I have visited the Venice LabCorp several times. Some of the people there are nice and friendly, but the woman at the reception desk today was clearly annoyed that I interrupted her placing a telephone order for lunch. Two days ago, when I went there, they told me I would have to sign a paper giving up my rights to have my labs paid by Medicare or else they could not do the tests. They said the doctor needed to be more specific with his diagnosis. So, I took the paper and went home and called my doctor, who said he could fax them a new order. He asked me if I knew their fax number, to which I replied that the only document they had given me had a fax and phone number. (The nurse had not given me any other papers.) Apparently, the fax number on their LabCorp form was for billing only--not for the local tiny office here in Venice.) The nurse to whom I spoke today said she had no faxed orders and my doctor should have called her to get the fax number for the Venice facility and faxed it to them because the huge facility in North Carolina did not connect to the local office. So, I called Customer Service at the NC phone number, thinking they could forward my doctor's fax to the local office. Oh no! They were so large a facility and had so many fax machines that they would not possibly be able to forward it to the Venice facility.
My opinion is that such a gigantic company that performs testing on so many patients that it cannot even communicate effectively with the public or internally probably should not be trusted to effectively serve a clientele. The reason I opted to go to this hole-in-the-wall lab in the first place was that it was nearby and was never crowded. Well, now I think I know why it is never crowded.
I will never go there again. Take heed, Intrepid Patients.
I received a supportive call from Customer Service following my posting that made some helpful suggestions. Upon reflection, the receptionist should have given me a card with the local fax number; also, my doctor should have known or found out the fax number for the local lab without relying on one that I told him I was unsure of; and finally, the doctor should set up an electronic relationship (which I understand is quite easy) with local labs so that he can send future lab orders directly to the lab.
Of all the staff there with whom I have dealt, they have been friendly and efficient, all except for the one receptionist. Maybe she was just having a bad day. read more