This is a small family practice catering to the Carrollton VA area. This review has nothing to do with the practitioners or the type of care given, I wouldn't know. This is how a potential new patient was treated when arriving for their first appointment. This occurred at noon on a Friday when the practice was just returning from lunch and the waiting room (and I assume) exam rooms were deserted.
I was supposed to be a new patient but was turned away for being 5 minutes late, though I was 25 mins early. I have recently moved to the area and this practice is literally across the street from my neighborhood. They only accept new patients in the middle of the day so I had to take the afternoon off of work to be seen. My appointment was scheduled by an answering service who schedules for multiple locations and my time was set for 12:30 but asked to arrive by 12 noon. My commute from work is about an hour and I walked through the door at exactly 12:05 and was greeted by an indifferent, borderline snotty receptionist who spoke to me like I had never seen a health professional in my life. When I arrived, I was told I missed my appointment at 12 and I would have to reschedule. (Reminder: the waiting room was deserted and my car was the only one out front) When I explained I arrived when I was scheduled too she acted like I just said the most absurd thing she had ever heard in her life. She would only offer to reschedule me because "I should have arrived 15 minutes prior to my appointment." Not wanting to cause a scene I simply removed myself from the situation.
I admit I am not the smartest person on planet earth. However, both of my parents are physicians, my mother has her own family practice, I'm an operator of a healthcare facility with over two hundred employees so I do know a thing or two. BUT anyone who has ever been to the doctor knows that the they usually wait for 10-15 mins (that's why it's called a waiting room) before being called back to the exam room where, if you are lucky, you wait for another 15-20 minutes before ever seeing the physician. It does not take someone with a MBA to recognize that I was turned away for no reason. I still could have been seen. Playing devil's advocate even if I was 30 minutes late I still could have been "squeezed in." I truly hope this was the action of a rogue receptionist without supervision who was upset she got pulled away from her facebook and not the attitude/policy of the office manager. What a great way to be welcomed to the neighborhood. It just looks like I will have to go further away from home to find a family doc. read more
