, dark, little hole and stay sick. The surprised girls at Dr. Scumpia's front office gave me back my $60 co-pay and a form I can use to request my records. They graciously offered to find out how much longer I would need to wait, but enough is enough. I have a life and a job, and my time is worth more than Dr. Scumpia obviously thinks. Maybe I should bill HER for 35 minutes of my time...

Actually, I've called my GP and gotten a recommendation from his office in hopes of finding a doctor who is professional and polite. What a concept.

• Pros: highly touted as a great specialist
• Cons: condescending treatment

06/16/09

HOLY COW DONT DO IT

by MURTLETHETURTLE at Citysearch

WHAT A SAD SAD PRACTICE SHE HAS . THREE TIMES I WENT THEY TRYED TO PUT ME A DIET AND THATS NOT WHAT I WENT FOR IT AM LOSING MY HAIR I FALL ALSLEEP ALL THE TIME AND THE HAD ME GO TO TEST AFTER TEST AND I STILL DONT KNOW WHAT I HAVE I KNOW ITS THROID FROM MY WORK THAT I HAD TO READ MYSELF WHAT A SCAM MONEY HUNGRY QUACK THAT WHAT SHE IS GO IN YOUR OWN MACHINE FROM THE LOOKS OF HER SHE HAS PROBLEMS DONT I AM FILLING A LETTER FOR HER PRACTICE TO BE CHECKED OUT . BIG QUACK

• Pros: PARKING
• Cons: THE ENTIRE PRATICE

04/14/09

I can't believe some of these reviews...

by mforton at Citysearch

I can't believe some of these reviews I've been reading. I've been going to Scumpia's office for almost two and half years, and I've never noticed some of the things that are being said about her office. When I first saw Dr. Scumpia I had been diagnosed with a hyper thyroid and didn't really know what to expect from a specialist. She ordered lab work right away, diagnosed me with Graves disease, and began treatment immediately. She does not sugar coat and isn't super friendly, but I wasn't looking for someone to hold my hand. I was looking for someone to help me feel better, and she did. Since I completed my treatment, I haven't seen Scumpia in a couple of years. But that is fine with me...they just check my lab work and adjust my medication as needed. Why does she need to see me for that? She was always very kind, answered all my questions to my satisfaction, and I will continue to go there.

Having said that, I feel like I need mention two things that I don't like. It is true that you will have to wait awhile for your appointment. It wasn't always like this, and can really irritate me some days. My appointment will be for 9:00 but I won't actually see anyone until almost 9:45. The second thing is that I no longer get a letter or phone call notifying me if there has been any change, if any at all, to my medication. The only way I know is if I get a phone call from my pharmacy letting me I have a new prescription, or that my current one has been renewed. However, this last week I actually received a phone call from one of the nurses letting me know I had a new prescription. For now, I won't be switching doctors.

• Pros: Great location, lab/radiology onsite
• Cons: Can have a long wait time..

04/09/09

Did this really just happen?

by nottoblame at Citysearch

Dr. Scumpia is the worst dr. I have ever gone to. She was the rudest person in the office and the least knowledgable. She completely ignored me for the whole 5 minutes she was in the exam room and when i asked any questions regarding my results she quickly changed subjects and only insisted i get more blod work done and come back in a week to get the results. She looks like a man and is very hard to understand because she talks so fast and is so unclear. She handed her work to her assistants for them to explain and walked away, they were extremely helpful though. this place is a joke. ha ha i have thyroid cancer..ha ha..

• Pros: good place to get really confused and irritated and ignored
• Cons: ha ha ha the list goes on...and on and on

01/17/09

This Dr. should loose her license to practice!

by MistieBlueRose at Citysearch

Dr. Scumpia first told "I guess God wants you to be fat" as she shrugged her sholders, next visit she says oh, I was wrong you have Hashimotos disease (autoimune disease where your body kills your thyroid) and the next visit she starts messing with my meds -- up, down, up... roller coster... never once does she explain anything she is doing - I have to research it all for myself because when I try to aske her why she is doing anything she tells me that she is the doctor and I am the patient and I just need to do as she says. About a year into the treatment she tells me she "THINKS" I have thyroid cancer and sends me for an ultrasound and then she does not give me any results. I call for 6 MONTHS trying to get results and NOTHING! No negitive, no positive no Nothing. When I finnaly get back in I am all of the sudden only seeing a PA and he knows NOTHING about my case and can answer no questions but he is doubling my medications which cause me to have a mild heart attack (HELLO). Enough was enough --- I fired her and her whole staff!!

The down side of firing her...

She has the BEST radiological staff at her fingertips because they work in office for her and this is all they do. She has the BEST lab works in office, and her office workers are very friendly and understanding because they know how to handle irate patents. After all you might show up at 8am for your appointment and not get in till 1pm.

If you choose to go to this office I will pray for you.

• Pros: Radiological, Lab & office staff are all quite good
• Cons: Doctor is HORRID, PA's do not have a CLUE

01/12/09

Like this clinic and Doctor!

by becky214 at Citysearch

I had a total thyroidectomy in November. All went very smoothly and results came back NO MALIGNANCY!! I was grateful! All signs had led to Ca. Having had breast cancer already....and having researched Dr. Scumpia's findings (labs, testing), I felt she was quite justified in her diagnosis. Of all the visits I have had with this office, I have never been kept waiting for an unusually long time. I have seen the doctor all but once. I have seen techs and PAs each time also.....they help make the process more efficient. The doctor reviews the chart and lets the PA know what she needs addressed, etc, even when she is not going to visit with the patient personally. Why should the doctor have to come in and tell you lab results and changes in your dose???? Why should that information not be relayed through a PA??? The doctor makes the decision and the PA delivers the message. If I have questions the PA can't answer, she goes and asks the doctor. My only complaints...the office is chilly (what office isn't?) and they don't have any good magazines (so I bring my own entertainment).

• Pros: Straight talk...no fluff
• Cons: long distance drive

01/06/09

If you are looking for a Doctor who doesn't care, this is the place for you.

by mytwosense at Citysearch

You know its too bad when a great idea goes south. I'm sure Dr. Scumpia had a vision to provide a one stop shop facility catering to the thyroid and endocrine population. Her set up is severely flawed. People want to see a dr, not a PA. They go to a specialist because THAT is who they want to see, a "specialist." I was impressed on my first visit, which was incidentally the only time I saw an actual MD. She is an army of 1 and has a bunch of PA minions. I have nothing against P.A.'s. The experience and schooling between a thyroid specialist and glorified nurse is too vast, and that's just too radical for my taste.

When you visit the office, you become a number. Your personal identity is of no concern. Neither is how long you sit in the waiting room as you ponder what time your 1 o'clock apt will began as it is now 2 o'clock. The staff is not easy to talk to, for some reason everyone in this building believes their time is far more valuable then yours and assumes you are all stupid.

I don't have the time nor the patience. I have a thyroid problem, and I need a specialist who understands how to treat it.

• Pros: 1 building to rule them all (labs, ultrasounds etc)
• Cons: too many minions and not enough Specialists. plus rude staff

11/20/08

Worst Doctor's Office in Austin

by lchamb at Citysearch

Do NOT do to this office. I found them online and asked my doctor for a referral and even my dr. questioned me on if I wanted to go. It was my own fault but I thought the location was convenient. I had to do an intake with 3 different people before Dr. Scumpia even came in- and then she stayed for about 3 minutes. I spent 3 hours at my appointment just waiting- they don't value your time at all. Every time I went I saw a different PA and my levels got dangerously high- in my entire life they have never been too high. It was the most unproffesional office I have ever seen. Do not waste your time.

10/15/08

Doc tells it like it is

by Bejeni at Citysearch

Don't expect to be coddled. Dr Scumpia is not there to hold your hand and swap stories about the kids. She is there to assess and treat your symptoms/disease. She is professional and knowledgeable. She has techs to get vitals and ask preliminary questions. She has PAs to assess in more detail and to relay her assessment and review of your chart. Dr Scumpia does the initial evaluation and intermittent ones as needed. If you don't ask questions, she doesn't know you have any. She will answer any questions you have in a very matter of fact way. She does not sugar coat anything. I find all of this to be GOOD! I appreciated that she was straight forward in telling me she believed I had cancer.

• Pros: Straight forward approach
• Cons: 74 miles from my home

09/16/08

Not a good experience

by ellly777 at Citysearch

I must say that I wish wish wish that I had read the reviews here before seeing this doctor! First, I talked with a great assistant about my symptoms, test results, etc while I waited to see Dr Scumpia. The woman was very thorough and friendly. Following this, I was sent to do labwork and come back in a MONTH to see Dr Scumpia again. Yes, I was not critically ill, but still....what a waste of time and money. When I went back in. I saw the good doctor for five minutes and received no answers at all except to wait it out.

One interesting note is that in Jan 2003, a committee of the nation's top endocrinologists recommended that levels of TSH above 3 indicate a problem or a soon to be problem. Though it was recommended at the time to narrow the TSH "normal" range from .5-5 to .3-3. some doctors chose not to change the way they measure thyroid function. Sadly, it seems like DR Scumpia is one of these doctors. Though my TSH was well above 3, it was still under 5, so Dr Scumpia advised me to wait it out and come back when the problem got worse. As a patient, this bothers me because according to research the numbers indicate that this is just the beginning of a future problem. I want a doctor that will keep it from getting worse, not wait until it gets worse to help me! I recently found out that I have a small nodule. Rather than being blown off again, I will see another endocrinologist.

I recommend that you see a different doctor, too!.

• Pros: The office staff is nice
• Cons: Dr. Scumpia, they never return calls, location