Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I filled out the Winona questionnaire for a free online doctor visit to see about being prescribed HRT hormone cream for my menopause symptoms on October 20,******* concern started when the *** immediately just filled the prescription, within a couple of hours of my completing their intake form, without asking any follow up questions about my families health history. My mother passed from a stroke and my father from a heart attack. According to the *********** article below family history SHOULD be considered before taking hormone therapy.********************************************************************************************** I had also forgotten to add a facial cream I am prescribed for my rosacea on my intake form so I followed up with a message to the *** after he had already filled the prescription. It took him almost three days to finally reply to that message. When I was not hearing back from their *** I contacted the Winona customer support asking about my message and subsequently about my families health history as shown in the attached email communications.I was only told by their customer service it was my fault for not adding the facial cream info. and that their company DOES NOT take family health history into account when prescribing hormone therapy. I found this to be disturbing and forwarded them the *********** article and stated I would not be taking any medication prescribed by one of their "doctors" as I feel the entire business is only a scam and preying on those looking for relief from their menopause symptoms.I am filing this complaint since my last email communicating my concerns about their practices they have not followed up to offer any additional assistance in the matter. I have canceled my membership with them and will be throwing out the medications they are mailing to my home address. I would like a full refund due to their suspicious prescription filling practice.

  Business response

  10/28/2024

  We have received the complaint filed by Ms. ********** and have reviewed it in its entirety. Here are the facts of the case and our formal response to that complaint.

  First, we have thousands of patients who complete the onboarding process and are safely prescribed by our board certified doctors. Ms ********** mentioned her family history in her intake. She noted that both her mother and father suffered strokes, but also noted their poor health, which she admits is likely the cause of those strokes. (please see attached document of her intake history where this is noted) These are modifiable risk factors that are not relevant to her personal history. 

  Although she did not specifically ask if her family history was a concern, Dr ***** did provide reassurance in his reply to her prior to prescribing the medications. You will see in the attached document that she simply thanked him for the information and went on to inquire about the face cream. She did not ask for confirmation about the safety of the medications prescribed as it pertained to her family history and her individual risk. 

  We would also like to point out that the article she submitted as evidence that our medications are not safe for someone with a ************************, is not relevant for a number of reasons. First, the article is simply written by the *********** intended for the general public. This is not a scientific article with supporting data. Secondly, the medication used in that study cited was *******, a synthetic oral medication that does have a much higher risk profile than the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that we prescribe. There are risks with any ***, but the known risks with a synthetic medication cannot be compared to a bioidentical medication. In fact, the cardiovascular disease(CVD) risk (which does include stroke) is actually reduced for many women who are prescribed bioidentical HRT. 

  We are including a summary article from PubMed, that outlines the problems of the study mentioned in the *********** article. It actually highlights two studies, since that previous study, that refute the results and demonstrate that *** does actually reduce CVD risk and all-cause mortality in women under 60. You can view that article here: *************************************************

  As for taking family history into account prior to prescribing, our doctors do evaluate family history based on individual factors. In this instance, Dr ***** did not feel it was relevant for her and prescribed accordingly. Additionally, it was only after the inquiry about the face cream that she mentioned her concern about her personal family history to the patient care team. She did not clarify with Dr ***** in her reply to him. Regardless, she would have been told that it was not a concern for her as an individual and the medications are safe for her to use. 
  Had she voiced her concern to him, he would have told her that topical treatment options have even less risk than oral medications. She was prescribed a topical cream by Dr *************** have also included a screenshot of our reply to Ms ********** after her initial message to the patient care team. She notes in her complaint that we told her it was her fault that she did not request the face cream. Please review the message content and you will see that we did not say that, but actually, we let her know we reached out to the doctor on her behalf that she was interested in obtaining it. 

  We are sorry that she did not have the experience that she expected with our service. However, there is no scam here and she was safely and appropriately prescribed by a board certified physician after careful review of her medical intake form. Additionally, she supplied information to you that she thinks substantiates her case, but unfortunately does not. The article she found online from the *********** does not apply here, but the results have also been refuted in many other studies. Had she asked Dr ***** about what she found online, he could have explained that in full detail as well. There is a lot of misinformation circulating on the internet. We are not saying that their article is not accurate, just that it is a situation in which the patient is comparing apples to oranges, and implying that we are scam because of it. 

  We take patient safety seriously and have a system in place to ensure that our doctors can safely prescribe. All patients can ask any and all questions without charge. If Dr ***** had not deemed her a good candidate for treatment, she would not have been prescribed and would not have been charged. If the doctor does not prescribe, there are no charges to the patient. After careful review of her case, we have not and will not offer a refund in this instance. We kindly ask that you review this information in detail and rule in our favor regarding this unfounded complaint. 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  10/29/2024

  Complaint: 22465317
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  Does the vendor even have permission to release information I gave the doctor on my intake form? I did not sign anything stating so that I am aware of and am now concerned they do not even follow HIPAA protections for their customers.

  I am insulted they concluded their statement saying my claim concerning my health in using their products was unfounded and again would like to point out how their customer service representative stated family history is not considered when prescribing treatment, when the *********** clearly states it should be. Their practice of prescribing medicine is clearly only motivated by profits and I do not believe they are a reputable company. Their customer service is rude and abusive in the way they handle new customers and do not see how they think this is a good business model.

  I will be looking into contacting the media with these concerns as well.

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* **********

  Business response

  10/31/2024

  Hello,My name is ****** ******, and I am a co-founder of Winona.

  I am very sorry that our patient services representative offended you.

  We deeply value our patients, and I will personally ensure that your money is refunded.

  Thank you, and I hope you have a nice weekend.

  Best regards,

  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received my medication in defective dispensers. I cannot get the correct amount of medication to dispense and it had caused me to take the wrong dose repeatedly and now I'm having terrible side effects that are causing me to suffer. I asked for an exchange and was denied my request because they claim their pharmacy does not make errors and refused to assist me further or even investigate.

  Customer response

  06/18/2024

  Credit card statement 

  Business response

  06/28/2024

  Im writing in response to the complaint filed by *************************. Here is an accurate account of what happened:

  On 6/14/24, ****************** reached out to our patient services team about an issue (failure to pump properly) with her cream pump. The team provided troubleshooting instructions to her the same day. Please see her threatening response to us indicating that our pumps are trash. 

  We reached out to her again on 6/17/24, as we had not heard back from her about which pump needed to be replaced (she has two different ones). She noted that she had been ill and would let us know when she could. 

  On 6/18/24, she advised us that it was the progesterone pump that was not working. One hour later, a replacement was processed for her. That order shipped later that same day and was delivered on 6/20/24 at 11:30am (please see tracking information included here). 

  Please review all of the communication with the patient and her acknowledgment that we offered and sent a replacement within a very reasonable time frame. She admitted that she went ahead and filed the complaint without giving us ample opportunity to correct the issue. 

  We kindly ask that you dismiss this complaint against our company (Winona, ***** and notify ***************** as well. 

  If I can provide any other information regarding this matter, I am happy to do so. 

  Respectfully,
  *****************
  Head of ***************************************************
  

  
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩