Up until recently, I had been a patient of Dr. Valentine's for several years. In addition to working with me regarding putting me on the correct medication (most people I know say he's too quick to jump on the medication bandwagon, but after many different attempts, we found a few that worked for me), he was also very helpful to speak to. We worked through a lot of issues I was having surrounding the stress resulting from my job and the recent death of my father.
That's right about where the positive part of this review ends.
Here's where the rest of the poor review (as indicated by the one star rating) comes into play. His 'office manager', if she can even be called that, is awful. Coming from a medical billing background myself, I was shocked when I was accepted into his practice and learned about the billing guidelines. They are ludicrous. First, his office does not follow standard billing guidelines in that an appointment is kept, charged to the patients insurance carrier, and processed properly, likely leaving a copay for the patient. Instead, all payments are due up front, at the time of service. I was in dire need of a good psychiatrist at the time, so I didn't question it. I paid what they told me to pay and got the help I was told I needed. For over a year, I was paying the full hourly rate ($160) AND the office/practice was being paid by my insurance company--and even that was messed up. When the office manager finally realized what was going on (after I told her that they'd been getting two payments for my visits), she incorrectly credited my account. I still haven't gotten it straightened out and to be perfectly honest, it's no longer worth my time.
Timely claims submission? Not here. In this practice, all claims are held until the end of the month and then submitted in a bulk manner. Not only does this mess up the claims processing for the (my) insurance carrier, but it caused me to receive EOBs (explanation of benefits) literally months after the visit it was for.
I am no longer in Dr. Valentine's practice because I accidentally let one (likely incorrect) bill go to collections. Apparently, this is grounds for permanent removal from the practice (which they don't tell you as a new patient). One infraction is all it takes. When I called to speak to Dr. Valentine directly, using the EMERGENCY line, I got the office manager! SHE'S THE EMERGENCY CONTACT--NOT THE DR. She promptly informed me that because I was no longer a patient (please read this as 'customer' because that's really what you are in this practice), that the doctor could not assist me, even though it was an emergency. We hung up. She called back less than a minute later claiming to have spoken to Dr. Valentine, who, she states, advised that if it was an emergency to go to the ER at St. Mary's. If this is truly the case, and he really wouldn't speak to me on an emergency basis, then shame on me for thinking he was actually a decent human being, a caregiver, a doctor. Shame on me for thinking that, knowing he'd be the best person to speak to since he knows my medical history, I should be able to count on him for help, even if it was just for one last time. Apparently he isn't the person he would like people to think he is. Apparently he really is more concerned with the amount of money he's going to make off of you than how much he can actually help you.
I wish I had known years ago what I know now. I would never, ever have started as a patient in his practice had I known that he doesn't actually care about his patients. I wish I had known that it's all about the money for him and his glorified secretary. I would not recommend this practice to anyone, especially not while the 'office manager' is still in employment there. He and I have had some differences in opinion, but he's almost impossible to get to because you have to go through her first, and honey, she just isn't going to let that happen.
Ultimately, when you run a practice, the responsibilities of doing so fall on your head and your head alone. The grievances I have with this practice ultimately fall upon Dr. Valentine's head and are his responsibility.
I wouldn't go back to this practice if they paid me to--which don't worry, would never happen. That would involve letting go of a few pennies to actually help someone that needs it. read more
