Dr. Sandra is amazing, and I really want to make that clear. My issue is with the administrative…read morestaff at Innovative Medical in Temecula and how poorly they handled my lab orders.
I requested a colon cancer screening because of my family history, and what should've been a simple process turned into almost three weeks of confusion, wasted trips, and constantly having to follow up myself.
On October 7, I went to Labcorp, where I normally get my bloodwork done, only to find out they never received my order and didn't even offer the Shield test I was requesting. After struggling to get through the office's frustrating AI phone system, someone in the backroom named Mackenzie Thomas finally told me my order was actually sent to Quest. So I drove to Quest, waited again, and was told I needed a special kit from my doctor's office. Why wasn't I told any of this from the beginning? I had to call AGAIN just to find out the kit was sitting at their office.
On October 9, I returned to Quest with the kit, waited all over again, and found out my insurance didn't cover the test there. I called Mackenzie while I was still at Quest, and she suggested I go back to Labcorp. But I had already explained that Labcorp didn't offer the test. At that point, it honestly felt like she was just guessing instead of taking the time to figure things out properly.
I was eventually told I could do the blood draw at their office, which would've been a helpful suggestion from the beginning. But unfortunately, I've had multiple bad experiences with their blood draws, including blacking out each and every appointment, which is why I prefer going to outside labs. I've never had an issue getting my blood drawn at those labs. And I never gave anyone at the doctor's office a hard time despite them not being able to draw my blood properly.
I eventually spoke with Ashlyn, who said she would look into everything and follow up. A whole week passed with nothing. I called again on October 16, and she told me she'd figured out a screening option that worked with my insurance and that someone would send me the updated paperwork that afternoon. Nobody did. By October 19, I was STILL the one calling for updates.
What bothered me even more was that the staff seemed frustrated with me for repeatedly calling only this one day. It's been almost 3 WEEKS now. What else was I supposed to do? They don't seem to mind keeping me waiting. I gave them an entire week to follow up. I wasn't calling to micromanage anyone. I was calling because they kept telling me someone would get back to me, and nobody ever did. I have always been respectful toward the front desk, and I understand they're not responsible for the administrative mistakes.
After all that, A woman named Rochelle finally told me that my orders were sent to Labcorp. I of course wanted a copy (something I asked for in the very beginning) even now, as a way to make sure I will be sent to the proper place. I asked if theres anything else I needed to know ahead of time from that previous experience. She just repeated "I just sent a digital copy to your email." After the call, I checked my inbox, spam, junk, and trash folders, and there was NOTHING. No email.
I understand medical offices get busy. But I'm a patient too, and I have my own schedule. I shouldn't have to spend nearly three weeks driving between labs, wasting gas, sitting in waiting rooms, and chasing people down just to get the correct information for a screening I requested in the first place. This was a matter that could had been done in ONE day. And THEY'RE the ones who are FRUSTRATED when I'm following up.
I've always been cooperative with this office, but I've reached a point where I no longer feel confident trusting their administrative staff with my healthcare needs. I genuinely like Dr. Sandra but I've decided to switch doctors. This office is very disorganized.
I hope Innovative Medical takes this as constructive feedback because patients shouldn't have to go through this much trouble. I care for my health this much.
