Less than 1 star!
Was a patient of Dr. Focazio and first visited him last year in August of 2022. Had a procedure (Piles Surgery/Hemorrhoidectomy) done and was after a follow-up 4 weeks later, I was given a clean bill of health and released. A year later I noticed the same problem beginning and scheduled another appointment with Dr Focazio. Upon my returning visit, I was told by Dr. Focazio, that the first procedure needed at least two additional follow up procedures and that's why I was having the problem again. (Would have been much more helpful to have been informed of that a year prior at the follow up visit 30 days after the procedure.) Regardless, Dr. Focazio booked the second procedure WITHOUT an examination, and wrote me 2 prescriptions. The following day, (Thursday 9/7) I received a call from Dr. Focazio's office stating they had "gotten your labs back and there is a problem with your bloodwork, you need to come in immediately." After saying I was on my way, I was informed that the doctor wasn't in the office and couldn't see me until Monday. (Even though they needed me to "come in immediately.") Monday came and I received a call from Dr. Focazio's office saying that the doctor was "starting his day late" and wouldn't be able to do the telemed call until either Monday or Tuesday after 6pm. I told them that I believed that to be unacceptable as they still refused to tell me what the issue with my bloodwork was, and that it was important that I speak with my doctor. Dr. Focazio did call me back saying "my staff said you wanted to speak with me" I informed him of the sense of urgency that I was told regarding my bloodwork and he said that the only issue was my creatinine levels were elevated which could indicate kidney failure, (I donated a kidney almost 5 years prior and that is totally normal for me /it was also in my file that I only had one kidney and elevated creatinine levels back during my first procedure). Dr. Focazio realized that it was a good thing that I didn't take the medication he prescribed me as a preparation for the procedure because "you can't take that if you only have 1 kidney!" (Again, pertinent medical information in my file was overlooked or ignored) he ended the call by forgetting what procedure he had me scheduled for and only realized after i corrected him. There was one other thing preventing me from having the procedure done, which was that their EKG machine had run out of paper and they didn't have any in the office, so I was waiting for them to advise me that the office had gotten the paper in, so I could have the EKG done and go through with the procedure. At this point the only reason I hadn't canceled after all of these red flag warnings was that the procedure was a simple one and I was 4 days away from it being done. I figured I would have Dr. Focazio perform the procedure and then find a new gastroenterologist for any and all follow up appointments. Dr. Focazio's medical assistant called me and left me a voicemail message stating that they changed the date on my EKG from August of 2022 to 2023 so the procedure could go along as scheduled. The night before my procedure, after I had taken several days off of work, begun my preparations and had begun a liquid only diet I received a call that Dr. Focazio had scheduled someone else who was an emergency and was going to have to cancel the procedure. I expressed my ever-growing list of concerns and issues, that Dr Focazio and his staff are incredibly unprofessional, have admitted to falsifying my medical records, and are prescribing medications that could harm their patients because they don't pay attention to their own files. Dr. Focazio hopped on the call to tell me that he didn't appreciate that I verbalized how I was not ok with the level of professionalism, and informed them that they had falsified my medical records by changing the date of an EKG I never had. After a verbal slew of profanity (some I will admit to, but the majority coming from the mouth of Dr. William Focazio) I hung up and began to notify my insurance provider to go over any and all bills from that office. A moment later, I received a phone call from Dr. Focazio's office and it was a former coworker of mine from approximately a decade prior who works in the same building (NOT AFFILIATED WITH DR FOCAZIO OR EMPLOYED BY HIM) Trying to make peace and prevent my reporting of the doctor or his office to the NJ Department of Health. (I may have mentioned that I could call the state, during the call with Dr. Focazio after listing my complaints and the violations from his office) I told my old friend that I didn't appreciate him calling regarding a private matter, and realized that the fact that that phone call alone shows that Dr. Focazio violated my medical privacy by disclosing this to someone who he then called me. I never once signed any waiver of my HIPPA or FARPA rights to privacy with Dr. Focazio. read more