Dr. Elizabeth Marie Pepe

Dr. Pepe came highly recommended to me. I am (or was) a patient of Dr. Pepe's at Beachside Family Practice. I say "was", because she recently left the practice. I think that there was not really enough business there for her to stay, and she said she was going back to the South Pacific, and already had a job lined up on some island there. Anyway, whenever I was there, no matter what the problem was, she would take her time in taking my history, then thoroughly examine me, and come to a diagnosis. Yes, she had to sit at a computer with her back towards me to do her "charting", but she always spoke to me facing me, even to the point of asking me to sit in a chair turned so that when she was typing, she and I had eye contact. She addressed all my concerns in full, and then suggested a treatment plan. She always made sure that I understood what she was saying, and always made sure that she understood what I was saying. My husband sees her as well, and he loves the care she… gives me, as well as himself. And he doesn't like doctors. Now that she has left, I think that my husband and I will find another practice, as there are a few that are closer to my house.

Dr. Pepe was in the middle of treating me for a uti, when I passed out in her office. This has happened to me before, so I was not intensely freaked out when I woke up, but I was a little displeased to here dr. Pepe complaining to the emts that I kept "falling asleep" while she was asking me questions. When the emt asked what the doctor thinks it might be she replied "anxiety..that's her whole thing." This wasnt the first time I've seen doctor pepe but it was the last. Every experience I've had in her office was unpleasant and she was always very dismissive of me in all of my visits.

I read some of these comments and my blood just boiled, and I felt I had to write "a rebuttal". While Dr. Pepe no longer has her private office in Indialantic (she decided to practice on Guam), I had been her patient for 20 years. Actually, I first went to see her in Volusia County at her small practice there. When she moved her practice to Indialantic, FL, I drove down there to see her. And by the way, Dr. Pepe IS Board Certified in Family Practice. The office was very cute, with a Bahamian theme. You felt as if you were in someone's living room, not in a cold sterile-appearing office. At the same time, Dr. Pepe had state of the art medical equipment, and the office was immaculately clean. Dr. Pepe is caring, down to earth, LISTENS TO YOU, fully reviews your medical records, and yes, tells you that if you do not take your medications your blood pressure, or diabetes, or heart failure will not improve and that you will actually get heart, liver, or kidney failure because of it. … She tells it like it is. She often ran late on her schedule, because she gave each patient the amount of time that patient needed, even though the insurance companies would not pay her for the amount of time she took, because according to the insurance companies, if you have a urinary tract infection, it should take less than 15 minutes, and they would not pay for the Doc to discuss other problems and refill unrelated medications, but she did. At the same time, she is compassionate and caring of her patients, even when they are in the hospital for something that she does not do, such as remove your gallbladder. And she does it because she cares about you. She doesn't get paid for this. Dr. Pepe also treats you within your belief system, which means that if you want to try acupuncture for your blood pressure, she agrees to a "trial of acupuncture" for 6 weeks (the same amount of time she would wait to see if your blood pressure medications were working), and then go from there. The idiots who stated that her office was a shambles and filthy, and that she was unkempt "not even running a comb through her hair" were obviously people unsatisfied because she was not an Oxycontin pusher like other doctors. Another one complained about "talking about financial troubles" was probably one of those many freeloaders who either didn't want to pay their stupid $20 co-payment (and it all adds up to a lot of money if people didn't pay it) or they claimed they had insurance, but lied about it, and threw a hissy-fit when told what they owed for an hour's office visit, even after the receptionist had been on the phone with the insurance company for over an hour, trying to get their insurance verified. Yes, the Doc had one dog, occasionally 2 dogs in her office, but they were registered THERAPY DOGS, and many of the patients, especially those with special needs and the elderly. If someone was afraid or allergic to dogs, they would go into the receptionist's office, and not interact with the patients. All in all, you can see that I am / was a VERY happy and satisfied patient, because I drove over an hour and a half to see her every three months or more frequently when needed. Dr. Pepe is GREAT !!!

never had a problem with her services

Dr. Pepe might be a left over hippie, but she is clean individual with slightly frizzy hair. Her daughter brings the baby to work sometimes, but I have NEVER had any of the staff be rude to me, and there is never trouble finding my files or getting my payment taken care of. The fact that she runs an old office is not her fault, although I agree that it could be freshened up a little. But no needle, stethescope, exam table cover, or anything else ever used on me has been dirty - and I am a pretty anal 28 year old. YES, she does sometimes so a foster-care program out of her office for dogs - something involving a wellness/health dog companionship thing. The dog does not have to come in the patient room or anywhere else if you ask though. To be honest - the reason I go to Dr. Pepe is the same reason another reviewer wrote - she is THERE for you. Be it late appointnment, or emergency need - she listens, diagnoses properly, and makes sure you are taken care of. She looks up all medicines… to see what generics are offered, and what won't interfere with your other Rx's. I forgot my checkbook once, no problem, she knew I was good for it, and I put the co-pay in the mail the next day. She is not everyone's cup of tea, as she is unorthodox and her business is laid back...normally I wouldn't care for that kind of Dr.... BUT Dr. Pepe does not have a cold steel atmosphere, and I prefer that - cause she is not a cold steel Dr!

She makes me question how she even has a practice!!!! When you first enter the office first impression a barking dog behind the desk and clutter everywhere. When the doctor finally saw me she was very unprofessional looking. Even though scheduled for new patient appt.( which is longer) she only listend to my lungs and when asked to check a lump on my breast was told she did not have time and would have to make another appt. WOWShe did write for renewals on scripts but when needed to follow up with insurance company for prior autherization she would not call. Had receptionist (daughter) call me to make another appt to talk about medications. What was the first appt. for? The whole experience was horrible. We moved from out of state all we wanted to do was establish a primary care Dr.. She also is known as Dr. Pepe

This is the filthiest, most disgusting office I have ever seen...they had 2 dogs and a baby behind the desk with a loud, mean, unkempt receptionist that turns out is the doctor's daughter...horrible attitude on this girl. Very unprofessional. The doctor charged my insurance for TWO hours when I had only been in her office for 15 minutes!! She talked more about her money problems and personal problems than about why I was there....and after seeing how the doctor looked, I understand now why her daughter looks like a homeless person...the doctor did too! She hadn't even run a comb through her hair! I will NEVER go back...it was horrible.

New patient. Called to confirm they accept my insurance, were accepting new patients and my need was going to be covered. Receptionist told me she would call my provider to confirm (my kids needed tetanus shots for school) and if they did not, she would call the health dept for pricing. Receptionist called back, told me that the shots were not regular immunization shots and they were $35 at the health dept so Dr Pepe would just do it for that amount. Ok, I proceeded with making an appt. as I needed to establish with a primary anyway. The visit: My kids are 16 & 17 so I did not accompany them to the exam room. Dr did not consult me at any point before/during or after the visit. The visit took 2 hours. The office had a small (very loud) dog. It was unpleasant to say the least. Leaving: No after care information, no receipt of service rendered. The only thing I received was a credit card slip (exactly like the ones you get from a gas pump). After: Dr was slow to send shot records needed… for school. I drove to the office twice (the first time they were closed. I had JUST spoken to somone on the phone). Insurance: I decided to call my insurance carrier to confirm what the Dr's staff told me (they did not instill a lot of confidence). The shots were supposed to be 100% covered! I asked the Dr. why she charged me, her response was, "well it costs me more than $2.50 to buy the shots." Bottom line, the experience was terrible, I felt deceived by their claim that it wasn't covered (I will check this out myself going forward). Please save yourself the pain and headache and go somewhere else!

I've never seen a filthy doctors office before. Dust on everything, fuzzballs on the floor in the exam room, and an overall feel of "Somebody needs to get in here and CLEAN THIS PLACE!"Nice enough doctor... she took her time talking with me, and went way off the charts ordering expensive tests that would have cost me THOUSANDS of dollars. I left with orders to go to three different places for tests, no prescription, and a follow up visit scheduled for weeks down the road to discuss treatment options.I went to another doctor the next day... he gave me a prescription for antibiotics, and I was good as new in less than four days.