I had an incredibly disappointing experience at the Tampa Bay Institute of Oral Surgery and Dental…read moreImplants. I arrived at 12p for my 1215 appt, with everything requested--my referral, ID, and insurance card.
When I proceeded to sign in, I was told, I handed over my referral paperwork, ID, and insurance card to the young man, who then returned my ID and insurance card, giving me a clipboard to fill out the new patient paperwork. After completing the paperwork, I stood to the side patiently, waiting to turn in my forms. Since someone was being helped, I waited quietly. The front desk representative looked past the woman she was assisting and asked me to please place the clipboard down on the counter and take a seat, assuring me she would get it once she was finished.
However, my new patient paperwork included sensitive personal information, such as my name, date of birth, social security number, and other details. I was concerned about her asking me to leave this paperwork unattended on the counter while she focused on someone else. This poses a significant risk for identity theft, and given HIPAA regulations, her actions seemed inappropriate and careless. I politely refused and informed her that there was no rush, asking her to please continue helping the young lady while I would wait to hand her my forms directly--no problems at all since no one else was coming in or in line.
After waiting for over two hours in a crowded lobby where one customer spoke loudly on the phone most of the wait and no one asked her to step into the hall to take the call, I was finally called back for imaging of my teeth at 201p. Once done, I was asked to please return to the lobby and assured nicely that I would be the next person called when a room became available. I went back to the lobby, opened my lesson, and continued reading.
About 20-25 minutes later, at about 236p, I heard my name being called, but instead of from the doors to go back, it came from behind the receptionist desk. It was a dental assistant (I'm unsure of her title), who then asked me to approach. This was confusing as I was expecting to be called directly to the back to complete the appointment, but she then asks me if I can reprint the referral with the tooth number, and informs me that without that information on my referral I couldn't be seen. When I asked if there was a way to print there from my phone, she said no. I was confused and asked how was I supposed to reprint it then, to which she replied, "you'd need to call the referring Dr., have them print it, take a picture, & send via email, because without the information on the referral, the doctor can't see you and a fax would take too long." I then politely asked why wasn't this communicated to me during check-in at 12? She then states, (with a shrug) "it's not my fault since I don't work the front desk." Final Red flag this highlights a major issue with communication and coordination among the staff; I politely expressed my frustration, asking why doesn't the front desk know what a patient needs in order to be seen, emphasizing that had I been informed earlier, I could have called & had this completed during the long wait and resolved this without rescheduling. She said, "again not my fault, I dont work up here or know why they don't know what we need in the back, so if you're unable to get the information we need, the doctor can't see you."
It's clear that better communication between the front desk and dental assistants is essential, CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING freshwater needed, because even hearing how one of the front desk reps were handling the phone calls was atrocious, someone in pain and upset because of a mix up you all caused shouldn't be told to calm down and listen to directions etc, you emphasize and apologize, they just wanted to be heard. The experience made it evident that clear communication and patient care are not priorities in this practice. Really hope this feedback is taken seriously, as no patient should have to navigate such obstacles and frustrations.