I do not recommend any first time mother to this practice. My entire experience has been horrible and extremely stressful for no reason. I have since transferred to a new doctor who is absolutely wonderful.
High level review: terrible communication, zero connection to or concern for patients, incompetent practitioners, unprofessional behavior, and shady business practices resulting in extremely high bills to patients (potentially illegal - have started to look into attorney)
Detailed review: My fiancé and I were so excited to go to our first ultrasound appointment and see our little baby! We were rushed through it and thrown wrinkled pictures with zero empathy or personal touch. That should have been my first red flag. Then we start meeting with one of MANY practitioners which is a very confusing and ineffective process that I'll get into later. The lady asks for my medical records from my gynecologist, Dr. Sargent of Reflections (who is wonderful!) and goes on to speak poorly of that office saying how they lost their OB license and that they don't get along with each other. Meanwhile, my gynecologist office said nothing bad at all about Hibiscus when I told them I would be going there when I found out I was pregnant. That's because Dr. Sargent and his office are extremely professional and competent. Additionally, they recommended against a doula and told me to "save the $500 and get a push present". Wow. Great values and way to conduct good, objective business.
Throughout the first few visits I was given inaccurate information that created huge stress in my pregnancy for absolutely zero reason except for incompetence and poor business practices. First, I was quoted prices of additional testing (genetic testing and such) that ended up being veryyyyyyy different than what I was actually charged. One bill was supposed to be $250 and it actually was $600. The second bill was supposed to be $250 and the company that Hibiscus partners with sent me a bill for $13,000. Yes, you read that right. My insurance got it down to $1,200. I was still shocked of course so call Hibiscus and they tell me that I need to call the company and negotiate the price bc that's part of "their deal". They never told me that. I don't understand why that would ever be the process, but I did and got it down. This very test caused a lot more stress than it did benefit. At 10 weeks, the doctor read the results of this test and told us we were having a girl. Awesome! We started planning the room, picked out a name, and of course starting buying things for our baby girl. At 20 weeks (yes over 2 months later!), we were in an ultrasound and they were asking us a lot of questions about the gender and who told us the gender. We pulled up the video we took of the hibiscus professional telling us we were having a girl and they then informed us that the doctor read the results wrong and that we were in fact having a boy. Wow, what a mindset shift and a waste of a lot of time and money! Still, not the end of the world. We are resilient, rational people and can handle this. Of course, we asked for a refund for the $250 test (originally billed at $13,000) since hibiscus read it wrong. They said, "Absolutely! Just send us the bill and we'll take care of it." It's been almost 5 months of me calling them to figure out this bill as the company continues to call me every day hoping to collect their money. Hibiscus refuses to answer or return calls or emails. They continue to tell me they are "looking into it". I've had to go over the situation with different people in the office numerous times and have yet to receive any actual help.
Finally, at our 30 week appointment they still didn't know my name or the sex of the baby. I mean come on, I don't expect you to remember every patient, but you could at least review the chart to make this experience a little more special. We were still meeting new doctors each visit with the possibility of 12 doctors being the ones to deliver us.
I'm so thankful I was able to get into Dr. Foster as my entire experience with him and his office has been absolutely fabulous. I felt more connected to him and his nurse the very first visit than I did with 30 weeks of pregnancy at Hibiscus. They have provided clear, objective, and educated information that has helped me to understand the labor and delivery process as well as to help me make the best decisions for me.
If you are looking to be treated like a number and get in and get out with zero consultation and medical help, then hibiscus may be for you. I wanted a real doctor that could help me and guide me through my pregnancy journey without lies and deceit and additional financial stress...hibiscus was not for me. read more