Dr. Martha Toma Cole, MD

I started going to Dr. Cole based on reviews, and parts of those reviews are true. Dr. Cole is a very kind, caring woman, but she also may want to consider retiring, or going to a limited schedule. She is constantly overscheduled, which results in her becoming scatterbrained. They will call you to inform you that your appointment is being pushed back, but I'm not about to take half a day off of work when my appointment was only supposed to take an hour. I once scheduled an appointment for 3 PM and wasn't seen until 6 or 7 PM. She also doesn't have a trained aide to help her with procedures, and will, more often then not, have her receptionist assist her. I've also never been told to get my blood drawn more often in my life. Seriously she had me get my blood drawn after almost every appointment for seemingly no reason. Like another person said below - she's a pharmaceutical reps wet dream and pushes every kind of treatment and pill on you. She pushed me to get Nexplanon which… turned out to be one of the WORST experiences I have ever had. She also became very concerned that I had a heart murmur and sent me to a cardiologist. Cardiologist said I had an extremely healthy heart with no issues, and then I was out of pocket $250 for the appointment. I was her patient for a few years and kept going back because it's so tough to find a gyno with good bedside manner. I left her care because I could no longer trust her as a doctor.

From the very beginning and over the years, I've found Dr. Martha Cole to be an exceptional and dedicated doctor. You can tell that she really cares about her patients' wellbeing in a genuine way. Her approach has always left me feeling truly valued and prompted me to take much better and more attentive care of myself, including my nutritional and fitness needs. She's very thorough, taking nothing for granted. Her manner puts you at ease and makes you feel very comfortable with opening up to her. She never rushes her patients, always taking the time to explain and clarify everything. When asked questions, I have found her responses to always be well-informed and easily understandable. She encourages discussion. The prescriptions that she recommended for me have suited me way better with minimized side effects, compared to what my former doctors had prescribed. If there are other medical matters outside her specialization that you may need to get addressed, she's so well-connected and… will offer you a referral list of great doctors in that specialization. She'll review every lab form before lab work gets sent out, to ensure all the essential and necessary labwork is on there. And she'll explain it all to you and why those lab tests are necessary and advisable for you, whilst you are in consultation with her, in the medical examination room. Honestly, she does tend to run a little late with her appointments, but that doesn't deter me from continuing to go to her; the wait is well worth the quality of care and undivided attention I get from her. As I mentioned, unlike most doctors these days, she never ever rushes her patients out the door. To better deal with the expected wait at the doctor's office and to avoid it from being a very long wait, I often call her office 1.5 to 2 hours in advance, to see how late she's running with her appointments, and then I time my arrival for the appointment accordingly. She is one of those doctors that lives to work, as well as, loves to work; she's so incredibly hardworking. She's even taken the time to call me after hours with lab results and advised me about what needs to be done next etc. Along with that, I've even received letters and documents in the mail from her office explaining exactly what issue I'm dealing with is and what additional steps and precautions need to be taken etc. I find this kind of service very rare and rather reassuring. If you leave a message about a medical concern, she will get back to you. She often works such long hours trying to keep on top of things and provide the best care and solutions for her patients, even to the point where I've seen Dr. Cole skip meals or have late meals, trying to give all the more time to her patients. At first glance, the administrative area may appear a little cramped, but one has to be understanding of the fact that she's running a one-doctor office and therefore the size of the office is comparatively suitable in that perspective, esp. when you look at the convenience of the location, as well as take into consideration how costly the Chevy Chase area tends to be. The two examination rooms and the restroom are of a rather good size and kept very clean, and that's what ought to matter most to patients as far as space is concerned. Also parking is rather convenient; you only pay $1 for validated parking per visit, within the parking lot; that's incredible considering the location. As for what often appears as piles of paperwork in the admin area, is in fact a rather systematic approach - there is a method to it all - I noticed the following whilst in waiting and keenly observing; trying to understand what's going on in that admin area with all that paperwork and patient folders etc. Patients jump to conclusion often based on how the admin side of the office appears, thinking it to be disorganized, when in fact different folders are compiled in different stacks for better organization and efficiency. Take for instance, one stack is for patients that need to be called promptly regarding lab results, another stack of folders is for patient prescriptions that need to be called in, stack # 3 for going through medical coding and billing, stack # 4 is the paperwork for the lab work that will be submitted at the end of the day, stack # 5 is of patient files for which everything has been completed and so needs to be filed back into the filing system, stack # 6 consists of medical files that have been pulled for the doctor's reference when a patient wants a call back for any reason at all - Dr. Cole reviews the patient file and information before placing any call back to the patient. Stack # 7 is of patients' medical files pulled the day prior to their appointment for a courtesy reminder call. This just mentions some of the stacks, but you get my point - we, as patients jump to the conclusion that the admin appears disorganized, but in fact it actually keeps the doctor and admin organized, efficient and effective.

I have been a patient of Dr. Cole's for about 15 years. She is a smart, kind, caring doctor, who takes the time to know an listen to all her patients. Hence the waiting room back-up. But I will say that I have had long waits at other doctor's offices where in the end, you get a brisk appointment. At least with Dr. Cole, there is a pay-off.Rare to find the combination of caring and intelligence.

I have been Dr. Cole's patient for over 25 years and as yet I have found only one other doctor with the patience and knowledge and the ability to simplify medical diagnoses and clarify options that I can understand, to enable me to make a clear decision.

I have been seeing Dr. Cole for many years. Yes, she is always running late for office appointments, but it is well worth the wait. She always reads my chart first and then listens to my responses to her questions. She is interested in my overall health, not just my female parts.

She spends a lot of time with each patient and gives a thorough exam. The wait times are very long though.

Dr Cole is awesome. She has diagnosed and treated me successfully for a variety of issues. She has terrific bedside manners and is very thorough in answering questions. She cares deeply for her patients. I don't entirely disagree with reviewers who complain about her running behind schedule and the clutter in her office, but since we don't seem able to "have it all these" days with our medical care, I highly recommend Dr Cole. Just bring some work with you in case you need to wait a while.