Looking for a provider with reliable communication and complete care for your complex medical condition? Keep looking! My first appointment with Dr. Kelly was scheduled to be a virtual visit. She ran over 30 minutes late with no notice from her or the office. I tried repeatedly to reach the office to see if there was an issue, but getting no answer or callbacks to my messages. My husband and I finally decided to just go over there, only to be told that apparently the office staff doesn't answer their phones on Fridays! However, this would prove to not be the only communication issue.
There were miscommunications about cost of services and visits, and being told the cost of the initial consultation would be applied to the eventual evaluation visit, only to later be told they don't do that. Wow Stacia, the office manager, tried to blame me for these miscommunications, ultimately any of these could have been avoided if good faith estimates were provided on paper, which they weren't.
Sometimes they answer their phone and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they respond to texts and sometimes they don't. Stacia acknowledged that this was due to "growing pains" however a family member who was a patient there many years ago had very similar experiences.
During my follow-up evaluation appointment we covered a wide range of treatment plans that was difficult for me to follow, but Dr. Kelly assured me they would be captured on the visit summary and uploaded to the patient portal. It took her several days to call in my prescriptions, and EVERYTHING that was supposed to be included in that visit summary was either missing or messed up in some sort of way. There was even the beginnings of an outline for a protocol we discussed that trailed off incomplete mid-sentence. The pharmacist couldn't follow the instructions for the rescue inhaler she prescribed, and was having trouble getting clarity from her, so I was left through a weekend without one, constantly on the verge of anaphylaxis. My husband and I were about to leave town for a week, so while struggling to get information from the office to make sure we had all of my prescriptions while away, Dr. Kelly told me I could text her at a Google Voice number. The first time I texted her at this number she replied, and the second time, after I texted her divulging PHI (protected health information), I got a reply asking for my name and then someone else saying that it was no longer Dr. Kelly's number. As a healthcare provider, I can confirm that this is a massive HIPAA violation!
I had to send her multiple messages every week for a month, right up until my next scheduled visit, getting clarification on which days I was supposed to get bloodwork, take certain meds etc. She would only answer one question at a time so I had to keep following up with the same question. Finally, it got to be the week of my next scheduled visit and I lost my patience for being nice; I demanded that the visit summary from my $705 evaluation be completed before the next visit. I then received a voicemail and email from Stacia, the office manager, saying that they were discontinuing my care, stating that it's "not a good fit", and that they were refunding me for the evaluation. It was nice of them to refund me and all, but beyond sad that this is obviously because they know that it's because they're not competent enough to give me the care people need.
I then brought it to their attention that Dr. Kelly STILL only put part of the information for the protocol I kept requesting, after assuring my husband and I who both heard her say that she would put it on there. They refused to do so, claiming that I denied the protocol (something Dr. Kelly said she legally had to put on there which I will spare the details for because as a fellow healthcare provider, I at least have the heart not to want her to lose her license) and because I'm no longer under their care...even though I was under their care for the whole month I was waiting to get this information!
A patient who advocates for a doctor to complete her visit summary, to have a reliable means of communication with the office staff and to know what to expect to pay for services is in fact not a good fit for this clinic. If you have MCAS or any other complex medical condition, you're better off seeing Dr. William Mitchell, Dr. Rodriguez at Lipidema Warrior Clinic, Linda Forstie at Carefree Allergy and Asthma, or Dr. Manning. read more