Child & Family Wellness Center

This company is charging us for a cancelled appointment Please investigate this company as they DO NOT RETURN PHONE CALLS You leave a message and they never call you back When you call, they never answer My child has depression issues and I phoned several times to change meds and to speak to someone regarding my son I never got a return phone call back with any issues Now, they would like to charge me for a cancelled appointment when they never returned previous phone calls This place has to be investigated

To
Whom It May Concern,
The daughter of the *** *** is a patient at
our office and the fees in which are being questions are owed to us Our staff
has rendered services in good faith and deserves to be paid from the patient
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Some of the charges are coinsurance payments which the patient is
responsible for after the insurance pays Other charges include a no show
fee and a late cancel fee which are also discussed in our consent form
In a conversation with *** *** which took place recently, she had
said that she believes her (ex) husband was to blame for the missed
appointments At one of these in question, the patient and father walked
into our office an hour after the end of their scheduled appointment and the
clinician who was to see them had already left because they were so late
Again, these are our policies which are stated in our consent for
treatment and in our welcome packet which lists each appointment and the fee if
late cancelled or no showed on If you can refer to page two of the
document attached, *** *** clearly initialed next to the statement which
authorizes us to charge the card which is on file for any balances that may
accrue on this account We have been in business for almost seven years
and have never had a complaint brought upon us Our policies are very
fair and when the patient owes us for a service they should pay it Although
she stated in her complaint that she never received a call from us, *** ***
did call and ask about the charges which I tried to explain to her As a
matter of fact, she called twice. After
every balance our office mails home a statement which she claims she never received
According to our statement history, we mailed home three letters
throughout the last few months I also verified the address we have on
file which she said was correct I spoke with her yesterday as well and
she did not receive the receipt in which she requested the first time we spoke
I told her to check with her post office as she is not receiving her
mail We had left off that she would speak with her ex husband and call
me back In response to the statement made about us trying to “make money”
off our patients, we NEVER deny medication to anyone no matter what balance
they have on their account. Not only is
this illegal, we would NEVER want our patients off their medication or in any
way want to hinder their mental health and progress made thus far. We are a thriving practice with happy and
content patients and the claims being made against us is defamation of
character at best. If you need any more
information or would like copies of anything else, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
Regards,
*** *** *** *** ***
***

We actually spoke to this patient's mother when we called to remind the patient of the appointment.  We do confirmation calls every night for the following day AS A COURTESY to our patients.  Upon speaking to the woman who made this complaint, she explained she thought her son's...

appointment was a different day and wanted to cancel.  As per our policy, which the patient was aware as we have initials and signatures on our new patient paperwork, we charge for any cancellations which are made less than 24 hours, a policy most doctor offices have in place.  She was annoyed at our policy and gave the night receptionist attitude and rudely hung up.  Our policy does stand.  We have these policies in place because we have many patients that would have liked to come to that appointment and most of the time it is hard to fill an appointment slot in less than 24 hours.  We did charge her, again as per the paperwork the patient signed which clearly states the cancellations policies.  I can forward a copy if necessary. We did return her phone call but only reached a voicemail.  However, seeing how rude she was to one of my employees, I am glad we did not have further contact.  Regarding her son's depression issues, we always answer the phone as we are in the mental health field.  The patient could have come in sooner if he needed or if they felt his well being was at risk.  We do not feel it is in the patient's best interest to change medication over the phone.  Also, this patient is over 18 years old and due to HIPAA laws we cannot speak to anyone but the patient, unless they have a release of information signed on file which he does not.  I'm sorry this patient's mother feels this way, but we have certain policies in place for a reason.

Review: This company is charging us for a cancelled appointment. Please investigate this company as they DO NOT RETURN PHONE CALLS. You leave a message and they never call you back. When you call, they never answer. My child has depression issues and I phoned several times to change meds and to speak to someone regarding my son. I never got a return phone call back with any issues. Now, they would like to charge me for a cancelled appointment when they never returned previous phone calls. This place has to be investigated.Desired Settlement: I want my money credited back to my credit card because this company fails to return phone calls, listen to any messages or answer their phone. They have no right to charge my credit card.

Business

Response:

We actually spoke to this patient's mother when we called to remind the patient of the appointment. We do confirmation calls every night for the following day AS A COURTESY to our patients. Upon speaking to the woman who made this complaint, she explained she thought her son's appointment was a different day and wanted to cancel. As per our policy, which the patient was aware as we have initials and signatures on our new patient paperwork, we charge for any cancellations which are made less than 24 hours, a policy most doctor offices have in place. She was annoyed at our policy and gave the night receptionist attitude and rudely hung up. Our policy does stand. We have these policies in place because we have many patients that would have liked to come to that appointment and most of the time it is hard to fill an appointment slot in less than 24 hours. We did charge her, again as per the paperwork the patient signed which clearly states the cancellations policies. I can forward a copy if necessary. We did return her phone call but only reached a voicemail. However, seeing how rude she was to one of my employees, I am glad we did not have further contact. Regarding her son's depression issues, we always answer the phone as we are in the mental health field. The patient could have come in sooner if he needed or if they felt his well being was at risk. We do not feel it is in the patient's best interest to change medication over the phone. Also, this patient is over 18 years old and due to HIPAA laws we cannot speak to anyone but the patient, unless they have a release of information signed on file which he does not. I'm sorry this patient's mother feels this way, but we have certain policies in place for a reason.

Review: My daughter [redacted] is a patient of Child and Family Wellness Center. When she first became a patient there, I filled out the necessary insurance information. In the package that I filled out, the center made me provide a copy of my credit card and informed me that they would not see my daughter, unless I consented to have copays deducted from that card. I signed the form, because my daughter is very ill and was hospitalized for [redacted] and [redacted],I was very desperate to find a doctor who could treat a teen. My daughter has been a patient for almost two years and I have had nothing but problems with this office. No issues with the doctors but the office billing is questionable. My daughter's account has been 'locked' a few times. I could not get an appointment nor refills unless I went to the office to pay the balance from just one visit prior. Please keep in mind that the medication that my daughter has been prescribed by the doctor is highly addictive and if she goes without these meds for more than two days she becomes sick. She has missed school and she has [redacted], which they treat her for. I have cried in that office, out of frustration. In the last 2 months, the office has been charging my card amounts that I know nothing of. They have not billed me, called me or even mentioned these charges when my daughter has her appointments. The charges are: 4/*/2014 for $55, 4/** for $34.20 and most recently 5/** for $125. I have left messages querying the charges, no call back. Her deductible is paid each visit. I have not been to the office since these charges were put against my account, but I think it is time that someone seeks protection for the patients. There was one instance where I called 24hrs in advance to cancel an appointment, left a message, no call back. Then I find out that my account was locked. I disputed the charges and was told that they were removed. I'm guessing that maybe they really were not removed.Desired Settlement: I am requesting a refund for the above amounts. More importantly, I would like someone to investigate the way these people are running this office. There are many sick kids there. Is it okay for them to prescribe these types of addictive drugs and then charge exorbitant fees (that cannot be put through insurance) just to make money? How can they lock the parent's account and know that we will pay anything just so our kids can have their meds and be seen. Very questionable.

Business

Response:

To

Whom It May Concern,

The daughter of the [redacted] is a patient at

our office and the fees in which are being questions are owed to us. Our staff

has rendered services in good faith and deserves to be paid from the patient.

Some of the charges are coinsurance payments which the patient is

responsible for after the insurance pays. Other charges include a no show

fee and a late cancel fee which are also discussed in our consent form.

In a conversation with [redacted] which took place recently, she had

said that she believes her (ex) husband was to blame for the missed

appointments. At one of these in question, the patient and father walked

into our office an hour after the end of their scheduled appointment and the

clinician who was to see them had already left because they were so late.

Again, these are our policies which are stated in our consent for

treatment and in our welcome packet which lists each appointment and the fee if

late cancelled or no showed on. If you can refer to page two of the

document attached, [redacted] clearly initialed next to the statement which

authorizes us to charge the card which is on file for any balances that may

accrue on this account. We have been in business for almost seven years

and have never had a complaint brought upon us. Our policies are very

fair and when the patient owes us for a service they should pay it. Although

she stated in her complaint that she never received a call from us, [redacted]

did call and ask about the charges which I tried to explain to her. As a

matter of fact, she called twice. After

every balance our office mails home a statement which she claims she never received.

According to our statement history, we mailed home three letters

throughout the last few months. I also verified the address we have on

file which she said was correct. I spoke with her yesterday as well and

she did not receive the receipt in which she requested the first time we spoke.

I told her to check with her post office as she is not receiving her

mail. We had left off that she would speak with her ex husband and call

me back. In response to the statement made about us trying to “make money”

off our patients, we NEVER deny medication to anyone no matter what balance

they have on their account. Not only is

this illegal, we would NEVER want our patients off their medication or in any

way want to hinder their mental health and progress made thus far. We are a thriving practice with happy and

content patients and the claims being made against us is defamation of

character at best. If you need any more

information or would like copies of anything else, please do not hesitate to

contact us.

Regards,