Desert Star Family Planning

The patient was seen by one physician on 10/14/16 and a different physician 10/28/16. She only refers to one doctor for both of her visits in this complaint. The patient demanded her records via email and did not respond well to...

staff informing her of the records retrieval process and timeline over the phone. The owner took time from seeing patients to try to remedy the situation on the phone with her. The conversation was not productive; therefore, the owner ended the call to continue to see the patients that were waiting for her. The owner herself downloaded the records for staff to email to the patient. In her haste, she did not download the entire record. The compliance officer responded to the patient’s request for the remainder of her records which were mailed to her. The owner waived the records fee. A formal complaint was filed and processed via Desert Star Family Planning Grievance Policy and Procedures. It was determined that staff performed all legally required procedures and informed consent was obtained before the procedure. The patient declined follow up phone calls and appointments that were offered to her prior to her discharge from the facility. Patients cannot opt out of a required counseling session that explores feelings about having an abortion. Desert Star staff make every effort to ensure that the decision to proceed with care is firm and without coercion. The nurse who performs the majority of the counseling has a background in mental health care. Per the NAF survey on September 22-23 2016, “Excellent counseling: thorough and compassionate counseling provided to all patients.” The patient has posted several online reviews that have been responded to with an apology. Due to the nature of the interactions with this patient, staff were informed to communicate with this patient via mail only. The attorneys for Desert Star Family Planning have contacted this patient to stop her campaign of slander and defamation against the practice and its owner.

This patient has been provided a refund.

On January 26 of 2016 I did not come into the store aggressive towards these people. I did come in polite and I even said thank you to the lady after I left after she kept saying she cant do anything for me. I said the office lady was being rude and she had a lot of head and hand movements towards me when talking to me. Either way, they are not professional when it comes to their business. I did return the doctors phone call just to be told she was busy again. So this information is incorrect. My insurance paid them in September so it has been over 90 days.  They do not take the time to return any of my insurances phone calls so I went in there myself to talk to someone about the refund and that was when finally the doctor actually took the time to call me about the refund which she had called me during school hours.  My insurance also said they were rude and unprofessional to them as well when talking on the phone. They need to refund me the money by this month from September 28 of 2015 & previous of other dates.

Patient has been notified of the process for refunds through our office.  She has come into the office several times and each time patient was informed that insurance claims take 90 days to process and then must go through internal office billing.  On the two most recent visits to the...

office, the patient was aggressive and brought her boyfriend with her to demand payment immediately.  This is not the way we do business.  Though we understand the refund process is slow, there are factors beyond our control and thorough accounting is necessary to fulfill the needs of all patients and to keep our business financially solvent.Following the most recent visit on January 26, 2016, the doctor/owner. took time out of her busy practice to personally contact this patient who did not answer or return the call following the message the doctor left for her that day.  As you can see from the attached letter, the doctor is personally handling the processing payment to this patient.

Review: I had gone here for Dr. appointments. My insurance had said they were overcharging me on my co-pays which was 40$ and they were charging me 60$ every visit. Blue Cross Clue Shield also said they were charging me on visits I didn't have to pay for. BCBS had called them to ask them to refund me the amount they owed me which was over 100$ and they said they would cut me a check. Its been since September that I haven't received any refund. I went into the office myself and the front office lady was being very rude to me and unprofessional. The billing department won't return mine or my insurances phone calls either. It's been 4 months already and I would like to have my refund without them giving me poor customer service.Desired Settlement: I want Desert Star Family to refund me my money within the next month

Business

Response:

Patient has been notified of the process for refunds through our office. She has come into the office several times and each time patient was informed that insurance claims take 90 days to process and then must go through internal office billing. On the two most recent visits to the office, the patient was aggressive and brought her boyfriend with her to demand payment immediately. This is not the way we do business. Though we understand the refund process is slow, there are factors beyond our control and thorough accounting is necessary to fulfill the needs of all patients and to keep our business financially solvent.Following the most recent visit on January 26, 2016, the doctor/owner. took time out of her busy practice to personally contact this patient who did not answer or return the call following the message the doctor left for her that day. As you can see from the attached letter, the doctor is personally handling the processing payment to this patient.

Consumer

Response:

On January 26 of 2016 I did not come into the store aggressive towards these people. I did come in polite and I even said thank you to the lady after I left after she kept saying she cant do anything for me. I said the office lady was being rude and she had a lot of head and hand movements towards me when talking to me. Either way, they are not professional when it comes to their business. I did return the doctors phone call just to be told she was busy again. So this information is incorrect. My insurance paid them in September so it has been over 90 days. They do not take the time to return any of my insurances phone calls so I went in there myself to talk to someone about the refund and that was when finally the doctor actually took the time to call me about the refund which she had called me during school hours. My insurance also said they were rude and unprofessional to them as well when talking on the phone. They need to refund me the money by this month from September 28 of 2015 & previous of other dates.

Business

Response:

This patient has been provided a refund.