I started visiting this place after Village Medical closed all their clinics in Florida and I…read moreneeded an appointment quickly in order to renew a prescription. They fit me on the schedule next-day and then bent over backwards jumping through insurance company hoops to get the prescription pre-authorized and filled.
Though I am very grateful for this work, this is the ONLY positive experience I had here. During the same visit, while reviewing my prescriptions with the doctor, he had forgotten his hearing aid and was shouting loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear -- including an (incorrect) assumption that I had HIV based on one of my medications.
Also during that visit, another patient struggled to check in; he was not able to produce ID because the police had seized his license after he was caught driving with a suspended license. Though of course everyone should be able to receive quality medical care regardless of their circumstances, the clientele here seem to be down on their luck and some of the staff seem to have developed a patronizing "tough love" approach to dealing with them.
Two weeks ago, that same prescription needed another run through the insurance gauntlet due to a change in insurance & prescription expiration. The staff again coordinated a convenient visit time for me, which was great. During the visit, the doctor was unfamiliar with my medical history and once again I had to iterate through my prescriptions; he once again made the same incorrect assumption about my HIV status. When I explained what PrEP was, he did not seem to be familiar.
The doctor ordered lab work to substantiate the ongoing medical need for the prescription, which I have no objection to. He also ordered an MRI for another issue I raised during the visit. That issue was a bit more acute to me than the labs, which required fasting, so I prioritized the MRI and obtained it a few days later.
The MRI results came in while I was out of town for work. The clinic called me to set up an appointment to review them; I returned the call and scheduled it per their request.
I arrived on time for that appointment today. This seemed to surprise the staff. I was asked if I had done the lab work; I advised I had not. I was asked if I had seen a chiropractor; I advised I had not. This prompted a look of disgust. I explained that I had been out of town and had not had time for the fasting lab work, and that the chiropractor referral was preconditioned on having reviewed the MRI results--the results that I had arrived today to review--so that the chiropractor would know what to treat.
The nurse checking me in (who, from photos on the website, might be the clinic owner) gave me a great deal of attitude, berating me for not doing the labs. I asked to speak directly with the doctor. She took me in to the doctor's office, but did not leave--I was then interrogated by both the doctor and the nurse, who aggressively alleged, owing to the incomplete lab work, that I did not have comprehension of my medical needs or their potential outcomes. This was done with sneering condescension.
Had this nurse or the doctor paid any attention to my medical history at all, they'd have noted that I am an exceptionally vigorous practitioner of good health practices, and have spent several years prioritizing good health outcomes. Instead, I was on the receiving end of a "tough love" lecture. While this may work on folks with pliable personalities needing to be cajoled into paying attention to their treatment, this was so deeply misaligned with my own needs and sensibilities that I terminated the conversation and left the practice.
I was--and still am--perfectly happy to do the lab work requested, which I repeatedly advised during their interrogation. This fell on deaf ears.
It was completely unreasonable for this practice to expect me to complete fasting lab work while out of town, and outrageously unprofessional to berate and demean me when I was there at their invitation to cover a completely different topic.
If you need an appointment fast, but not quite at the level of going to Urgent Care, this place will fit you in. The administrative staff is polite and extraordinarily helpful--a true delight. However, it is clear that the clientele typically served by this clinic have driven the medical staff beyond cynicism and into contempt.
If you seek treatment here, the medical staff will indeed treat you--as an imbecile who needs to be manipulated into compliance. You will feel demeaned, degraded, and dehumanized. You won't want to go back.
An adversarial relationship with your primary care physician will not produce good long-term health outcomes.
Go here if you need to, but go somewhere else as soon as you can.
