Date of service: 9/11/19
Purpose of our visit: Daughter's headaches over the last 3-4 weeks, since starting kindergarten.
After checking in, we were called to the back by Georgene (whom I presume is a Nurse). Georgene then preceded to conduct the standard weight, height, blood and pressure checks/assessments. Afterward, Georgene informed me that we're going to now check her hearing and eyes, to which I hesitated and said that wasn't the nature of my visit and that I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist for my daughter in the coming weeks. Georgene insisted and mentioned that the procedure is standard for annual check-ups for 3,4,5 and 6 y/o's. With that said, I said ok. We proceeded into a small dark room, where Gorgene administered the assessments. The hearing assessment took 3-5 minutes (because my daughter played around) and the eye assessment took all of 60 seconds. The eye assessment consisted of a device taking a picture of my daughters eye movement and made suggestions of potential alignments. We then proceed to the waiting/patient room. Once in the room, Georgene provides me with a few documents, one of which is a patient acknowledgment of services for the eye assessment. In short, the document stated in the event that my insurance does not cover the procedure, then I would be responsible for the services. Georgene was requesting that I acknowledge & sign the form. I re-read the form and asked about the charge and why wasn't was that (potential) incremental cost not mentioned to me when the service was offered, to which Georgene replied that typically insurance companies cover it. While I appreciated her sharing her perspective, I was very uncomfortable with what I was being asked to sign (taking responsibility for the cost of services that I did not request if my insurance company deemed the service medically unnecessary). I said that I would like to think about it and potentially call my insurance company to see if they would cover the change. Georgene said ok and mentioned that she would let the nurse practitioner know that we're ready.
A few minutes later, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Maureen Shifflett comes into our room and says "I heard you some issues/problems with the patient acknowledge of services form, I'm going to need you to sign it". I was completely floored with her abrasiveness and lack of empathy. I then tried to re-explain what Gorgene had communicated to me about the form and Maureen Shifflett cut me off mid-sentence. Having worked in customer service (pre-college), professional services (Management Consulting & Big-4), Sales Development and I hire people for a living (HR) and I know that this is not how you talk to humans, let alone a customer, a parent of your patient (who is a minor). I proceeded to try to explain my misunderstanding of the form and she cut me off again.
At this point, I pause and state "how about we focus on my daughter and the purpose of the visit", to which she said, how about you sign the form or you can redress your daughter and the appointment is over. We're talking about $40 dollars. At this point, I sign it and say it is not about the amount, it is about the principle. There was a lack of transparency. I was led to believe that the eye exam services were included in her visit only to be incrementally billed (mid-visit). Regardless of who ultimately pays the bill (Insurance company or me), it is a terrible practice to suggest additional services and not convey the incremental cost before rendering the services especially to individuals who may not be familiar with healthcare back office medical billing and insurance procedures.
For example, most of us have dinned in a restaurant and have ordered a lemonade and the waiter informs/advises us that there are no refills on the lemonade and also informs of the additional cost for the refill. It's not only the courteous thing to do, but it's also the honest thing to do.
Maureen Shifflett finishes her assessments and makes suggestions as to what the headaches could be attributed to. Not the I expected a diagnosis, but I was hoping for something a bit more prescriptive. Nonetheless, after Maureen Shifflett finishes, Gorgene comes back and administered a few shots. I've been very quiet and I asked Gorgene what is the procedure to transfer medical records. I mentioned that after today's' treatment by Maureen that I am not interested in returning.
You can't judge an entire organization off of one interaction, however, shouldn't stand for mistreatment. Maureen could/should have been more empathic, polite, and understanding of my concerns. Additionally, the patient acknowledgment of services form should have been provided to me along with an explanation of the cost before services being rendered. read more
