First of all, I feel bad not giving this office 5 stars, and if this was any time before last…read moreSeptember, I would have. But, there is something to the criticism of the home office that drags this office down.
So, I'll speak to what's specific to this office. The staff is nice, knowledgeable, helpful, and competent. That might not sound like a ringing endorsement, but compared to most of the primary care doctors around here, that's 5 star service.
What went wrong: the home office refuses to change the arcane computer system, and that cost them the best doctor in the county. And that makes me very, very mad. I'm not holding it against the staff that this happened, but I can't give the office 5 stars if the doctor isn't there anymore. He left the practice because he was spending too many after-hours entering information into the computers, which left little time for his young family. I had actually changed offices from one that's 10 minutes from my house to one that's a half hour from my house when they switched him to Fairchance because I'd follow him to the ends of the Earth if I had to, so I was very upset that he found his working conditions intolerable. It's a shame that that's how Centerville Clinics treats a high quality doctor. Having lived in some of the best metro areas in the east, from Washington, D.C. to Miami, I have a better appreciation of how rare a doctor of his caliber is, how important that is, and how he *should* have been treated by this practice. But that's my soapbox.
They still have yet to find a replacement for him! I'm not sure if they are looking too hard, or if they just like the system they have now, with the P.A. (physician's assistant) seeing most patients - most likely saves them money. In the meantime, I see the P.A., who I've known since the prior doctor was at the previous office, and they have another doctor from a different location come in once or twice a week to see patients if need be.
I should probably give them 3 stars, but the quality of care, even without a full time doctor, is still good. Unlike another reviewer, I don't get billed, so I don't have to worry about that aspect of their business. My insurance handles 100% of my claims. I've never had any problems with getting referrals, medications, tests, or anything else I need, and I need A LOT of medical care; I'm disabled with several serious medical conditions for which I see specialists, who need to keep my primary care practice constantly informed about my care. I have had a couple of problems, a lot less than when I was going to the other office, of someone not following up with calls they were supposed to make for me, but I don't panic; they have hundreds of patients, things happen, I don't take it personally. They've fought hard for me to get specialized medications & care from public insurance, which barely reimburses them.
I just wish I could get my doctor back someday.
