Prior to me receiving follow-up treatment at the Short Pump, Virginia location of Patient First from a prior visit, the billing clerk refused to provide me with any treatment because she said there was an unpaid balance on my account. When I called my wife while sitting with the billing clerk, my wife advised that she had just paid the unpaid balance on the automated phone system and she provided a confirmation number. The billing clerk still refused to provide any medical care, stating that she had no way of knowing if my wife was telling the truth or not. In order to receive treatment, they forced me to pay the exact same amount that my wife had just paid on the automated system, which resulted in a double payment for the prior treatment. During my second treatment, the Patient First physician misread my x-ray which resulted in an incorrect diagnoses which resulted in unnecessary treatment in their office. A radiologist called me later that same night to inform me of the physician's incorrect diagnoses. When my primary care physician saw the x-ray, she was shocked at the original misdiagnosis because she said it was so obvious. When I subsequently arrived at Patient First for a third visit, the billing clerk again refused to provide me with any medical care because she said that I had a past due amount owed. When I explained to her that I double paid for my original treatment which should have resulted in a credit to be applied to my second visit, she stated I had not double paid anything as their system only showed that a single past payment had been made outside of co-payments. I called my wife while sitting with the billing clerk, and my wife stated that both equal payment amounts had already posted against our checking account and there should have been a credit applied to the second visit. The billing clerk then refused to provide me with any medical care, and she refused to adjust the bill to account for the double payment of my first visit. When I spoke to a Manager, she checked their billing system and she stated that only one payment had posted on their system, even though my wife's checking statement already showed two equal payments coming out of her checking account. When I complained about the fact that they were refusing to provide me with medical treatment, she said that she would authorize medical treatment only if I could guarantee that my wife had already paid all amounts owed. I explained that I didn't know if she had paid everything owed or not because they only showed that one payment had been received even though the double payments had already come out of my wife's checking account. I then left their office and advised that I would seek treatment at a medical provider's office that was able to account for past payments. On this same date, my wife who is authorized to handle billing for my account, spoke to the manager and requested that the medical bills be sent to our home. Patient First then sent my protected health information to an unauthorized 3rd party in Yorktown, Virginia who notified me in writing about the breach. Numerous Patient First employees denied that a breach had occurred, and they did not admit that a breach had occurred until after I notified their General Counsel & CEO about the breach.
I have filed formal complaints with the State of Virginia and federal regulators, and with my health insurance carrier, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, for the many Patient First violations of state and federal privacy violations and for what I believe are illegal billing practices in violation of Virginia laws.
In my opinion, if you want your medical information to remain confidential, I would find another medical provider and only use Patient First in the case of an absolute medical emergency. read more
