I'm unique in that Dr. Deb Holubec has treated me (15 years ago) and my daughter (the last three…read moreyears). I didn't see much benefit from her treatments as the epidural steroid injections didn't have a positive effect. My daughter, however, has several chronic illnesses and has had more extensive procedures at RPC. Dr. Deb did the WRONG SIDE of her back the last time she had a rhizotomy. She woke up in excruciating pain after the procedure on the healthy side of her back. After realizing her mistake, Dr. Deb put her back under to do a few areas on the correct side, but she couldn't completely do it because "It would be too much" for my daughter.
Fast forward a couple of years later, my daughter is now 17 and leaving for college in a month. She hoped to get the procedure done again because her pain had returned. If you have chronic pain/illnesses, then you know how challenging the entire physician process is - and the reason we were willing to try her again.
I call to make an appointment, but they insist on a referral. I explain our insurance doesn't require it and am told, "It's an office policy." So... despite the urgency, I get in quickly with our orthopedic doc; he rolls his eyes at the policy/requirement but sends the referral over.
I follow up with Dr. Deb's office to make the appointment, and this NIGHTMARE of an office admin, Dorothy (?), tells me they won't see Ashlyn if we don't show Ashlyn's insurance card. She's a minor and doesn't have an insurance card. We've always used mine or my husband's. Besides, we've never been asked for this - not once. Not at MAYO CLINIC or any of the 100s of appointments I've taken my daughter to in the last five years. I ask her to work with us because we're in this time crunch, and the best she's willing to do is put my daughter "down as self-pay." I tell her we're not self-pay, we have valid insurance. No one has ever demanded this before. Then this NIGHTMARE tells me to go to a military base and get a card; otherwise, it will be self-pay.
She argues with everything I say, even about Ashlyn getting the procedure we seek. She rudely talks over me and everything I try to say. She refuses to let me talk to someone else in the office. Finally, I tell her I want to speak to Dr. Deb, and she says, and I quote, "Dr. Deb is not going to speak to you unless you have an appointment." I tell her to remind Dr. Deb that my daughter's back is the one she screwed up and performed on the wrong side and to call me (wondering now if she even knows who that is or how often this happens.) Still waiting for my call.
I've dealt with difficult people, but this office admin is a straight-up B, and no one should have to deal with her when seeking care for themselves or a family member. She's in the wrong field. From other reviews (check Google, too), she is a long-standing, known problem, and the physicians here simply don't care.
Poorly done Regional Pain "Care" Center.
