Dr. Charles Edward Sturges, MD

Dr. Sturges is a professional of the highest order. I choose him as my primary care physcisn after living in NJ for over 50 years and then moving to the Catskill NY area. So far, I feel I made an excellent choice.

I called two months ago to see if Dr. Sturges was accepting new patients. I was told that he was, so I asked for an appointment. I was asked a series of standard questions about my insurance and reason for seeking an appointment. I explained that I was new to the area, and needed a primary care physician. Additionally, I explained, Iâ??ve been having some lower back pain that I would like to have looked at; and would be interested in exploring the possibility of having my ADHD medication prescribed by my pcp (rather than the expensive, out of network psych I currently see) since my dosage has already been sorted out. I was then told that Dr. Sturges was no longer prescribing serious pain medications or accepting workerâ??s comp cases. I thought this was a little strange, but I explained that this would not be a problem, since I have no interest pain medication and no reason for a workerâ??s comp case. I was given an appointment time and date; but when called the day before my… appointment to confirm, the office had no record of my appointment or our previous conversation. After a pretty half-hearted apology, I was told that I would have to wait three weeks for another appointment. I again answered the same series of questions that I had answered during the first conversation. After exploring some other options, I called back a third time to make an appointment. I answered the same questions and heard the same disclaimers a 3rd time. Then I was passed onto another person who repeated the questions and disclaimers for the 4th time. I was told that someone would be in touch with me to schedule my appointment. No one ever called. This morning, after another two weeks, I called again. I explained the situation and was told (again) that there was no record of me ever having called. I responded to the same questions and disclaimers for the 5th time. THIS time I was told that Dr. Sturges had rejected me as a patient â?? basically because my visit had to do with back pain and â??psychiatric issues.â?? As a result of this ridiculous runaround and since I didnâ??t make an appt with someone else, because I (foolishly) hoped that it would eventually all get sorted out â?? my back pain has gone two more months without being addressed, and I am now totally out of ADHD medication. When I shared my concerns with the woman on the phone I was basically silenced with a terse apology and a defensive explanation about how the woman responsible had been let go. I would avoid this office if at all possible. The staff seems unprofessional and unkind; and their policy, it seems, is to reject people in need when there is concern that their conditions might pose complications for Dr. Sturges.

I have been a patient of Dr. Sturges for over 20 years. He is a good diagnostician, spends quality time with me, answers all questions thoroughly, and haa often done extra research to resolve a question. He is thorough, good about following up. I feel my health care is in good hands. His staff is courteous, friendly, run a good office.