I am sorry to say that I did not have a very positive experience in this office. I waited for over an hour to see the Dr. while he was seeing 3 other patients who were also scheduled at the same time. There were 2 more patients in the waiting room when I left. Six patients in the office during the time I was there & one doctor.
After I had X-rays taken, the assistant did not want to inform me of the results until 6 weeks later, when I was to return to the office for additional X-rays to see if there had been any improvement. When I asked if the Dr. could take a look at my X-rays & discuss them with me, she told me that he was too busy because he had other patients. She was actually argumentative with me, but eventually agreed to telephone me later that day w/the results & let me know if my foot was fractured. I had the definite impression that she did not want to call me so I asked her 3 times before leaving the office if she would definitely telephone me later that day. She assured me that she would call me, but she never did.
Four days later, I called the office at least half a dozen times asking to speak with Dr. Cook or have him call me back about the results of my X-rays. I was not permitted to speak with the Dr., nor did he ever call me back. I probably called the office 20 times asking that Dr. Cook return my call, but he never did.
The assistant also told me that she would email me a copy of my bill. She never did this either. I called the office several times, but they would never send me a copy of the bill. They told me to contact their billing agency for a copy of my bill.
I later called the office again & told them that I would like to cancel my follow-up appointment & I would like to come & pick up a copy of my X-rays & medical records. Once again I asked the receptionist, who I was speaking with on the phone, if she could please talk to Dr. Cook & let me know if he had seen a fracture or a neuroma on my X-rays. She agreed to do so & did later inform me that the Dr. had diagnosed a stress fracture during the exam, but that it had not shown up on the X-rays. She said that no neuroma was present either, although my records state "differential neuroma".
Upon picking up my medical records from the office, I initially thought that they must be someone else's. They are inaccurate & untrue. There are many areas of examination listed which he did not examine (head, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, endocrine, hematology, psychiatric, vascular, dermatologic) but records state that they are normal. He did not assess these areas during the 15 minutes that I met w/him. I have no idea what many of the things he listed on my records as having examined even are (HEENT, constitutional, integument, CVS, GIT & GU). Assessment states stress fracture, neuroma, hallux valgus (I had to Google to find what this was), hammer toes & osteoarthritis. Hammer toes & osteoarthritis were never mentioned during my exam, although my records state "mild hammer toes". Recommendation states that the Dr. "reviewed with the patient their history (not true--he did not even ask me if I knew how I might have fractured my foot), discussed the patient's above pathologies (not true), relationship to their symptoms, expected course & treatment options." My records state "questions & concerns were each addressed in turn & they (referring to me) verbalized their (referring to my) understanding" This is totally untrue. The Dr. & assistant refused to discuss my X-rays with me after they were taken, at a later date or even on the telephone. My questions & concerns were not addressed & I definitely never "verbalized my understanding". It is now 1 month later & I have not been able to speak w/Dr. Cook, although I have made repeated efforts. I still have many questions & concerns which have never been addressed.
I've never been to a Dr. whose policy is not to communicate test/X-ray results for 6 weeks. I definitely didn't understand why his assistant actually made it impossible for me to speak to the Dr. about my X-rays either in person or on the phone. The assistant refused to deviate from their routine/policy by even taking the time to telephone & inform me about my X-ray results & let me know whether or not my foot was fractured. I feel that she was not only disrespectful, but dishonest by not following through with a telephone call, which she assured me that she would do. I feel that this office was more concerned about obtaining my insurance information than they were in communicating with me & helping me understand my condition. The priority seemed to be profit rather than patients. read more
