I am an NP, and actively work in the medical field. I value my patient's satisfaction and well being, time and money. That being said, I recognize that, working in the medical field and valuing these things, I have higher expectations of others that do as well, but this clinic would not have met the lowest of standards on the worst day.
At my first visit, I explained that I was pregnant and did not want to undergo any X-rays (at the recommendation of my OB). They agreed. 2 crowns and 1 filling were recommended at that visit, one of the crowns being of a more urgent nature. I scheduled this right away at their recommendation.
My insurance information was provided to the clinic, and I was told that it was verified and that there would be no out of pocket costs for me to have the care that was recommended.
When I returned for my crown 2 weeks later, it was apparent that this small, private practice had no idea who I was (which was discouraging as this is why I seek out smaller practices). I had taken the day off of work to be there for the crown. They were completely shocked and surprised to learn that I was pregnant, and said I had no choice but to have X-rays, as the insurance would not pay for my crown unless they had images of the root tips...would have been nice to have been made aware of this before I requested the day off and was in the chair. So, I had X-rays...
As I am there for my crown, the air and water equip. would not work, so they got me up, bite blocks, dam, numb and made me march across the clinic to another room where the equipment was actually working (this instilled a lot of confidence).
After completing my crown, I was informed that in fact, nobody had actually ever checked my benefits, despite what I had been told, and my primary insurance did not cover major procedures like a crown for another 4 months, so there would be out of pocket cost. Again, it would have been nice to know this ahead of having the procedure and having no choices. As it turned out, the out of pocket cost was not significant, and the office agreed to write off the few measly dollars.
It has been approximately 4 weeks since my crown, and I continue to have pain and sensitivity in the tooth, and am not sure if a root canal should have been done to begin with, or the crown I had done was just not done well, but suffice it to say I have no confidence in the staff or dentist in this office. I had no issues or pain in this tooth whatsoever before Dr. Harrell performed work on it.
My husband established in this office at the same time that I did. He was also told he needed major work to several teeth as well. Insurance information was provided, and again we were told that benefits were checked, and there would be no out of pocket costs. Well, as it turned out, nobody actually checked this either. He did not have dual coverage as we thought. So, a crown and root canal later, they were really sorry, but there was going to be out of pocket costs. To make matters worse, and really give me pause about the ethics of this practice, each time we spoke with them, the price we were going to owe kept increasing. In the end, we were told several hundred dollars would be owed to finish my husband's crown, which was only halfway done and very painful (again no symptoms or pain in the tooth prior to all this work was done). When I asked that they work with me, as they told us benefits were verified and provided us with an estimate that was grossly different from what they were now quoting us, they said verifying benefits was not their job. Apparently they weren't as willing to work with us on this claim, as there was much more money to be made here than the few dollars they agreed to write off of my claim.
I believe this office to be completely inept and unethical. If they don't feel it is their job to check your benefits prior to providing you with an estimate, then perhaps they should disclose that. And, the care is sub-par to say the least. read more
