Dr. David A. Derose, MD
1251 S Cedar Crest Blvd # 307,
Allentown, PA

As an established patient of Dr. DeRose, I reached out to the office in August, 2022 when I noticed that something was seriously off with the vision in my left eye. However, the office refused to see me until I'd seen an optometrist to rule out a need for updated lens prescriptions, which I knew to be a waste of time. Once a lens issue was ruled out, Dr. DeRose's office scheduled me with 4 different doctors in this practice, each with a different sub-specialty. None of them could identify the cause of my vision loss. In one of these appointments, the words "brain tumor" were spoken in front of me in September. No one would order an MRI. Instead I was told to make an appointment at Wills Eye in Philly, more than an hour away, with both a neuro-ophthalmologist and a retina specialist. Neither of those offices would make an appointment for me as a new patient, and DeRose's office did nothing to facilitate. I ended up going to Wills ER just to get my foot in the door so someone would see me. The Wills Eye ER ophthalmologists decided I had a retina problem, even though my retinas looked perfect, and told me to see the retina specialist whose office hadn't given me the time of day. I had to return to Philadelphia three more times (with significant difficulty and expense) - to see the retina specialist and neuro-ophthalmologist, and again for additional testing, which the retina specialist said would prove "it was real." The retina specialist thought I had a neurological issue, and the neuro-ophthalmologist thought I had a retina issue. Neither of them would order an MRI. The neuro-ophthalmologist ordered blood tests to look for vitamin deficiencies, and genetic testing to look for...something. By this time, it's the third week of December and my vision had gotten pretty bad. Had my right eye been as bad as my left, I would've been completely unable to read, and probably legally blind. This whole time, no one followed me, guided me, arranged appointments, explained test results, or did anything to help me - least of all anyone from Dr. DeRose's office. Receptionists stonewalled me. People who said they would call back never did. My status as an established patient of Dr. DeRose meant nothing. It was pretty much an extra part-time job calling office after office, trying to make things happen. None of the blood or genetic tests turned anything up. I had to beg the neuro-ophthalmologist to order an MRI which he took his time doing. On December 27th, the MRI found a 2.5cm x 2.5cm x 2cm pituitary macroadenoma. That's when the neuro-ophthalmologist FINALLY put in a word with a neurosurgeon in Philadelphia, who promptly gave me an appointment for January 4th. This surgeon told me there was no guarantee my vision or color perception would be restored, but that I would eventually go blind, most likely in both eyes, without surgery. Things happened very quickly from there. The sudden urgency conveyed to me that my condition was quite serious. On January 10th I had a transphenoidal resection of the tumor. Fortunately the surgery was successful, and my vision is restored. But this is mostly down to luck and my own persistence. Had I left my care to Dr. DeRose's office, the outcome could easily have been a permanent loss of vision. The struggle to find out what was wrong was long, solitary, expensive, and frustrating. A dozen appointments, 9 different doctors, 20+ blood and lab tests. And the stalling, delay, and indifference began with Dr. DeRose. The one test which would've made the problem obvious wasn't ordered for 5 months after I knew there was something very wrong with my vision, and more than 3 months after a doctor in DeRose's practice said "brain tumor" in front of me. To cap off injury with one last insult, when I was told to schedule a follow up ophthalmology visit to get a new baseline for my vision and eye health, I was told by Dr. DeRose's office that they will no longer follow me for basic eye care since apparently now they consider me to be someone else's patient. I don't recommend Dr. DeRose or his practice.

I still talk about this Dr decades after leaving PA. I have lived in 3 other States since being helped by Dr DeRose and met some good doctors,but he is in class of his own.Thank you sir for being the best in what you do and also having a sympathetic bedside manner.

The doctor was thorough and considerate; however, there was a major problem with timeliness. I was my father's driver, and was never informed that the appointments wouLD take so long. His first appointment was for 1:15, and we was not taken back until 3:10. I sat there waiting for him to be done until after 4. His surgery only took about 10 minutes and was performed around 3:25. The following day we had an appointment for 1:50, and we waited again for hours to be called back for a simple check up. This company is seriously inconsiderate of people's time, and they refuse to give people honest wait times. There are currently 34 people in the waiting room. When I hear people ask what the wait time is like as they check in, I hear them telling people that he's doing well today and keeping up. My dad was taken back 75 minutes after his appointment time. That's a good day at this practice. I hear the surgeon is good, but why can't they have better office and scheduling practices. People talk about waiting long in countries with universal health care. We talk about waiting long in a country with privatized health care where a doctor can cram as many helpless patients into a day as possible.