Dr. Maria Hatara, MD

I was referred to Charlotte Gastroenterology & Hepatology by my primary care physician for a colonoscopy consultation. Upon entering the room, Dr. Hatara could not have appeared to be more disinterested, cold, and bothered. My consultation lasted approx. 5 minutes - during which she looked up from her laptop only a handful of times. Before I could even finish a sentence, I was met with a lot of 'mhmms' and 'yeahs' - again, I felt like there was complete and total lack of any sort of genuine care or concern - completely rushed & could have been a virtual visit. I left scheduling my procedure and decided to do some additional research online once I got home - it seems like I'm not the only patient with similar concerns. Ultimately decided to cancel my next appointment, and look for a provider with better bedside manner.

Dr Hatara did a colonoscopy on me years ago when she was in Bend, OR. I have a decades old Brown Sequard Syndrome spinal cord injury, which causes bowel and bladder problems. The two colonoscopies I had after the injury went without incident before moving to Bend. After the second procedure the doctor told me to be sure and have an aggressive prep procedure, so I was fully cleaned out. When I made the appointment with Dr Hatara, I told her staff of my problem. The prep procedure she ordered appeared to be the basic prep, which I now believe she either didn't read her staff's notes or didn't care. I don't recall meeting her prior to the procedure or if I did, I was likely on the table getting anesthesia. Afterwards, I saw her when I woke up. Shetold me she aborted the procedure as I wasn't cleaned out. Given my prep, I wasn't surprised. I found a new gastroenterologist who listened, and described what she found in detail. She's wonderful! Maybe that's why Dr Hatara left Bend.

Run as far away as possible. Do not go in for a consultation or for an office visit. She charged me and my insurance company $542 for a 5 minute conversation. Highway robbery!

I wouldn't recommend Dr. Hatara at all. She is a very poor communicator. Only wants to do colonoscopy w/out trying to get to the bottom of the problem. I allowed her to perform my first colonoscopy & she was out the door after the colonoscopy procedure before I could ask her One question! Unfortunately, the receptionists at her office aren't much better. I called and left a message every day for a week after the colonoscopy to get my results. I never received one phone call back. I then called the Office Manager one and a half weeks after my procedure to let her know how upset I was. She didn't seem to care much either. And then she proceeded to tell me my results. Nothing found; come back in 5 years. HOW does that solve my initial problem that I went in for which Dr. Hatara FAILED to address??

I am so happy with Dr. Hatara. She is very professional and I am so happy to find a gastro doctor who is very thorough. She never makes me feel rushed, I’ve had UC for 26 years and I have seen my share of doctors! Very happy to have found her!

Very poor with communication

Doctor Hatara should have chosen a different career field. I have been sick for over 5 years almost 6. I went to the doctor and went and went until they referred me to a Specialist “Dr. Hatara” who preformed a colonoscopy on me in 4/16, said she saw some abnormal inflammation but it should calm down and sent me on my way. After that response I gave up on doctors complelty and now my husband is really worried about me forcing me back to the doc. Long story short I brought the images Hatara took to a different specialist who within three seconds of looking at the pictures Dr Hatara dismissed said I think you have Crohn’s disease. Now I am finally on the path of receiving the health I deserve, and that Dr Hatara is not knowledged when it comes to the digestive tract.

Very thorough and impressed with her

What a waste of time. She is terrible at what she does.

Dr. Hatara performed a colonoscopy on me at the Bend Surgery Center. While my encounter with her was but 5 minutes prior to the sedation taking effect, I was impressed with the professionalism of Dr. Hatara and of all the Surgery Center staff, and the facilities. Everything was explained to me, and all went very well throughout the procedure.