I was flagged by Erlanger hospital staff telling me that I had cancer. The Erlanger oncology nurse…read moresat in on this meeting yet referred me out of the Erlanger Healthcare system and onto University Surgical Associates (USA). Does she get a referral fee from USA??? USA is a private practice with corporate offices in Nashville, TN.
I specifically requested a female doctor to do the biopsy but could not have one because I briefly delt with five+ years ago.
What happened to The Patient Bill of Rights?
The biopsy was performed by the male surgeon by deading the surgical site by skin injections. The biopsy confirmed that is was cancer.
I went to USA surgery center several days later. It was really underwhelming and nonprofessional. The staff was rude because I had several antibiotic allergies. On nurse said, "You can't take anything, can you," as if I liked having allergy reactions. When the nurse anesthesiologist came round, I requested a small incubation since my mouth is small. She was quite rude, telling me that that there was no such thing as a small, adult incubation kit...that it only came with numbers.
Last of all, the surgeon was late and in a terrible rush. The surgeon inserted a port in me, however he inserted it backwards. The bottom (metal) was on top and the plastic insertion area on the bottom. The oncology team could not start my treatment because of this backwards port. He was notified and sent me to a local hospital for their IV team to insert tubes for IV treatment. The hospital looked at it under a fluoroscope in radiology and could tell it was flipped. Only the surgeon could fix it At this point, I was upset at the waste of my time. I contacted my oncologist and he rang the surgeon. I proceeded to flip the port with a 90° bent needle and with no deadening before he jimmy-rigged it in place. He was chattering on about if this didn't work, he would place a larger port in me. I have to break it to you; It's NOT goin' happen! USA had a small task to do and they can't get it right. You would think this is it but you would be wrong. I received a call asking me to report to their little surgery center so he could place another port. I told the nurse that I declined a second surgery.
When I reported to my oncology team, the surgeon had only flipped it to a 90° angle. The nurses have to push it down before they insert the needle.
What I see from the vanish point of a patient is that this conglomerate of surgeons at USA are penny wise but pound foolish. Their billing comes through Nashville, not Chattanooga.
In most medical practices, you have a business manager who keeps a watch of the local medical practice. The Chattanooga office looks sedate enough in the lobby, however once behind the doors to examination room, their is chaos. Chaos can cause mistakes and get you killed. Full stop.
They have entered in incorrect charges in medical coding & can't seem to get the medical coding corrected.
As to the one nurse who accompanied the surgeon to "flip" the port, USA received $490.00 for 5 minutes of standing there while the surgeon pokes me with a bent needle.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend the University of Tennessee College of Surgeons over USA. The care received is far better and cheaper when medical coding is correctly done. University Surgical Associates (USA) is a for-profit company and is NOT affiliated with any University of Tennessee medical school.
