Thank god this place has moved. The location was pretty crummy. Now it's in a nice, new office building. I decided it was time for a regular check-up. I was 25, and I'd never had any bloodwork done. I decided it might be good to go, get some blood taken, and make sure my cholesterol and blood sugar levels were in check.
I checked with my new insurance, Aetna, and found that Mid-Ohio Internal Medicine was covered. It was all the way up in Worthington, but I was taking a sick day from work to go to the doctor anyway, so I figured it didn't matter. I made an appointment and they got me in for the next week even though I was a new patient.
I won't talk much about this since it's no longer there, but the old location was kinda scary - in this older apartment style building very cramped with medical supplies. They made me pee in a cup and put it through a little window, where I found another cup of pee from someone else. GROSS. Sorry to mention that. I'll just summarize now and say it was scary in there. Their new location is on Polaris Parkway and is in a new office building. It's a world of difference. It's bigger, brighter and cleaner. Now I won't be so scared to come back. But I'm still not entirely sure that I will...
The ladies at the window are very nice. They gave me my paperwork and I filled it out pretty quickly. My wait wasn't even really bad. I was scheduled to see Dr. Ray. I wanted to see Dr. McClure, the head of the practice, but his schedule was booked for weeks. So plan in advance if you intend to see him.
The nurse who took me back to weigh me and such was pretty nice, but she was mumbling and grumbling about her job. She sort of scared me. Then I was escorted into the doctor's office and told to change out of my clothes and wear a gown. Ugh. I reluctantly did so and waited for quite some time for my doctor. Dr. Ray came in and she was this lively short woman with spiky hair. She asked me a bunch of questions and gave me the quickest physical ever. She listened to my breathing and didn't do a whole lot else. Just a few checks here and there. As far as thoroughness goes? I don't know. But it was over quickly. She told me to get dressed and left. I didn't see her after that. So I went back out to the nurses and one sat me down to take my blood. I have to say, it was quick and painless and she found the vein right away. I wasn't nervous, but I couldn't look. Then she bandaged me up and I was good to go. Not a bad visit, but the facilities were scary for sure. I was also planning to get a vaccine shot, but they were out of stock. They told me to call back in a few weeks.
My blood test results came in the mail about 2 or 3 weeks later. All good news, and they were pretty detailed.
Then a few weeks later I needed to go in again to update some of my vaccines. By this time the office was different and Dr. Ray was no longer at their practice for some reason or another. But when I talked to the lady at the desk, she told me that since I had already come in, I didn't need an appointment or to see the doctor. I could just stop by and they'd give me my shot and send me on my way since they weren't able to give me one last time. I thought that was kind of nice and convenient, except for the fact that I still had to drive all the way up there.
But I called them one morning and let them know I'd be stopping by. I came in and signed in at the front desk. They let me go right back with a nurse and they almost gave me the wrong shot! I had told them that I was planning an extended trip overseas and probably needed an update anyway. Dr. Ray had told me weeks before that I'd need the DTP (Diphtheria and Tetanus), which I'm not even sure is all I'd need, but whatever. She didn't really seem to know, either, but I figured she should... Anyway, this nurse asked if I had test results to show her because she had to make sure I needed a TB shot. What? No! I explained it was the DTP. So she gave me that. That was kinda scary, but at least she wanted to see paperwork first. But she did just give me the shot and warned me that my arm would be sore for the next few days. She was right, my arm was sore, but at least I got the right shot. And I was able to leave as soon as it was over. No co-pay, and it took less than 5 minutes.
I wouldn't say that I had a bad experience at this practice, I was just a little perturbed at the mix-ups and unorganization of the nurses, especially. At least the office is nicer, but the staff is still the same. I'm not sure that I'd recommend it, but I will say that if you come here to get any shots at all, double check that they are giving you the right one. read more