The other poor reviews on Yelp reflect our experience at The Oncology Institute. The nursing staff is great, but the receptionist is borderline incompetent.
I brought my dad here for a routine treatment. Our prior appointment was at another clinic in Mission Viejo (MV), but we recently moved to the Torrance area, so this was our first time at this clinic. We arrived on time for the treatment, but upon check-in the receptionist (hereby referred to by her first name initial "C") informed us that we hadn't paid the copay, even though we already paid at the MV clinic. I explained we already paid, but "C" said their systems show no record of payment. I asked if they can contact the MV clinic to confirm our payment, but she said the MV clinic's system would show the same thing as their system, and that they need to confirm payment with the corporate billing department. I asked whether we could begin treatment while they sort out the billing issue, and she said no, the outstanding balance needs to be settled first. Fine, that's understandable.
I ask "C" what our options are, and she says that she can send an email to the billing department but it's lunch time, so they may be unresponsive for awhile. She asks me to take a seat and wait. At this point, I have no idea how long we might be waiting, so I ask and she says, "I don't know". Not very helpful. I ask, "does it generally take 5 mins? 1 hour?". She says it can take up to an hour. My dad is sitting there waiting to start treatment, so I'd rather not wait another hour.
I ask what other options we have, then "C" says there's nothing they can do because they don't see the payment in their system. I'm thinking, yes I know that, but help me out here, what else can we do? I ask, can we just pay the copay again and deal with the refund later? She says, "sure" then hands me the POS system so I can swipe my credit card. Now, I know how convoluted medical billing can be, so I'd like to avoid dealing with the refund if possible. So I say, "so you're telling me my only two options are 1) double pay now and deal with the refund or 2) wait up to an hour for the email?"
"C" seems to get frustrated and says, "you're telling me two different things. What do you want to do? Do you want to pay again or wait?" I explain to her that I'm just trying to understand my options. I ask, can we call the billing department? She says, "I already sent an email". I ask her if she can call the billing department, and she reiterates that she already sent an email and that she has other patients on the line. I say, "fine, can I call the billing department?". She provides me the phone number, and I immediately connect with a representative (Tom) from their billing department. Tom confirms that indeed we've already paid the copay. I put Tom on speakerphone with "C", and they go back and forth for awhile about how the billing dept's system shows we've already paid, but the clinic's systems do not. At one point, Tom put us on hold to look up something, and "C" makes some comments to the other receptionists that she already sent an email, and seems incredulous that the billing department didn't respond to an email faster than responding to a phone call. Really? Tom comes back online and says to "C", "our systems show the patient has already paid. Can you just begin treatment and make a note on your side?" "C" says, "that's not the standard procedure" and they go back and forth for awhile. All the while, I find it incredibly ironic that the billing department cares more about expediting my dad's treatment than the clinic's receptionist who cares more about properly updating their systems. Ultimately, "C" relents, jots down some notes, and finally agrees to let my dad get treatment. Kudos to Tom for advocating for the patient.
There was no tone of sympathy or apology from "C". There's no "thinking outside the box" to resolve the issue. She never thought to try calling the billing department. When I suggested it, she couldn't be bothered because she "already sent an email". I had to take matters into my own hands, which ultimately led to a much more timely resolution.
The saving grace of this clinic is the nursing staff. Once my dad was brought in to start treatment, I found the nurses to be prompt, super friendly, and compassionate. They're the only reason I'm giving two stars instead of one. We didn't interact with any doctors, so I can't comment on their service.
My advise to the owners: train your front desk staff. Seriously. I work in technology, so I understand that backend systems are often buggy. What I don't understand is your front desk's lack of customer empathy and basic problem solving skills. Just look at all your Yelp reviews, something needs fixing. read more
