Dr. Robert Seth Shapiro, MD

He is very disrespectful and hostile towards clients. I went in for acne and a rash on my skin which he refused to look at. I was kind and polite the entire visit in hopes that I would get some help for my skin condition. Sadly, he gave no medical help and suggested that I wear makeup to cover it up. I left crying. Was a HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!! I never write reviews but I am hoping I can save the next person who needs help with their skin.

He is very disrespectful and hostile towards clients. I went in for acne and a rash on my skin which he refused to look at. I was kind and polite the entire visit in hopes that I would get some help for my skin condition. Sadly, he gave no medical help and suggested that I wear makeup to cover it up. I left crying. Was a HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!! I never write reviews but I am hoping I can save the next person who needs help with their skin.

My daughter went to him for folliculitis on her face ....and he was absolutely the rudest human ever !! He has zero patience and ask her “do you want me to make up a medicine that will help you !?!” He is a total jerk. Stay away from him , far away . Drive to Kona or wherever u have to drive. Don’t waist your time at this rude doc’s place !

Yes he's the only choice in town. So after one visit, I found a dermatologist in Kona.

Hilo has only 3 dermatologists. One is not accepting new patients; one will not accept MediCare patients. That leaves Shapiro! I did not experience long waits on either of my visits. He is brusque, does not give "warm & caring" feeling, but he did listen to my description of symptoms and gave me choice of two treatments. I prefer my derm doc on mainland, but if you need derm help while on Island, Shapiro is your only choice.

I had to get up and leave when I noticed that after 1.5 hours of waiting, the 10 other patients in front of me in the "reception" area (hard plastic chair inside or hard concrete bench outside) were still waiting too, and some had been waiting an hour longer than I had. Appt was for 3:00, and I left at 4:40 when I heard the receptionist tell another patient "Yes we're supposed to close at 6 but most nights we're still here after 8 or 9:00". Umm, no. It was always a long wait when I used to come here in 2013-14, but never like this. In the time I was there I heard them following up on referrals for no less than 6 new patients, like he can even handle the ones he has already. The aircon was set to uncomfortably warm and no relaxing music, just the sound of catty side comments between the receptionists and "Dr" chatting up the same patient for an hour down the hall. Reminds me: forget about privacy, anything you say can be heard in the reception "lounge". I'm going to find a doctor… who respects my problems and my time, or buy an Exacto knife and cut the thing off by myself.

I went to Dr. Shapiro for a rosacea problem which he quickly diagnosed as Lupus instead. He never even asked me any symptoms! As he was filling out the paperwork for the Lupus blood screening he offered to have me get STD screening too. I was completely offended as I was going to him for dermatology and not OBGYN issues. He told me he had no time for questions. Rushed me out of the exam room in five minutes. I was in tears by the time I got to reception. He must have felt bad because he called me four hours later to ask if I had any questions which I quickly hung up on him. After getting blood test back- I do NOT have Lupus and he made me worry all week about it. This was the worst medical exam experience I have ever had and will be calling my insurance to complain about him and any board that will listen.

Agree w comments re doctors non existent bedside manner. Acts like he's angry you are wasting his time, so quick exam and like baseball, you're out! Waiting room is tiny so expect to spend at least part of your 45 min wait, outside. Front office person is doing the job of 3 people so expect to stand at the counter for 5 minutes just to check in. Meds he gave didn't work, either, so I'm going back to what works, and asking for a referral to another dermatologist.

Most likely the worst experience I've ever had with a doctor. No bedside manner. Expect to wait at lest an hour, or nearly two hours (as i did) past your appointment time to see him. And as a thank you for choosing him as your dermatologist he charges an extra $100 for new patients! The good news is that while i was waiting for two hours in the waiting room i was able to speak with other patients that confirmed that all the above is quite common and in fact expected by his patients.

I really like Dr. Shapiro as a person and as a doctor. He's very straightforward, knowledgeable, cautious with patients, very willing to answer any and all questions, and always tries to let them know what the worst case scenario would be.Unfortunately, the way his practice is run needs a lot of help. He spends the minimum amount of time with patients to try and get as many in and out as he possibly can (which makes sense, although it comes at the cost of the care of the patient) and instead prefers to see patients as often as he can (which also, makes more sense, because it means he's getting more money... and I suppose it allows him to make sure the patient is responding to treatment). I was going in weekly to see him for an infection, taking almost two hours out of my day to be seen by him for ten minutes. His office hours make it impossible to schedule an appointment without taking time off from work/school, and there is absolutely no way you're going to make it in and out on your… lunch break, so don't even try it.