I've now been to Forefront in Bloomington 6 times. First time for a screening, second time to remove a suspicious mole, next 4 times to follow up that procedure which left me with extreme swelling and bruising.
My screening was with Dr. Meeks, who was great. Very kind, good bedside manner. We agreed that I should return for the removal of a mole which had doubled in size in a year. I asked about insurance coverage for the procedure, and was told it would be covered by insurance. I am used to being uninsured and paying out of pocket (which usually runs around $400), so I was happy to hear that.
Procedure with Dr. Crawford did not go as well. I waited. And waited, and waited. I don't remember how long, but it was a long time. When I finally got into a room, I waited some more. Then I was draped, and waited some more. Then I got local anesthetic, and waited some more. Turns out they were understaffed and instead of rescheduling patients, they got very behind schedule. When I finally saw Dr. Crawford, he was in and out in about 5 minutes, then left me waiting for another 20. By the time someone came in to bandage me, the anesthetic had worn off and I had to get dressed and drive home with the pain of a fresh wound and stitches on my hip.
By the next day, I had a pronounced lump under my skin, extreme bruising, and could barely walk. This was the 9th mole removal I'd been through (and not the largest), and I'd never experienced that much pain and swelling. Over a week later, I still had extreme swelling and bruising that extended 8" on either side of the 2" incision, wrapping around my hip and down into my groin. I looked like I had been beaten. I contacted Dr. Crawford, sent him a picture, and he agreed that it did not look good, but did not look infected (which was my biggest concern) and had me schedule to come in sooner for my follow-up. This was followed by 3 more follow-ups, as everyone in the office seemed to agree that my case was pretty extreme and wanted to keep an eye on me. I kind of felt like I had been butchered.
To top it off, I then got a bill for $635. I admit I should have further investigated what "covered by insurance" actually meant, because it meant a 30% copay on a $1850 procedure. But it would have been nice to have been told that when I asked about the insurance coverage, as I never imagined the procedure cost could be so high that the copay would be that significant. I've contested the bill since I wasn't informed of the charges but the matter currently remains unresolved.
Long story short, everyone I have dealt with individually has been pleasant, but they are a large, corporatized company, which like many medical practices, seems to prioritize turning people over quickly and getting the most money out of patients and insurance companies at the expense of good patient care and clear communication. I do not plan to go back. read more