Dr. Gruczynski, sole practitioner at North Wayne Pediatrics, was the pediatrician to my two children from when they were born at Chilton until ages 4 years and 23 months old. As a physical I respect his medical advice and agree with his care. Often short and to the point he stood by his decisions and is confident. That said, I wouldn't have ever imagined severing ties after four years over my request for clarification over an invoice.
First and foremost, as I write this, they owe me money (I have a credit with them) - I ALWAYS PAID WHATEVER THEY REQUESTED.
Their invoicing is very disorganized and hard to decipher and often unpredictable. When I would ask for clarification the billing manager would immediately become argumentative, loud and embarrassing. After one of these occurrences, Dr. Gruczynski called me to reprimand me for questioning their invoicing and I explained but it didn't resolve much. I dreaded going into the office and unfortunately this scenario where I am confused about their method of recording charges/payments/balance due and initiating dialog to discuss turns into the billing manager coming unglued and confused. The receptionists often would roll their eyes in distain for how the billing person behaved and often apologized to me for her behavior.
To mitigate issues with this women I began writing upon each visit for more than our co-pay; I wrote checks for the full amount of service. Hundred/s of dollars at a time. And I carried a credit.
Our last appointment; my child has an appointment and I arrive holding an invoice I received in the mail that morning which is configured like an unsolved Rubix's Cube with the obligatory check in hand. I ask for clarification and the billing manger begins arguing. I am not saying much and I am certainly minding the tone of my voice. Long story short, Dr. Gruczynski comes out and reprimands me for having an issue with their bill, I asked him if he understood the documents, his office's billing/invoicing documents and he said "no". At this point my husband is fuming, I am in tears, my 4 year old is crying and I offered to leave at which point the doctor agreed and we mutually agreed to not return to his office.
I am devastated that after four years and ALWAYS paying whatever they asked (and more) this doctor would stop caring for my children. As a result of this incident, I now have zero respect for Dr. Gruczynski as a medical professional or person of my community! read more