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I was referred to Dr. Getachew after a ruptured brain aneurysm, for which I had had multiple surgeries. I had my doubts about him from the beginning, but I figured that he was just a doctor, someone from whom I could get my anti-seizure prescriptions. Then I decided to apply for disability. I asked the doctor if he would back me up on the application. This man also facies himself a sleep specialist, and his answer was that if I would take a sleep test, he would back me on the claim. Of course, the sleep test was scheduled in HIS sleep clinic, 100 miles from my home, and it involved spending two nights there. Needless to say, his staff decided that I had sleep apnea, and put me on a C-PAP machine. Then, when I got the disability application form back from him, he had marked that I was NOT disabled! I felt he had blackmailed into the sleep test, because he wanted to suck every penny out of my pocket that he possibly could. In addition to all that, I requested my medical records, because I had decided to go to a new neurologist. When I read through the records, I was flabbergasted! He invented symptoms that backed up his diagnosis of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation, and completely ignored the symptoms associated with the aftereffects of the aneurysm. He never mentioned my dizziness and loss of memory, but he wrote that I claimed I woke up in the night choking and gasping for air (which was absolutely not true!). All in all, I would recommend that potential patients avoid this man like the plague! He is unethical, a liar, and an incompetent doctor.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
All this going back and forth and now the doctor is brought up on charges and facing jailtime. Guess we know who was writing the positive reviews. the man in the mirror
Okay this is ridiculous. Dr. Getachew is a neurologist that specializes in sleep. That is literally why his practice is called "Regional Neurology and SLEEP Medicine." Dr. Getachew is a fantastic medical professional who absolutely cares about his patients 100%. Why would you go to a sleep neurologist for a back injury? Also, the sleep apnea test is standard protocol as a first step in a wide range of diagnoses. Additionally, that is not how disability works. You need years worth of records with constant visits to the same doctor(s) to prove your case, as well as a disability attorney. Stop sladering a man who is just following the laws and doing his job. He is fantastic.
I have been a patient of Dr. Getachew for several years now, and I've found him to be nothing short of caring, compassionate, professional, and with a great bedside manner. He's never expected me to have a sleep study, even diagnosed with a primary sleep disorder. I see him for that, a movement disorder, and migraines, and after months of tweaking my regimen, he has it so fine tuned that I only hav to see him every 6 months, which is great since stopping his Marion hours puts him an hour away from me. As for Michelle, I found her to be funny and very friendly, and was sorry to see her go. She knew his office like the back of her hand. It surprises me know that anyone would have such a negative view of Dr. G and staff!
I forgot I wrote this "glowing" review of Dr. Getachew, so now it needs an update. Things went downhill in a hurry.
Fast forward about a year and a half, right in the middle of the pandemic. Franklin county was red, and I lived in a much smaller county that was still only experiencing sporadic cases, so we were only at yellow. I have several chronic illnesses, and very apprehensive about going in, so I called and asked his staff (which changed often...he couldn't seem keep staff for more than a few months at a time once his assistant and long-time receptionist left) if I could do a telehealth appt. He called me back himself and said that "my office is small, and my staff is cleaning. You will be fine."
That was my last appt, because he discharged me that day. He attacked me for prescription another doc wrote, and he forgot to record. If you've ever seen Dr. Getachew, you know his memory is about 10 seconds long, and he used his own "template" (if you can call it that) for appts that was...a mess. After almost 4 years of never missing an appt, never failing a drug test, and having a very good rapport with him (he even showed me his vacation pics from Ethiopia once), he was slinging some really awful accusations at me that I've never had a doc before or since make. My pain doc (who'd referred me to him, because Dr. Getachew saw patients in his office 1-2 days a month at one point) actually apologized to me for it when he heard what happened.
When I saw that he'd been indicted, and that one of the allegations was patients getting pills based on how much they paid, it made me wonder if the board of pharmacy or Medicare had been breathing down his neck all the way back then. Because he prescribed a benzo for my movement disorder, and I wasn't a patient who would ever pay to get more or certain meds, it just seems glaringly obvious now. He was also moving to the knee clinic deal as well...I wonder if that was part of his scam?
I believe he was a good doctor when I first started seeing him. I have the utmost trust in my pain mgmt doc, so I know he would never have had let him use office space or sent patients to him if he felt otherwise. Somewhere along the way, greed changed him, and karma caught up.
Well, I've had enough of this. I was so glad I found this site because I was having fun reading about the complaints. Getachew deserves every one of these one-star ratings. Although I wound up having worse experience with both he and his medical assistant, Michelle, I still couldn't wait to infuse more 'life' into this page. How dare the commenter who threatened with that hickish comment about turning us all over to the Welfare department. Right there, that is who I was dealing with: low-class slobs, with nothing but greed dripping from their eyes. I had to have two of those damm sleep-studies. They really did it the day I came into this other office he had (and man, this guy does move around a lot.) and it was after 4:00 with only me, the office worker and that Michelle. As I waited, I got very weak, due to MS. and had to call for a chair before I went down. Well, it went exactly like this, : I asked for a chair and Michelle screamed out, " Paul, godammit! You're going to make me late! Then, she pitched a Hell of a fit, screaming all across that office at me, as I went down. Now, think about it, here I was in a neurologists office and had trouble standing, weakness, and falling, because of Multiple Sclerosis that was diagnosed in 2007. Now, who would think of such a ridiculous story? Well, to shorten this long story, I returned the next weak with my wife and my 4 year old grandson, 'C.H.', who pushed me in my wheelchair to the front door. Guess who came running, like a bat out of Hell? She told me to leave and Dr. Getachew had dropped me as a patient, and I had to "go to Ohio State, where they could deal with(my) type". Furthermore, she told me that I was "on private property" and Getachew wanted me to stay away. Pretty fine treatment for someone that has a horrible disease and suddenly has no doctor, no refills, and no referrals. I guess the most risky thing he did was abruptly stopping my daily MS treatment. This guy's actions cost me all spring, summer, and fall in the hospital of 2017. Thanks a lot! I'm still not well. Oh, and I was a real patient of his for 10 years and I'm not crazy about posting my name on the internet but I am Paul J., I will go that far.
Hi is the worst doctor I have ever meet don't even to go there. He is so resist and like money his coworker tell me that he stole money from church and every body desgest him.
Aside from some of these comments being slander and liable I find it interesting that none of the folks who were displeased with the Doctors treatment protocols ever mention that they got better by not following his advice. It seems to be much whining because they did not get what they wanted. BE VERY CAREFUL LISTENING TO OR PUTTING MUCH CREED TO PEOPLES OPINING WHO WILL NOT LEAVE THEIR REAL NAMES. Dr. Getachew is a very real, caring human being who does his absolute best to help each and every individual who walks into his practice. He will not however aid and abet folks who are trying to scam the system and claim disability where there is none! I work at the Polaris office and invite the 3-4 folks above to come back into the office and make the claims they have cowardly posted on this site so we can set them strait! More importantly, come sign a release so we can forward your files to the Welfare Office.
Diagnosed in 1997 with sleep apnea and followed with the same physician until 2010. Due to the demise of my physician in 2010, I was transferred to the practice of Eskender Getachew. Dr. Getachew continued with my medical care in a straight forward manner and has continued to educate me in my plethora of serious medical conditions. Dr. Getachew documented narcolepsy and under his watchful eye, my quality of life and social interactions has improved greatly! He has gained my confidence and trust. I have no complaints with Dr. Getachew and would recommend him to family and friends.
Wow, I had a bad experience with him in 2009. He diagnosed me with sleep apnea and narcolepsy (I agree with both of those diagnosis). However, I had a bad reaction to one of the medications he gave to me. He kept denying it was the medication and had me continue to take it. I ended up losing my job and it took 6 months for the symptoms to go away. It was a pharmacy INTERN who finally confirmed to me that it was the medication. This doc is supposed to be a pharmacologist, neurologist, sleep specialist, etc., but I think he's incompetent as well. I actually just found this complaint site when I was looking for his contact information as I am scheduled to see a new sleep doc soon.
I also went to see him for neurology and he recommended I have a sleep study. I too found this confusing because I thought my sleep was fine. The staff at the lab were very pleasant and very informative. The wires were pretty uncomfortable and took me a while to get to sleep but in the morning they told me I had sleep apnea. The tech took me back into the room where they sat and showed me my breathing during the night. It was scary I would stop breathing for over 25 seconds on a frequent basis in my dream sleep. They also put me on a CPAP machine which is probably one of the most uncomfortable things to get used to but definitely worth it. I cant even explain the difference in my energy level. I also had an EEG done and I had a little bit of a wait before the lady came in but she was very nice. He can be kind of hard to understand with his thick accent but I'm very glad I found him.
These people must not gone to get medical care. They went to see him with different motives ( such as getting disability and live on tax payers money ) . Do not care about my comments
Check out other people experience!
Mrs
Dr Getachew has really made my daughter's life bearable. He is superb in both professionalism and bedside manner. He takes time with her and has given her selfesteem that she needed to face her epilepsy. He is great as far as we are concerned and would recommend him 100% for a caring and knowledgeable physician. February 09, 2011
Very compassionate doctor
I was very impressed with not only the warm welcome that I received from the staff, but their attention to detail and caring professional attitude. I would highly recommend Dr. Getachew as he is both sincere and extremely knowledgeable. What a blessing it was for me to find him.
Read more: http://www.vitals.com/ratings/Dr_Eskender_Getachew.html#ixzz1LRgJ1oN9
I am SO glad I checked out this Board! I "called" the doctor on this very thing (which the two people above stated re: the Sleep Lab) and he DENIED it! I went ti see him with symptoms totally unrelated to sleep! I don't have any problems with my sleep! He practically insisted I go to HIS sleep lab! He said "you have insurance, right?" I asked him if he sent all of his patients to the sleep lab. He was visibly uncomfortable when I posed that question to him. He tried to laugh it off. This wasn't the first time he tried to push the sleep lab on me. If more people would speak up, they--and their insurance companies--wouldn't be taken advantage of! Basically, the doctor would not treat me for my condition unless I agreed to undergo the sleep lab. I left. Without making the sleep lab appointment. Ridiculous!
I couldn't agree with you more! Do not go see this doctor! I went in for low back pain related to a work injury and he suggested I get a sleep study and a EEG test. First of all, my sleep is just fine and the problem is with my back and not my head! I think he just wanted to get all the money he could for me. I also had a friend who saw him that had a EEG test done and the lady who performed the test was very unprofessional and didn't seem to know what she was doing. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS DOCTOR! I think he is a scam and just wants your money!