I found a tick on my back when I was driving to NYC. I stopped to have it removed. They charged my insurance $776 to remove a tick which took 5 minutes. This is exactly what is wrong with overcharging insurance companies for something that is extremely basic. This company should get sued for overcharging insurance companies. This is outrageous. Go anywhere else, but this place!!! read more

St Luke's Care Now - Medical Centers Near Me - Allentown, Pennsylvania

$823 so I can get a doctor's note saying I can return to work after recovering from COVID-19. All they did was listen to my breathing and take my blood pressure. I waited longer in the waiting room than I spent with the actual doctor. Go anywhere but here. Bunch of crooks. ​ read more

The front desk lady was nice but seems new, and somewhat overwhelmed as she was the only person at the desk (there should've been 2 as they have 2 windows). Had an appt for a physical for employment at 2pm and after filling out 20 min of paperwork, all I've accomplished was getting blood work done which took 5 min. Please hire more people are the front desk. What's the point of making an appt if I'm waiting over an hour. Ridiculous! read more

A disgrace to call it "care now" we used their one line scheduling and it was rescheduled 4 times in one day - the last was while we were in the parking lot . Why bother having a scheduling system read more

Horrible experience! I went on Saturday to have a pre school sports form filled out and it took them 2 hours to do it! There were just 2 people ahead of us. It took Debra the front desk clerk 30 min to register us - she doesn't know how to use the computer and entered the info at least 3 times! She certainly does belong in there. The rest was waiting for a simple exam. Is this supposed to be Express Care??? read more

I went to St. Luke's Care Now based on the recommendation of my cousin. She'd been there multiple times and said she always had a 10 minute wait and every doctor she'd seen was great. I noticed on their website that there is an option to "Skip the wait. Reserve your spot," so I made an appointment just in case it was a busy day. I was able to check myself in since I'd registered online and noticed only one other name on the self check-in screen. I then proceeded to sit in their waiting room for the next hour and 45 minutes, while they took everyone else back ahead of me, so making an appointment doesn't grant you priority over walk-ins, apparently. The reason I wanted to be seen by a doctor is that I thought I might have a staph infection (specifically cellulitis). Part of my hand had been red and swollen for two weeks prior and was not getting any better. I also had a secondary concern but was told by the nurse that they can only examine you for one issue, since they only allot 15 minutes per patient, so I had to pick which was the priority. Next I was seen by a PA who told me that it did not look like an infection and that I probably just pinched my hand (which I apparently forgot about) or it was a bug bite. Since I'd presented with a fever I asked if they at least wanted to do a CBC, but she said they didn't do labwork there. So all in all, it was a long, wasted trip and I never even got to see a doctor. Since their facility can't do diagnostic testing or labwork like other urgent care centers, I'm not even sure what type of conditions they're meant to treat. Today, two weeks after I visited St. Luke's Care Now, the swelling and redness has spread. I went to a different urgent care center and was diagnosed with cellulitis by a physician. He even confirmed that the appearance was a classic presentation of that condition. read more

Checked online and it said not a long wait I came in with flu symptoms. Waited for almost 3 hours before a doctor even saw me as I'm practically falling over in the room from a high fever and aches. It was not a good experience and they charged a ridiculous amount. When the doctor came in she was a student doctor not that they are incapable but it felt like she did not do as thorough of a checkup as I would've liked. Will be going elsewhere from now on. read more

Zero stars. The worst run medical facility I've ever been to in my life and I'm not young. I was forced to go here for a variety of reasons. Every single visit was a complete nightmare. Kept waiting for hours. Even with an appointment. Workers are extremely rude. Every single one of them. They act like you are bothering them. I could see if it was just one of them. But if it's all of them, something is definitely wrong with the way it is managed. I even had a provider discourage me from getting all the care I should get after an injury. Yes. She told me there was no need to do the final round of blood work in her opinion. When I stated I would like to have the blood work done that was recommended, she acted offended. Minimized my concerns. I would never set foot in here unless I were forced to. Absolutely terrible. read more

I wish I could give this place zero stars. Absolutely terrible. Chose to come here because of the convenience of an online appointment. The truth is, they do not honor the appointments and they truly just take you in the order you check in. They did not communicate this when checking in either. Very deceptive. The staff at the desk said be cause they were so busy today they did not follow the appointment schedule. Well, that's just not how it works...do you understand the concept of a reservation. Definitely not. Please avoid. read more

To Apr N. Back in January I went to the Whitehall location. While I was pleased at the level of care, I was a bit more than baffled and a little upset when I received the EOB (Explanation of Benefits,) from my primary insurance. I saw that one charge was for Level 3 Emergency Room visit. I had worked for a large health insurer and although Urgent Care centers were only few and far between, something bothered me about what type of coding did they use when they billed, for it to say ER on the EOB. I thought about it more & more, and then thought what about everything we all see or hear about not going to the ER for non life threatening services, and that typically an urgent care is cheaper than the high cost of ER fees. Looking at the EOB again, it dawned on me that the provider of service listed was St. Luke's Hospital. This obviously is incorrect, and the claims processor would be using the identifier number for whatever hospital location St. Luke's billed with - the processor would be none the wiser, as long as additional codes were all in line with a hospital based ER visit. I called my insurance , and asked the rep if this bill appeared in their system as a hospital ER to which she confirmed. Everything changed when I stated I had not gone to a hospital therefore no ER, and that I went to one of the hospital network's urgent care facilities. I pointed out (or asked) that shouldn't the reimbursement rate for hospital based ER services be higher than an UC, and she agreed. I had an EOB on my desk which was for my husband who went to the same Urgent care about a month ago, and son of a gun...the same thing. The Rep now informed me of what she had to do. #1 was to "Flag" our insurance so if in the short term if needed to go back there, the processor's will immediately request more info from St. Luke's to see exactly what care was rendered and where. #2: during the call, she sent an internal request to the appropriate department which would investigate the provider further. As I pointed out, I hated to think that fraud is knowingly being committed but hard not to think it when you see it billed the same way for two family members, and service dates months apart. Lehigh Valley was found to being doing this I think a few years ago - it had been in the local paper. I now have to contact my secondary payer which is Medicare, and the gravity of the situation will be much more significant. So my problem is...I do not like lies, fraud, or dishonesty from anyone. I've tried my best in life to not do so. I don't like seeing anyone being "taken for a ride," and there was sort of a motto when I worked in health insurance. It was 'what the patient doesn't know, won't hurt them'. That was crap then, and to me as a consumer, even worse now since I like many, have a very, very high deductible plan. Please do what you can to highlight this billing issue to everyone you can - insurance, the hospital billing department, and if need be, there are other entities who involve themselves in these matters. If the billing department tries to tell you that they did bill appropriately, stress to them that you know that Emergency Room coding for a hospital location was used and that they must bill as a free standing urgent care facility or you will report them. One last note. It is possible that you may not see a reduction in the actual cost, and if so, that may be related to what ER benefits versus Urgent Care with your insurance. Some plans may have separate copay's, deductibles, etc., for ER coverage than UC. The rep from my company told me that she wasn't sure what the outcome of the reprocessing of the claim may be (understandable as most Customer Service Reps are not trained in coding, etc.) She stated that if I already paid and it turns out that I should've paid less, St. L's will be informed that they must reimburse. If I have not already paid, the claim will be reprocessed within ten days of the date I called, so I can easily check with them to see if there is a difference in what I owe. I hope this information is helpful for you, and anyone else who has encountered this problem. Always look at your medical bills closely, very closely, and definitely call and request a full itemized bill with diagnosis and treatment codes - better yet a "CMS1450" which will show you what location services where rendered at. The tip off is there is a field for their billing name & address, and another which indicates the location of care provided. They all have their own specific identifiers, and this will stand out to you, the consumer. read more

They will bill you as if this is an emergency room. You'll see a student doctor, and use all sorts of fancy computers to sign in. You'll be delighted by a 1,000 emergency room bill, and an additional $400 for lab test, all to simply get antibiotics for a UTI. You'll get all this and more, all while st. luke's phone network is down, and you can't contact your family practice, thus you're forced to go here under the false assumption it's urgent care. read more

Literally no one actually cares. From the front desk woman who won't even acknowledge you're standing in front of her to the nurse who won't put towards any compassion for your pain to the NP who interrupted several times while you are trying to tell her your symptoms. What happened to the care and compassion that sick children and adults need? This place is a true disappointment to the community. read more

This urgent care location has sent numerous post card mailings suggesting that you visit them for quick medical care of small issues. What they don't tell you is that they will bill you as though they are a hospital (since they are affiliated with one). So taking a child in for a strep test will cost you $824. Ridiculous. We need laws to protect people from dishonest fees like this. read more

I very recently had my first experience with St. Luke's CareNow and it was a pleasant visit. I was fortunate to come in at a time that wasn't busy (Sunday evening, 45 minutes before closing.) Registering at the front desk took a little less than 10 minutes, then I signed in at urgent care and was assisted by friendly and helpful staff. My nurse and the physician's assistant were prompt and had a wonderful bedside manner. I was quickly diagnosed and received directions to a 24-hour pharmacy. A day and a half later I called and requested a doctor's note for work which I had forgotten to ask for when I was in office. I had to pick it up in person, as it couldn't be faxed for privacy rules, but it was waiting for me and easy to receive once a staff member was available during a busy time. I recognize my experience probably isn't typical, as timing and circumstances were in my favor, but I can't praise their staff's professionalism enough. Considering I stopped by at the end of the night on the weekend, I was happy not to be met with any grouchy attitude. I've dealt with many unpleasant medical staff, so bedside manner is important to me. I highly recommend this facility. read more