Dr. Charles E. Miller, United States

I recently visited this clinic for fertility testing through my CCRM membership, and it was a terrible experience. Every staff member was unfriendly and explained nothing. It felt transactional rather than welcoming. As a nurse, I have seen hospitals and clinics treat patients like transactions, and this clinic is definitely one of them. There was no personal warmth. A nurse drew my blood and told me I could go to the ultrasound room. I had to ask where it was, and she only pointed. After the ultrasound, the technician began cleaning the machine while I sat there half undressed, waiting for her to leave so I could get dressed. It was awful. If you are a CCRM member, go to the Chicago clinic instead. The experience there is completely different.

If I could, I would give them zero stars. Their office completely messed up my billing, then blamed me, treated me terribly, refused to listen to my explanation, and ultimately dismissed me as a patient. I am determined to let everyone know how awful this experience was. Amber's attitude was absolutely appalling. She said things that could not be taken back. I was furious. They put me alone in a room without my service dog and repeatedly insisted more than a dozen times that I would become aggressive and feel unsafe. Communication was extremely poor, and it was impossible to reach anyone. Their approach to billing was essentially, ‘This is all your fault. You have to fix it yourself, and we will do nothing.’ They failed to bill my insurance company for months, then abruptly stopped my treatment halfway through. And do not expect them to teach you how to give injections. It is all YouTube videos and guesswork. The entire experience was terrible. I am determined to let everyone know how awful it was. I would not trust them to care for a puppy, let alone a child.

I usually go to Dr. Miller's Naperville office and will continue going there. I have always received excellent care at the Naperville office! This time I happened to be leaving the Park Ridge area, so I decided to schedule an ultrasound at this office. The ultrasound technician was extremely rude, dismissed all my questions, and responded sarcastically as though my questions were stupid. She made me feel foolish for scheduling an ultrasound at six weeks and two days pregnant, and the entire experience was absolutely terrible! Kindness and compassion are essential when caring for women experiencing infertility, but I received neither today.

I absolutely love Dr. Ryan. She has always been very supportive and communicative, and I am incredibly grateful to have found her.

Thanks to Dr. Miller, I have three children: 30-year-old twins and a 25-year-old child. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. God bless you. —Randy Luciani

Dr. Miller helped me conceive my son 37 years ago. Now my son and daughter-in-law are also receiving infertility treatment from him. My daughter-in-law had surgery for endometriosis, which resolved her chronic constipation and painful periods. We credit Dr. Miller’s excellent surgical skill. They are now waiting for IVF treatment. It has been a long process involving referrals, MRI, genetic testing, ultrasound, and more, but we hope IVF will bring success. Dr. Miller was outstanding during surgery. He knew my son and I were anxious because the operation was long and we feared my daughter-in-law might need bowel reconstruction. As the colorectal surgeon was finishing, he came out to reassure us that everything was fine and reconstruction was unnecessary. Special thanks also to Cynthia at the front desk, who handled all the necessary paperwork and helped everything run smoothly. She gave us tremendous support. We pray for a good outcome and feel reassured that they are receiving excellent care. Two other doctors I consulted also said Dr. Miller is the authority on infertility treatment.

Dr. Miller was my physician in 2001. I had left another clinic after being treated terribly following a miscarriage. When I learned that Dr. Miller had opened his own practice, I made an appointment. He did not give up on me. Several tests confirmed our problem, and I became pregnant with twins. After years of heartbreak, I was incredibly grateful to have two children close in age. They are now almost 24 and healthy and active. Having options when you want children is a tremendous blessing. Thank you for everything you do for the community.

Aside from the time I spoke directly with Dr. Balmir, who was kind and professional, my experience with this clinic was so poor that I decided to seek another doctor. I was repeatedly given incomplete and incorrect information about testing and insurance, which delayed treatment. CCRM offers only two ways to communicate: a maze of transferred phone calls that ultimately lead to voicemail, or a portal that often freezes and makes information hard to find. The portal also includes a disclaimer advising against using it for most communication, even though they expect all communication to go through it. Rachel, who manages all of Dr. Balmir’s patients, repeatedly told me she was new when I first called with confusion and concerns. My ultrasound technician was extremely rude and made an already uncomfortable exam worse. Their office manager said they have “a known staffing shortage,” but after reading years of poor reviews, I doubt her assurance that the problems are being addressed promptly. I expected any fertility journey to be difficult, stressful, and challenging, and I was prepared for that. I did not expect such incompetence from the staff and communication systems at a clinic that claims to focus on women’s health. I strongly advise against choosing this clinic.

Dr. Miller solved a problem other doctors could not. Because of him, I have my two children, and I will always be grateful.

I had not written a review because my friend saw Dr. Miller three or five years ago and trusted him greatly. After receiving a storage bill even though I had no embryos to store, I reached my limit. My treatment with Dr. Miller initially seemed very promising. He assured me he could help, said my case was straightforward, and that everything looked good. Both cycles failed, with no explanation for why my eggs did not mature. The doctor suggested trying to lose weight, which was reasonable, but during treatment I had asked whether that might be the reason and was told it was not. After speaking with two other doctors, both believed my retrievals were performed too early. During the second retrieval, we questioned whether the follicle sizes were appropriate based on the number and levels, and were told yes, but we could not speak directly with Dr. Miller. We still feel we were rushed into retrieval to avoid a holiday retrieval on Thanksgiving because he admitted he was unavailable that day. Of course, we are not doctors and cannot say with certainty that X caused the failure. I know even doctors sometimes cannot determine the reason, but poor communication and lack of respect for patients were consistent problems. He was rarely, if ever, available. We were told we should feel lucky to get a phone consultation at 5 a.m. on Sunday after the failed retrieval. Without notifying us, the clinic moved it to 6:30 a.m. Saturday. We then received a voicemail saying how rude we were for not answering, even though we did not know the time had changed. I wish I could attach that voicemail to this review. We spoke with a different nurse every time. By far the best nurse there was Laura, the only person we felt truly listened. Courtney was an excellent ultrasound technician. The Naperville office is better managed than PR. The PR office is poorly managed and understaffed. One day I waited more than an hour because the nurse had not arrived. I could say much more. I am writing this to say that I believe he is very intelligent, but he seems to have limited time for patients whose cases are not unusual. If your case is outside his specialty or interest, good luck. The office chaos is frustrating, communication is limited, and the tone is often disrespectful.

This provider did not order routine blood work and instead chose the most expensive tests without justification. Their behavior appeared unprofessional, arrogant, and dismissive. In my view, this person lacks the integrity and bedside manner expected of a medical professional.

My ultrasound technician did little to make me feel comfortable. Her answers to my questions were somewhat cold and dismissive: 'I have not gotten to that yet.' I would not mind at a bank, but given how sensitive this situation is, I hoped for more compassion.