Dr Mengarelli diagnosed me with Macular Degeneration (AMD) in July.
During the visit, he didn't show me the images of my eye nor the dursen that causes AMD. He did show me a chart.
In discussions with other medical professionals about the lack of information provided during my office visit, I was urged to get a second opinion.
I did go to another ophthalmologist for a second opinion, and it was confirmed, I had no signs of the disease.
When I spoke to Theresa Pittman in the business office at McDonald, I told her I didn't feel I should have to pay the $140 owed after insurance, since I had to seek a second opinion to get a correct diagnosis.
She became very defensive and told me that I had better listen to Dr Mengarelli, because he was a retina specialist and the other doctor I saw wasn't.
She proceeded to read my chart over the phone to me.
Theresa asked me how long it took for me to get an appointment with the second doctor, as if to indicate he wasn't busy nor a good doctor.
Theresa told me if I didn't pay my bill, she will turn me over to collections and I replied I was fine with that because I didn't feel I should pay for a misdiagnosis. I have never in my life been turned over to collections and this will be a first. I've never even been late on a payment in my life but it's the principle of the matter.
During our conversation Theresa told me Dr Mengarelli and the second doctor both work in the same eye surgery clinic.
A soon as I got off the phone with Theresa, I called the second doctor's office and asked if he and Dr Mengarelli could confer and give me a consistent diagnosis since they worked together and knew each other.
The two doctors did confer, and they are on the same page that I was misdiagnosed, and I DO NOT have Macular Degeneration, for which I am thankful. The second doctor's office was the one to relay this information to me
I have received no communication from Dr Mengarelli concerning him misdiagnosing me.
In a second phone call to Theresa, she did confirm that Dr Mengarelli did tell her that I did not have the disease but would still need to pay him.
Two days ago I canceled my future appointments with Dr Mengarelli due to the misdiagnosis of a disease that causes blindness and there is no cure. Those days of thinking I was going to go blind were devastating. Had I not gotten a second opinion, I would have gone through life expecting to go blind.
Today I got a certified letter in the mail from Theresa that they had dismissed me as a patient. I was hoping the packet would be from the doctor letting me know he made a mistake. However, I didn't intend on returning to him as a doctor so the dismissal is mute.
The entire debacle has been handled unprofessionally with the diagnosis and the unprofessional response from the office employee.
Theresa has denied she said the things she said over the phone, which doesn't surprise me at all due to how defensive she became and her abrasive nature.
I hadn't planned on returning to a doctor that gives out wrong diagnosis but her letter of dismal was most likely Theresa's way of protecting herself from me having a future conversation with Dr Mengarelli and informing him of her actions and what she said about the other doctor and her reading my chart over the phone and telling me Dr Mengarelli was a retina specialist and the other doctor was not. (the other doctor is a retinal specialist)
I caution any one who uses Dr Mengarelli to ensure he shows you your scans and explains the diagnosis in detail.
I felt he had one hand on the door knob the entire time I was in his office. He was very hurried. When I told Theresa this, she said it was because he is busy.
The other staff at McDonald have always been wonderful and I highly recommend Dr Coats and Bob in the optical department. My husband and I have spent over $3000 with them in the last year on glasses alone. I have always been treated with respect and care until this recent incident. read more