Dr. Joseph Donovan Dirocco, MD

Dr Dirocco absolutely saved my life with emergency surgery for colon cancer that I didn’t know I had. Every interaction is professional and enjoyable. I honor and respect him so very much! :)

Dr Dirocco is one in a million. He is an Awesome Dr. Very easy to talk to.Great Bedside manner. Was there for me 24/7 with my surgery. His. Staff is awesome as well.

Dr DiRocco is an outstanding doctor. I can honestly say at the most difficult time of my life, while getting such frightening news on a diagnosis right before the holiday, the best thing I could have done was for my wife and I to contact this office. The staff is very compassionate, quick to respond, and goes out of their way to help you. We called the office and spoke with Kim who worked it out to get the appointment immediately. We call Kim our Angel! We also dealt with several other staff members who have gone above and beyond to assist us and were greatly instrumental in our communications. It truly is a phenomenal staff. In meeting with Dr DiRocco, we never feel rushed. As far as I am concerned, he is not only a great doctor, but makes you feel so easy to talk with and treats you with great respect to show he truly cares. He listens to my questions (even if I ask the same ones over again) and has such a way to relieve my fears. He is so patient & caring along with his… professionalism. He has a way of putting you at ease while educating you. We had no doubt to put our trust in him as the surgeon, and that was absolutely the best decision we could have ever made. The pre-op workup is done right at the hospital and made all the necessities prior to surgery go very smoothly. All this is so important when you are feeling a sense of shock and being overwhelmed. They also provided further education on what to expect and prepared me for the surgery. My pain was extremely well controlled which helped significantly in my recuperation. I know Dr DiRocco was the perfect choice for me. He and his staff have been a true blessing, and I am very thankful for the great service.

I never got a chance to even meet Dr. DiRocco because his office staff was so unbelievably rude and abusive on the phone, when I was simply trying to find out information and make an appointment. I spoke to two receptionists, and both of them were irritated by the most basic questions about the doctor's locations, availability, and hospital privileges. The first one (Shayla) gave me information that later turned out to be completely false, saying that he does not do any procedures at GBMC, and that I would have to travel far to his Bel Air office for any procedures beyond an exam. Even though he is listed as the medical director of GI Oncology at GBMC on their website, she kept insisting he had no affiliation with GBMC. She said that it was a private practice that just had an office on the GBMC campus. She said there were no appointments available until the end of January, and when I said I didn't know if I could wait that long to address my painful medical issues, she told me his… medical secretary would call me soon to help me schedule an appointment. No call came that day or the next day, so I called again to remind them. When I called again on the third day, his medical assistant answered the phone (I think this was the person who was supposed to call me back in the first place), and to my shock, she was even ruder than the first person! She told me everything the opposite of what I had been told before, saying that he *does* do all kinds of procedures at GBMC, which I was relieved to hear. And yet all of my attempts to communicate with her were met with unbelievable hostility and stonewalling—I literally could not comprehend where it was coming from, when I was simply trying to find out information in a friendly, respectful manner. Finally, I said I would like to schedule an appointment, and it turned out that he had a full day of available appointments on Jan. 3rd, not the end of January like I had been told before. Then suddenly, as I was trying to decide which time slot to take on that day, she said, “Are you trying to make an appointment?” (I don't know why she asked this, since we were clearly already doing that.) I said, “Yes, why?” and then after a long pause, she said, “I will have to speak to Dr. DiRocco about whether we can take you on as a patient because you are being so rude to me, and so you can just be on your way then” and hung up on me! And she was calling *me* rude! It was truly mind-boggling. I couldn't even conceive that a phone conversation lasting less than five minutes could go so wrong so quickly, for no reason at all. I have never before experienced such unprofessional behavior from any medical office. Most of the people who call these offices are already in physical pain or distress of some kind, as I am, and to be treated this horrendously before even getting to see the doctor is shocking. It astounds me that someone like Dr. DiRocco, who has so many overwhelmingly positive reviews on these websites, could have office staff this rude and aggressive. But if these are the people that he hires as his office staff and assistants, then I certainly have no faith in his judgment as a person or a doctor. I will gladly go much farther out of my way to seek treatment from someone who treats patients (and prospective patients) with compassion and respect.

Dr. DiRocco was very professional and attentive to my needs. Waiting time was acceptable. the office staff especially Yolanda were great. Would recommend to friends in need.

Dr. DiRocco is a caring professional and fully explains all options for treatment. He and his staff are excellent .

Outstanding Doctor who really puts his patients at ease. He is very thorough and explains everything to his patients. He even provided me with his personal cell phone for any questions or concerns that I had after my procedure during non business hours. A caring and compassionate individual.

Dr DiRocco is an excellent physician. His bedside manner was friendly and informative. My procedure went very well and was painless. His follow up care was also very good. Kudos to Dr DiRocco and his entire staff for a job well done!

Takes the time to discuss your concerns. Thank you for your service.

I suffered excruciating pain for 3 years, thinking I had hemorrhoids, before going to the VA to get help. Of the 5 doctors I saw there, only one got my diagnosis right (anal fissure) and none of them did anything to help me. So, about the time I hit 4 years of suffering, I decided to find a REAL doctor and pay for it myself. I found Dr. DiRocco and going to him was one of the best decisions I ever made. Dr. DiRocco got my surgery taken care of within 3 weeks of my initial appointment. Long story short, Dr. DiRocco did a great job. My recovery was quick and the pain is gone. It's nice being back to normal and I have Dr. DiRocco and his staff to thank for it. He's a good doctor who actually cares. If you're suffering, don't hesitate to call him. He'll fix you right up.