Unethical, incompetent, and absurd. Consequently, I will have to report a grievance case to the Florida Board of Medicine. I made an appointment for a Friday because I needed several tests for my new physician job. When I showed up for the appointment, they said they couldn't provide all of the services since it included a drug screening test, which they do not offer on Fridays or Mondays. They gave me the option of going to a different LabCorp that was 45 minutes away, where I could walk in without an appointment. I decided instead to go home and schedule for Tuesday, which was the last day to meet the deadline for my new job.
The front desk also told me I could show up at 9:00 a.m. Since I prefer to be early--and because I was fasting just in case--I arrived at 8:17 a.m. The front desk told me my check-in was invalid because drug screening services start at 9:00 a.m., and I would have to check in again at that time. So, I went back to my car and waited 40 minutes before checking in again at the kiosk. After I checked in at 9:00 a.m., I was called five minutes later and asked to email my employer's paperwork with prepaid barcodes to a very long and difficult email address with random alphanumeric characters--making it very easy to mistype.
I was finally called at 10:00 a.m. and began the urine drug screening. After completing that service, the staff told me I could leave, but I reminded them that I still had two additional blood tests pending. They said this was handled by a different department, even though it was in the same location with the same personnel. I was asked to wait in the lobby and check in again for the other services. After waiting another 15 minutes, I was called to the front desk and told I had an outstanding balance of $180 from three years ago. Because of this, they said they could not provide further services--even though they had already taken my urine sample.
It turns out they mistakenly linked my name to another person's account with the same name, who lives about 200 miles away. The address they had on file was one I had never seen before. I have never used LabCorp before. As a veteran, I receive all of my medical services through the VA. Despite this, they told me I would need to resolve the billing issue before receiving any additional services. I was therefore left with only one-third of the required testing completed, an unexplained bill, and disqualified from my new job because that day was my final deadline.
I also noticed that several patients were waiting in their cars for a text message that never came. After one or two hours, they had to come inside to ask about their appointments. The office had a monitor showing the check-in status of patients, but the names on the screen did not match the actual patients waiting, leading to further complaints. There were also language barriers between employees and patients, and even among employees themselves. HIPAA regulations may have been violated at this location.
As a physician, I would never send any of my patients here. I have been to Quest Diagnostics before, and their service is far superior to what I experienced at this LabCorp. read more