Sigh. The day has come for my first one-star review. Warning: this is gonna be a long one...
Okay. Where do I start? I did my research, I read plenty of reviews, and I trusted that this facility would meet every single one of my needs. Read some negative reviews on one particular provider, didn't think anything of it and shrugged it off. Guess which doctor I ended up with? You guessed it.
Michael Higbee would've spent a total of 5 minutes with me if I didn't drown him in questions.... And I wouldn't have drowned him in questions if he had just taken the time to explain his thought process and justifications. When he entered the room, he only introduced himself and didn't even ask me for my name. He simply said, "you're new, right?" Yes, I'm new. From there, he shined a bright light on my skin, spent less than a minute examining it, and then said "I'm going to prescribe you X and Y." That was it.
After asking him several follow up questions regarding other options, the ingredients in his prescription, their side effects, and what their intended purpose was, Dr. Michael Higbee seemed to grow very impatient. Sir, this is your JOB to HELP patients - not simply tell them to what to do and trust that they'll listen to you - especially if you don't even ask them for their name!
Thankfully through the series of questions I asked him, I soon discovered that one of his prescriptions contained an ingredient I was allergic to. Our exchange went a little something like this. "Does this prescription have benzoyl peroxide, by chance?" followed by "yes, it does" followed by an awkward pause.... Then the nurse and I interjected at the same time "I'm/she's allergic." Wonderful, Higbee didn't even read my chart before he entered the room! He was simply jumping from one room to the next, probably treating all of his patients the same. Unbelievable. He didn't even apologize and shrugged it off. What was the point in listing my allergies if they weren't going to be taken into consideration?
I later asked to speak to another provider to which he condescendingly responded "I've been doing this for 13 years. I don't mind you getting a second opinion, but you'll have to schedule another appointment (and pay another co-pay)." Wonderful. And each time I asked him about the medication instructions, he kept saying "it'll be on the medication." - Hah. Well, I picked up one of the medications and the instructions only say "use twice daily." Lovely. As for the other medication, I just got a call from the manufacturer and they're all out of stock and I've been put on a waiting list. Lovely.
You'd think after 13 years as a provide he'd also have at least SOME people skills? Communication skills? IMMEDIATELY after he left the room, I felt back at ease. As I was telling the nurse I never wanted to see Dr. Higbee again, I actually began to cry. I asked her to provide me with the names of other physicians and scheduled my next appointment with someone else. If you want to be treated like a person and want your concerns to be heard, I DO NOT recommend seeing Dr. Higbee. To him, you're only a customer.
I will be sure to update my review after my next follow-up appointment. At this point in time, I've got very low expectations for this facility so I'm hoping my next provider will make things a little better. To be continued... read more