I had a very disappointing and stressful experience with the front desk person at this office…read more
The issue started with poor communication around billing. I was initially told that my copay would be $30 for Dr. Helen and $20 for Dr. Deanne, and that my insurance had been checked. About a month later, I found out through my insurance that I was actually responsible for 30% of the bill. When I brought this up, the front desk person first denied saying that, and later offered to settle the account based on the $30 copay amount. However, there was no apology or clear explanation for the confusion.
We had also discussed that the 4/30 bill would be handled later once I received the insurance check, since my card had already been charged the full $150 for that visit. Yesterday, when I tried to bring this up again, the front desk person would not let me explain and kept insisting that my bills had already been taken care of. She also said she does not handle billing, but did not clearly explain who does or who I should contact.
What made the experience worse was the attitude. When I tried to understand who handles billing, bookings, and patient communication, she responded defensively and said, "Oh, now you are saying I don't do anything," which was not what I said. I was simply trying to understand who was responsible for what, especially since she had said she does not handle billing or appointments for all doctors.
The most upsetting part was being personally insulted and called a "sad person who makes other people sad." That is completely inappropriate in any service environment, especially in a healthcare or wellness practice where patients come for care and support. This was not the first time she referred to me as a "sad person," and it felt dismissive and disrespectful, especially as someone coming in with severe shoulder pain and trying to resolve basic billing and appointment issues.
The communication around appointments was also frustrating. When I switched to Dr. Deanne and asked how to book with her, I was told to check online with no clear guidance. After asking again, I was eventually sent a link by text, but only after being told, "I don't handle her appointments." Yesterday, I checked in and sat in the doctor's office for several minutes, but the doctor was not informed. I had to go back and ask twice, and the front desk person clearly seemed upset about it.
The last two months of dealing with this front desk experience have been extremely frustrating. Patients deserve clear communication, patience, and basic respect when trying to resolve billing and appointment issues especially when it's caused by the provider .
Overall, this experience fell far short of the level of professionalism and respect patients deserve