Ciocca Dermatology - Giovanna Ciocca — Local services in Kendall

I had an appointment at this office today, and unfortunately, my experience was frustrating and disappointing. I initially visited in January for a persistent issue, and despite following the recommended treatment, my symptoms have not improved. When I reached out via text—a feature I appreciated—a PA called me and advised me to continue using the same ointments and to take Allegra during the day and two pills at night. I was concerned about the high dosage, so I decided to schedule an in-person visit for further evaluation.

At my appointment, I was seen by a nurse practitioner who seemed unsure about many of my concerns. I explained my treatment history, showed her the creams I had been using, and she was surprised that one of them, which she considered excellent, was no longer effective. She mentioned a new cream but didn’t provide much confidence in her recommendations. When I described my severe nighttime itching and the sensation of bugs crawling on my skin, she speculated about scabies but quickly dismissed it without further investigation. I had to inform her that I had previously been diagnosed with scabies and had been treated with antibiotics a long time ago which I would expect to be in my medical history. It was frustrating that she didn’t review my records before seeing me.

At one point, she brought up her background as a Cuban doctor and her experience with scabies patients. While I respect her experience, it felt irrelevant to my situation, and I was looking for answers specific to my case—not a generalization. I insisted on having a biopsy done instead of waiting and returning for another appointment.

The biopsy process itself was extremely uncomfortable. Instead of positioning my wrist in a way that was comfortable for both of us, she had me in an awkward position, and when I mentioned that I could feel the puncture, she seemed surprised. I ultimately had to stop her because I no longer felt comfortable. Afterward, she and the medical assistant seemed unsure of what they were doing, asking each other for supplies and appearing unprepared. I felt like I was bleeding more than I should have, and she quickly wrapped my wound without showing me. At the end of the visit, the instructions I received were unclear and inconsistent. Initially, I was told to apply Neosporin, but then she changed her mind and prescribed something else. When I asked for clarification about what to apply during the day, the MA couldn’t provide a clear answer. I left the office feeling frustrated rather than reassured.

To make matters worse after everything was done the doctor didn’t even return to explain the prescribed creams. Instead the medical assistant was left to relay the instructions. She told me to apply mupirocin all over my body, which made no sense because this is for cuts and wounds, not for my eczema or dermatitis.. Overall, my experience was...

I’ve been to serval different dermatology facility, but this place has been THE WORST!!!

When I got there the place was very nice and clean. The staff was nice upfront but that’s pretty much it.

When it was time to pay my copayment it was suppose to be $60 and I even called my insurance in advance to make sure, but they were charging me $100 and something. I told them that’s impossible and it’s even on my card that specialist are $60 and they kept says that the first visit are more expensive. Called my insurance after and they even told me they didn’t understand why they charged me that much. I had to wait for the claim to be filed so that the insurance could refund me back.

Now after the appointment, the dermatologist prescribed me 2 medicines for my psoriasis. Tried to pick up the medicine at the pharmacy but was told my insurance needed approval from the dermatologist for these medicines. Called my insurance the next day to see what was going on. They told me they were still waiting for the approval. 2-3 days pass called back the insurance and they still hadn’t received the approval. They told me to call Ciocca so they can call them (the insurance) so they can get the approval faster. Called Ciocca they said they had just faxed it and I asked if they could please call instead since I really needed the medicine. They told me no. Sure, I get it... they have a system. After waiting 2 weeks. I called my insurance again to ask for an update. They told me that one for the medicine isn’t covered but that they have alternatives and that they sent it to Ciocca for approval. Called Ciocca and didn’t get an answer. I called almost everyday until last Friday that someone finally picked up. Told me that the dermatologist didn’t approve the alternatives but to only use the one medicine that the insurance did approve. They didn’t even explain why they doctor said no to the alternatives! I’ve used them before and they still work pretty good. But even so I asked if they could send the prescription to the pharmacy again, but it got denied... again! It’s been a month with this overall experience and I’ve left countless voicemails and called so many times!! They really have neglected my concerns and my psoriasis just keeps getting worst.

Please avoid coming here! Only reason why I even tried this place was because my new insurance doesn’t cover my old...

Beware: Dr. Ciocca is a pediatrician that did a fellowship in dermatology and has an American association of physicians speciality certification in dermatology. She has not completed a residency in dermatology and she has not sat for a certification from the American board of dermatology. Furthermore, If you are looking for a dermatology office that takes annual checks and skin cancer seriously, do not use this office!

I was a patient of Ciocca Dermatology for 4 years. In 2020 I went into the office for an annual skin check and a concern about a spot in my scalp. I was seen by the Nurse practitioner (Paige Wells) and told the spot was not a cause for concern and given a shampoo to wash with. I continued going to this practice for my annual skin checks for the next 4 years and the red spot remained but I was continually told by Paige Wells it was nothing to worry about, even though the prescribed shampoo was not helping. The red spot continued to grow until I finally insisted the spot be biopsied by the Doctor Giovanna Ciocca. It was skin cancer, thankfully a non melanoma cancer but still cancer that was left untreated for 4 years (despite annual checks)!

Dr. Ciocca biopsied the area and the biopsy results were posted to my patient portal the next day showing positive for basal cell carcinoma.

I waited a day for someone from the office to call me with the next steps but no one called so I followed up 2 days later and was told the doctor was still reviewing my results. I waited another 2 days, but still hadn’t received a call so I followed up again. The receptionist told me they were still reviewing my results. Finally someone from the office called me 7 business after my biopsy results were received to let me know I needed to find a MOHs surgeon because they couldn’t do the procedure in their office. Dr. Ciocca did not even call me herself to confirm the pathology results. I feel the practice is very dismissive and does not care individually for their patients. We were just an insurance check to them.

If you are looking for a med spa, this might be a good option as their entire social page appears to only promote this aspect of dermatology. For medical dermatology please consider a...