The doctor is okay, but he doesn't talk much. It seems that he was either too cautious or not sure…read moreabout the illness, and we had to pressure him a little for what was just a second opinion from our previous family doctor.
Admin was pretty bad, and I think this place is better for only Chinese-speaking patients. A nonrefundable $30 is charged for making an appointment, with an additional $70 after seeing the doctor. First, we paid cash since we didn't have time to transfer the insurance yet. But after we transferred the insurance, Vivian, the office manager, aggressively told us to go to the lab connected to the office for a discount since she thought we continued to pay cash. When we insisted to go to our lab, which was assigned by our insurance plan, she rudely told us to go back to our previous doctor.
After the insurance was cleared, we had a hard time getting the doctor's lab order through email or text. We kept telling them we could not open it from our phone since the app they use is only good for iPhone and we have Samsung. Eventually, a girl from the front desk printed it out for us to pick it up.
After a week (just after we picked up the blood test order), the same girl called me and asked me to pick up another one since the doctor forgot to checkmark "a few more things." She asked me if I had a pen so I could add to the doctor's original form myself, but isn't it by law that only the doctor could do that? Also, we got scared by just looking at the order form since other requests were written down to test for HIV, CMP, LIPIDs, CBC, TSH, VIT D, HBs, Ag, ACV, I FOBT... in addition to 6 checkmarks on the form from the doctor. There would be lots of blood withdrawn to fulfill this order! In the end, the same girl from the office (she is the nicest one who was willing to talk to us--the others were rude since we cannot speak Chinese) told us those additional blood tests we saw were added by default. But why were they handwritten there even though the form already had everything checked? The doctor only needs to checkmark which blood test he wants to order instead of writing each one down, which may confuse the patients and the lab?
In the end, we could not go along with the blood test nor come back since there is no trust left--only doubts for professionalism and accountability!
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As a response to the owner/doctor:
1. The misconduct and communication was on their staff--We already transferred the insurance, but Vivian, the office manager, did not know that. She insisted that we see their lab, and was very rude and unprofessional.
2. Their office staff mainly speaks Chinese. The girls who answered our calls kept pushing us away since they couldn't speak English well. Eventually, there was only one girl who nicely returned my calls and explained their situation. We never requested a native speaker.
3. The owner/doctor was lying in his reply. Doctors usually order blood tests--we don't know what to request. After we saw the doctor the first time and we had already picked up the blood test order a week afterward, the front desk called us to come back to pick up a second one. We did not want to come, so they said the doctor wanted to revise the blood test form and even asked me to "use a pen to add on the original form" over the phone. Is that even legal? Does the doctor allow patients to checkmark blood tests for him in his absence?
4. What kind of doctor's office couldn't send a blood test order by email, fax, or phone (since they use an app for iPhone only)? They asked us to drop by the office twice to pick up the blood test orders just because the doctor forgot or changed his mind.
I feel sorry for the patients who come here because they can speak only Chinese--But shouldn't we all be careful and cautious for our health and well-being?!