When I was forced to visit his practice by a chronic and violent stomach condition i have battled…read morefor over 15 years, Dr. Tooson was unbelievably rude and gave me the distinct impression that he either didn't believe me (I am very young to be facing such chronic health problems) or just didn't care. I am very much inclined towards the latter, as I believe he saw my suffering and my daily pain as an opportunity for him to make money off of me and my insurance. Despite the fact that I was complaining of daily debilitating vomiting and diarrhea, Dr. Julius Dewayne Tooson did not make any recommendations regarding my diet, gave me nothing for my nausea or diarrhea (even though i made it very clear that this was a serious problem and that i react well to Ondansetron for my daily vomiting). Even though I specifically asked for any doctor other than Dewayne Tooson MD, an emergency forced me to seek the services of his practice, and much to my disappointment, I had to see the one doctor from their practice who I had heard bad things about. What I had heard regarding his unprofessional and generally unknowledgeable demeanor was spot on, seeing how Dr. Tooson did not make any effort whatsoever to treat my awful symptoms (most straightforward being my vomiting or diarrhea); instead he took the opportunity to profit off of my pain and abuse the doctor-patient relationship as well as his position at a reputable firm. After my operation, Dr. Tooson made no effort to let me know how it went, instead taking the opportunity to talk to my girlfriend while i was unconscious. Apparently, I had woken up during the procedure (i was supposed to be under adequate anesthesia), and must have had to be restrained (again, no one told me anything about what happened), but after my procedure I woke up with at least 8 new needle holes (despite my pipeline veins) and massive bruises on my arms and torso (I took pictures, some bruises are grapefruit-size, others are finger-shaped). Some time later, my condition worsened and I ended up in the emergency room due to the severity and intensity of my symptoms (vomiting blood and bile over 10x in a day). Much to my disappointment, the dr on call to preform the procedure i needed was none-other than the same guy whose neglect contributed to my worsening condition, Dr. Dewayne Tooson. After first bearing the disrespect of him making a joke of my awful situation, I told him I wanted to speak to one of his partners, because the level of dis-concern and unprofessionality he had demonstrated was completely uncalled for and his reputation had made me never want to see him in the first place. Instead of fulfilling my request to speak to one of the managing partners of his practice, Dr. Tooson immediately began taking steps to cover his own butt: instead of telling other doctors and nurses that i had requested to speak to one of his partners, he instead made it seem as though I had explicitly refused the services of their practice and falsely represented my desire to speak to a more professional and more senior partner from his practice. Apparently, he said that I refused the services of his practice, fired him, and also fired all the partners from his practice. This seemed very obviously an attempt to prevent his more senior partners from seeing me and realizing the horrid mistakes he had made regarding his lack of concern and lack of professionalism toward me, my girlfriend, and my debilitating stomach condition which had led me to seek his services and eventually end up hospitalized after an ER visit. It is absolutely disgusting that a doctor would be allowed to profit off of so explicitly disrespecting a patient, their health, and their desire to speak to a managing partner from his practice. How can he be allowed to profit off of deliberately attempting to prevent me from receiving medical care I needed? How can he be allowed to profit off of covering up the fact that I had raised concerns about his professionality and wished to receive an audience with his managing partners? Is he really allowed to just lie about me asking to speak to his partners, and just say that I refused their services? The worst part is, I sought the help of his firm because of a debilitating and life-changing progression in the severity of GI conditions I have battled for over 15 years, and this disrespectful jerk made a mockery out of it and made no effort to treat a single symptom. As I suspected, my condition worsened over the next two weeks and I ended up in the Emergency Room. When Dr. Tooson saw me in the hospital, despite the fact that his negligence may have very-well contributed to the worsening of my condition and my eventual hospitalization, he made a mockery out of the whole indecent and took steps to prevent me from being able to see a more senior doctor from his practice, effectively doing everything in his power to protect himself from having to answer for his unprofessionalism and neglect.

I was referred to Dr. Tooson by my primary physician and I thought that his service and care was…read moreexcellent! He explained my diagnosis to me in a manner that was very easy to understand. I am so thankful for him because now I know the correct medicine to take and my problems no longer interfere with my life. I would recommend him to anyone!

I just had my first visit here after the "turd in the bucket" alternative failed to get me out of…read morehaving a colonoscope. First of all, no mean ass walruses at the receptionist desk, nurses were nice, and Dr. However was good. The one complaint is with the automated answering service. This sucks. I would've have given 5 stars if not for having to deal with it.

if I could give this office staff a ZERO, I would. They are rude, intolerant and have absolutely no…read moredesire to help you. They will tell you off for asking a question. It used to be a wonderful place But, at this time, it is the worst dr's office in this town by far. Furthermore, GI Associates wanted to charge me again ($60) to explain my test results that they failed to explain to me after the procedure and refused to tell me over the phone. The feeling you get when you're at this office is that EVERYONE hates their jobs.

Used this practice twice before-years ago. All went well. Just went back with an urgent throat…read moreissue post-op from spine surgery. Obviously they did not perform the surgery but the throat issue was extremely urgent in within their area of expertise. I went on a referral from my primary MD. Upon arrival, I spoke with the NP about the issue. She took it to the MD. They refused to look at me or offer any help in any way. I was told to go back to the surgeon. I can barely eat and must sleep in a chair because of a constriction in the larynx area. This is their area of practice. Refusing to even look or offer a possible temporary aid suggestion is below normal medical standards. I certainly will not return to this practice ever again and certainly will never endorse them.

My son was sent to this office by his insurance company . We checked with the office ahead of time…read moreas well.​ He was scheduled to see Dr Gillespie and he did not owe a copay. After a 2-hour drive to the office a very young and ​ unprofessional receptionist demanded a copay or he would not be seen. She would not call the insurance company. It was almost 4:00 and later we found out he should not have been asked for the copay. He was in extreme pain and the entire day was wasted in the car. He was not seen and his medical care was delayed. I would not recommend this office to anybody.

Was asked if I had completed the on line paperwork, when I said no I was told my appointment would…read moreneed to be rescheduled. I had cleared my email the night before but did not see an email requesting forms be completed. The request was sent as a text message at 5 pm the day before.... I lost an hour of my work day to be turned away. I will not go back and I will not recommend this physician.

I'm used to long waits at doctor's offices and staff forgetting to follow through but this place…read moretakes the cake!

I am thinking about traveling. I found out if take medications, I should have a letter from my…read moredoctor detailing my medication, dosage, and reason for taking the medication. I called and asked if a letter could be prepared for me. I was pleasantly surprised when the office called me the next day to tell me they could mail me the letter, I could pick it up, or I could go to the patient portal to print it. I was going to be in the area so I stopped by and picked my letter up. Kudos for their fast response. I have been a patient at this business for years. I highly recommend this business. Dr. Billings and Dr. Holcomb have taken excellent care of me.

I would suggest NOT even considering this place. My husband and I WERE both patients. My daughter…read morehad an ER visit and a follow up with our Dr. He wanted my daughter referred to a GI Dr. My husband and I wanted her to use the same Dr. We tried to call for three days straight. Every time you call, you have to leave a message. I could not get anyone to call me back. Our primary Dr called again. It took forever for the nurse to talk to a person. I was supposed to get a call by lunch. It did not happen. Some advice from a paying customer... pay someone to answer your phone and make appointments. The Dr we use is actually good, but the customer service and scheduling is awful! Dr. Billings, hire someone to schedule or fire whoever is supposed to be calling people back and doing scheduling. It's killing your business.

I actually saw Dr Loudon's nurse practitioner, and she was fantastic! Extremely knowledgeable and…read morelistened to my every concern. This was a visit to a gastroenterologist for a second opinion. I learned much more, and she is taking steps forward to help me. It was a great visit, with excellent care!

The Homewood office located right off of Hwy 31 in the Region's Bank towers, floor 9. There are…read moreseveral doctors in this practice and the office staff are very efficient in getting your information and set up to see the doctor. I've been going here for seven years and am very pleased with my doctor. There's no hassle setting an appointment, as they have multiple offices that the doctors work from. Also the response time from the PA's regarding issues and technicalities are quick as well.

New patient- had really brief interview and received answers to some questions although it seemed i…read morewas taking up too much of his time. Doctor gave verbal instructions to discontinue a medicine. I requested written instructions- received sheet of paper that only said stop medicine. No instructions or contact phone numbers if complications arose from stopping medicine. Called to confirm Instructions , message says would be 48 hours before call returned. Ok, called procedure site who gave instructions to continue all medicines except anticoagulants and antihyperglycemics because they didn't have any information. Called after hours number, message quoted $50 fee to answer nonurgent questions. 1st call returned 72h, caller pulled clinic visit record- no mention of request to stop medicine in clinic visit record. Received call- was I interested in signing up for care coordination offered? Saw doctor again 2 minutes prior to sedation for procedure, finally confirmed course of action about drug after 6days. Had outpatient procedure after unpleasant 48 hour prep. Written discharge instructions explained, told not to call birmingham gastroenterology if problem occurs. Had fever 100.5, chills beginning that afternoon. That morning received text inquiring about vomiting, pain, fever would you like nurse to call back but it would be 48h later. Bingo! Received call 36h later, no interest in febrile episode. Received text to schedule post procedure visit but since they use one phone number for EVERYTHING have been unable to contact. I won't detail my irritation with billing. This will conclude my relationship.

So glad I came here, they are listening to my concerns and very nice. Everyone is nice here! They…read moremake sure they are following up with you and making sure they get to the bottom of your problem! Highly recommend!

I've been coming here for about a year now and I'm very happy with Dr. U. I have been having issues…read morefor a while and felt like previously I was not taken seriously, but I feel like the medical professionals here actually care. The front desk staff could be a little more pleasant. I had shown up for my previous appointment to be told I didn't have an appointment and that they attempted to call me and it didn't go through, which is a lie. Otherwise my experience has been good. The scheduling team is wonderful. The Dr and Nurses are wonderful. My procedure was as easy as it could be and a much better experience than I had in the past.