My wife scheduled a routine annual eye exam with Cascade Eye, but the visit was later classified as…read morea medical exam without her knowledge. Prior to the appointment, she was asked about medical insurance, which caused confusion, as this was an annual routine eye appointment.
I called the office seeking clarification, but Dylan could not adequately explain why the visit was billed as medical. I was told the office manager, Chrissy, would call my wife the next day, but no call was made. When I followed up that afternoon, Chrissy stated, "I had no intention of calling or apologizing because I was too busy doing other things and credentialling another doctor." Chrissy had time to listen to the recordings of my wife making the initial appointment and my conversation with Dylan, talk to the front desk staff, talk to the examining Optometrist, and review the billing for the visit, all prior to our phone conversation.
During our conversation, Chrissy fabricated that my wife "came in concerned about her cataracts and eyelids." This is flatly untrue. Rather than addressing our concerns, she focused on my tone and accused me of being rude and condescending. She also minimized our concerns by stating that, "the medical portion would likely be covered and that we would not receive a bill."
We have still not received a clear explanation as to why a routine vision exam became a medical exam. During the exam, the doctor confirmed my wife's existing cataracts were unchanged and briefly discussed drooping eyelids, which my wife declined to pursue treatment for. At no point was she informed that the exam was being converted to a medical visit.
My wife has been a patient at Cascade Eye for years, and her cataracts previously documented during routine exams, without the visits being billed medically. We feel it was disingenuous that she was not informed of the change in billing status and was asked by receptionist Kathy to sign treatment consent forms after the exam. My wife has since called the office and requested an itemized bill from Dylan.
The staff's poor communication, inability to answer billing questions, and dismissive response to our concerns caused unnecessary confusion and stress. Instead of receiving an explanation or apology, we encountered contentiousness and contradictory information, including statements that previous visits were not billed medically because a prior doctor had "shoddy paperwork.".
We invite the clinic owner to listen to the conversations I had with his staff on August 11th & 12th. In particular, the office manager completely failed to represent Cascade Eye in a professional manner, and instead deflected blame onto the front desk staff, previous doctors, my wife, and myself.
This was an awful patient & family experience filled with unclear, dishonest staff communication and misleading billing. We would not recommend this clinic and will absolutely be seeking eye care elsewhere.
Catrina C
