Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have been a patient at this office off and on since 2014.(I’ve moved out of state) I called and asked to set up an appointed and stated it was an emergency because my meds needed filled. Sarah wouldn’t let me speak to anyone else and when I asked for my medical records she acted like I was being rude and they discharged me as a patient and held medical information. They ignored my calls and don’t allow people in the office, but I showed up to the office so I could sign a release form to get my meds filled.. the office I went to still hasn’t gotten my medical information from them and I still haven’t had my meds.. This is neglect in the office and it has been a month of battling trying to get answers from this office. Over the years, I’ve let a lot of negative things from this office slide, but not being able to fill my meds and suffering from it is different. Sarah was extremely rude and wouldn’t help me.

  Business response

  05/04/2022

  TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN RE: *** ********

  In response to Ms. ****'s complaint:

  Ms. **** did not do a telehealth appointment since 01/13/2022. According to the office note from the provider she had seen on that day, Ms. **** was advised to follow up in two weeks which she did not. According to her chart, Ms. **** was also scheduled for appointments on 02/10/2022, 02/25/2022, and 04/05/2022 in which she did not call and cancel or reach out to our office in any way. She was therefore marked as a "no show" for those appointments.

  On 3/29/2022, Ms. **** called in to the office and spoke with our medical assistant over the phone. She requested to do a tele-health appointment that day. Ms. **** was advised that due to the context of her previous office visit with the provider, her non-compliance with appointments, and the fact that she is on a controlled medication, she would need to come into the office and have a visit face to face with the provider, as well as a urine toxicology screen. Ms. **** then became very combative and argumentative and refused to come in to the office to be seen and insisted on doing a tele-health visit. The medical assistant again offered to schedule the patient an appointment to come in to the office that afternoon and Ms. **** still refused.

  Ms. **** stating in the complaint, that the office is not allowing patients to come to the office is incorrect. Our office lobby is open and we are seeing patient's in the office if the patient wants to come to the office rather than Tele-health.

  Ms. **** stated in her complaint that our office was withholding her medical information. Ms. **** called in again during the week of April 18th requesting that her medical records be sent to a new provider. She was advised that we could not send medical records without her coming into the office to sign a medical release or go to the office she wants her medical records released to and they will fax us the information. She presented to our office on April 22nd and signed the medical release. According to West Virginia Code 16-29-1 and 16-29-2, our office has 30 days to furnish the records to her new provider. The patient's medical records will be sent to her doctor in a timely manner as we do with all of our medical records.

  Due to HIPPA Law, we cannot send medical records until the patient comes physically to the office to sign a medical release or sends us a notarized release confirming their identity.

  Ms. **** has not had insurance since July of 2021 and prior to that, she had insurance in which she owes a $25 copay for each visit. Multiple bills were mailed out to her at the address we have on file. Our providers still continued to see Ms. **** for appointments as a courtesy despite her lack of insurance or lack of payment towards her bill.

  Please refer to her bill, the bill was never sent to a collection agency as of yet. But she has never wanted to address the payment she owes, or give us her correct insurance information.

  Her stating that "this is an emergency and she needs her meds filled, is a complete untruth". According to her Board of Medicine, her last appointment was on 01/13/2022, she never had that prescription filled. She filled her December prescription in January, which means that she never had medication past January since she never turned up for her appointments. She has not been taking the medication as prescribed, so no emergency can be present. All patients are informed straightaway, that if they are having an emergency to go to their nearest ER.

  And as a character witness for *****, she has never been rude or unhelpful to anyone. She is the most calm and helpful person that will help you with anything. I can get many character witnesses on her behalf stating that fact.

  On 04/29/2022, Ms. **** contacted the office stating "how we are going to make this right for her?" She was informed, in a calm manner, she is no longer our patient and her medical records will be sent to the local provider in the order we receive them, we have 30 days to comply. And if she keeps harassing our office, the police will be contacted.

  All the facts that Ms. **** has complained about are incorrect, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

  Yours truly,

   

  ***** ******

  Office Manager

  Customer response

  05/05/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  Regards,

  ****** ****

*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. ↩