Dr. Monica Bertolo - Skin Disorders Clinic

I recently saw Dr Bertolo. I was actually quite nervous after reading the reviews. Honestly, her receptionist was VERY friendly and greeted me warmly. I got into the examination room immediately and the doctor came in shortly after I unclothed. She was friendly and thorough. I did forget to ask something because of the shortness of the appointment but that was on me. People need to realize that dermatologists are not in abundance here and we have a high rate of skin cancer in Niagara. Meaning, they are BUSY! I was a patient of Dr Kowalchuck before he closed up practice. He was super busy. Do not be frightened of going to see the doctor. Remember that every now and then people get stressed out. If you treat people the way you want to be treated, you shouldn’t have any problems. Because it was my first visit, I reserved one star for a follow up appointment. It was a 5 star first experience though.

We were referred to Dr. Bertolo by a doctor at a walk in clinic, which I’m sure just saw “Skin Disorders” and sent the referral. Given that, I’m not sure why we were accepted by the office to see Dr. Bertolo as she specializes in skin cancer (which she prefaced during our very brief and abrupt visit) and we had no worries of the skin disorder being cancer. During our appointment she also said that we were informed by the secretary when making the appointment of her specialty, but after reflecting on it I am certain the only mention was skin disorders because had I heard skin cancer I wouldn’t have proceeded. Perhaps it was a one time error, but having skin disorders right in your clinic name is very misleading for patients and many family doctors who may not have time to further investigate. Sure skin cancer falls under skin disorders, but so does a whole slew of other things. In the end we were told to go back to our family doctor and find a dermatologist. Our doctor could have thoroughly checked in with the clinic, but family doctors don’t have that time, rather the onus is on the clinic for accepting us a patient knowing we were looking for skin disorders and cancer wasn’t the concern. Was it simply to bill OHIP? Who’s to say, but I do know it was a waste of tax payer money, patient time and the doctor’s time.

Dr. Bertolo might be the photo in the dictionary for the word efficient. She covers all your concerns in minutes and you’re in and out before you know it. She also provided me with in depth advice to better care for my skin especially considering my family history.

I’ve been seeing Doctor Bertolo for a couple years now. I find her & her staff to be absolutely amazing! I have had Melanoma & I’m thankful for such an incredible Doctor to be checking out my many moles. Thank you 😃

Dr Bertolo is a highly skilled and very caring dermatologist. She explained my issue and treatment path fully. Performed my procedure with great precision. It’s no wonder that she has been voted St Catharine’s best dermatologist for multiple years now. I was very fortunate to have been referred to her care.