This is the little clinic inside the Walgreens of the same address. The whole visit started out ok. I had what seemed to be an upper respiratory infection. I needed to see a doc or a nurse practitioner to make sure it wasn't anything more serious. I did not need a hospital affiliated clinic that would charge me an arm & a leg. I was seen by Rosemary Magner, RN, FNP - who was very pleasant. The visit was relatively quick, but not so quick I felt as though I was rushed. I chose to have my prescription sent to the Kroger nearest my apartment (review forthcoming), because I don't care for Walgreens and the clinic isn't affiliated with them anyway. This is where the problems started.
First of all, I was walking out of the Walgreens when I realized that the cost of my visit had not been disclosed. WTH? I started shuffling through the papers Ms. Manger handed me. There was a receipt. $109 for an exam + strep test. About what I expected. $89 visit, $20 test. I've read complaints about these clinics pushing the strep test, but in my case it was warranted. Normally, I would ask "How much?" as soon as she whipped it out, but with my tonsils trying to escape through my ear canals, I wasn't thinking too quickly. Be advised, the practitioner takes your license and credit card first, then conducts the exam, enters your info, then hands your cards back to you and hands you your papers. In case you're thinking "How stupid are you to sign your slip and not look at the cost?" I would totally think that, too.
Back to the prescription. Ms. Manger told me it will be sent electronically. When asked where I wanted it sent to, I not only told her the store name, but proceeded to give her the store address and look up the phone number in my phone. "I only need the zip code," she tells me. Ummm, ok. "There, I found it. Kroger on Montrose," she says. So I leave from there and head to the Disco Kroger. After buying sick day necessities like soup, throat drops, and soy ice cream, I head to the pharmacy. They have no record of the prescription. Worse, they don't have the medication, but have something comparable. And the phone number for the clinic (see above) is the 866 number for Take Care Health Texas, PC. Obviously, I left without my medicine. The pharmacist had to leave a number with the main office, while they tried to get in touch with Ms. Manger. After I get home, changed into pj's, and heat up my soup, and annoyed-sounding Ms. Manger calls, asking if I'd left a message for her to call me back. "No," I explain that it was most likely the pharmacist, she doesn't have the prescription, nor the medication in stock. This made Ms. Manger sound even more irritated. I promise, she wasn't half as irritated as me at this point. I'm just to hoarse to properly convey it. "That's a medication that most pharmacies have!" Whatever. I offer to give her the pharmacy number. "No. I can look it up."
What the hell? Why the opposition to me giving you the number of the pharmacy I use? Is there a problem with adults pranking medical offices by having them send prescriptions to incorrect pharmacies? Does she get how much frustration this has caused me? I just want my tonsils to get out of my ears, or at least feel like it for an hour or so. And if I could calm this cough down for a few minutes, that'd be wicked awesome, too. I bet Kroger loves me bringing my germs in not once, but twice for maximum exposure.
It's not the worst experience a person can have, and the clinic did what I needed them to. I know with certainty I don't have strep, and that was achieved relatively quickly. It's the only reason I gave them two stars. read more