Dr. Vu Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon

An emphasis is made on the time that is spent for a client after surgery is scheduledI attended a first meeting consult only, at which time I paid $1,I was told if I paid an additional $2,on Monday, we could proceedTogether we would then come up with an agreed date to schedule a surgery I did not say I would return on Monday, I did understand that if I did and paid the $we could proceedRather than paying an additional amount, I phoned indicating that I needed to be seen at the polio clinic in Los Angeles for an evaluation prior to surgeryI did not know about timing because while I was on the phone with the polio clinic, they could not late my files, I have not been there in years. I understood to schedule surgery I must pay an additional amount, which never occurredWe never arrived at that place because Dr** told me I should NOT have surgeryI immediately told him I had paid a $1,depositHe stated he would return my deposit, however he would deduct money for my first visit.He states, "The patient with full understanding, chose to proceed with surgery, schedulingNever! That is not trueI never chose to proceed with surgeryI never paid the additional $2,that was necessary prior to scheduling surgery.We did not discuss a date for surgery.#It is true that I had a 1st consultI was never informed that the first consult is $I am pleased to know this because that is all he said he would deduct.#They state: "Another detailed pexam will be done, and they detailed other items and proceduresIn my case, none of this was done, and they detailed other items and proceduresIn my case, none of this was done because surgery was never scheduled, I only experienced the consult.During my first meeting with Dr**, I gave a depositThe lady I interacted with was professionalShe indicated that when I paid the additional $2,we would schedule a date for surgeryThere was not a detailed pexam and there were no lab test doneWhen I returned to Dr**'s office I requested a conversation with the lady I had given money to, I was told she was no longer employed by the doctor that she was now working in SacramentoThe lady I spoke to that day had bright red hair [that was my 2nd visit to the office,] on my 3rd visit to the office I was told the lady with bright red hair was no longer working thereSo the two ladies I interacted with no longer work for the doctor. #They continue to emphasize scheduling surgery is a commitment because of the amount of work and effort from so many people, however scheduling surgery never happenedI did not pay the $2,required to schedule surgery and we never discussed a surgery dateIt was Dr ** who said I should not have surgery and we never discussed a surgery dateIt was Dr ** who said I should not have surgery. #Dr ** indicated I was cleared by my primary care physician prior to coming inThis is simply not trueWhen I first saw my primary care physician he told me he knew nothing about Polio, therefore I would not seek clearance from himPolio has not been in common in America since the fifties, there are many doctors that are not familiar with polioThere is an effective polio clinic that successfully treated me and made my polio braces, it is in the Los Angeles areaMy doctor at the clinic stated I should never have surgery without an anesthesiologist that understood polio, that it was a serious life and death matter.It is also not true that they followed the scheduling and payment policy outlined in their responseIt is stated I chose to proceed with surgery scheduling, this is not true, surgery was never scheduledThe $1,was paid on my first meeting with the DoctorIt is totally untrue that they spent a considerable amount of time and effort scheduling my surgery because surgery was never scheduled. Their response indicates she, "changed her mind." The reason was unclear, as it ranged from polio to concerns to cost." This is fiction, there was no range, there was NO changing my mindThe truth is that the doctor told me, "I should not have surgery." He indicated he would refund my deposit minus a charge for my first visit.Quote, "It has always been our policy to collect a non-refundable non-transferable 15% deposit fee for all surgeries at the time of booking." Surgery was never booked.He is not being truthfulI did not change my mind as he is now indicating, he is the one who stated I should not have surgery!They did not spend considerable time on meDr ** indicates the patient coordinator pulled him out of a procedure? She told me she wanted me to see him, however he has not yet in the officeWithin a few minutes she indicated he had just arrived and she would seat me because he would want to talk to meHe came in the room very angryI told him I did not ask to see himThe time I was with him could not have been more than a minute.It is good we have a Revdex.comI thank you very much for your assistanceIf anything is not answered fully or if you have any questions I am available and will respond quicklyI am bringing this to your office due to the fact that your letter indicates I must respond within a week.Sincerely,***

I am rejecting this response because: First of all. I only have a cell phone which is never turned off. I have NEVER receive a call.  If I was on the phone when they claim they called they could of left a message. I would be glad to request my phone records if necasary to poof I did no get a call. Second of all I request the records from [redacted] all on the same date and all were received I a timely matter.  Funny how his staff needed two people to make copies of one folder of a few months and I got seven years from [redacted] the same day I requested them.  I which the first time was September3,2014 not September 26 as he states.  Lastly, the day after I received an email from you stating he had not responded I too received a certified letter stating my records had been ready. ell me what happen to the request I made between September3, 2014 and September 26, 2014? He also states he saw me longer then a year which also is not true. My surgery was January 31, 2007 and he dropped me as a patient when [redacted]. I don't believe he is a very honest doctor , Why would his staff say he had to "Approve the record and Adjust them if necessary?

We use the usual standard policy for medical records release at our practice. This is same standard policy used by many hospitals and medical centers in the state of California. The procedure is as follows: A medical record request form must be completed by the patient in person or in writing, a...

copying fee or cost is collected, and an appropriate wait time (usually 2-4 weeks) is needed for the staff to retrieve and copy and make it available for the patient to pick up. If the patient has not been seen for a year or longer, additional time maybe needed to locate and retrieve from storage. Patients may not make requests over the phone as we have no way of verifying the identity of the patient. Any urgent need for medical information, such as for doctor to doctor communication, is accomplished by [redacted] making a direct phone call to the doctor taking care of the patient in question.
As for the case of patient [redacted]., we followed the exact procedure as described above. The staff actually went well above their duty to accommodate patient ** by quickly putting together her medical records with just a phone request, allowing her to show ID on pick up. She requested a copy of her medical records on Sept 24, 2014 over the phone.  Because she has been released from our care since 2008, 2-3 staff members spent several hours searching old files and storage to get the medical for her.  Her copy was ready for pick up September 26, 2014.  She was notified 3 times by phone messages.  She did not return any phone calls nor did she come in for the requested medical records. 
On October 7, 2014, we received a notice from the Revdex.com stating that medical records were not made available for patient **.  This comes as a surprise to us as our practice has done everything possible to accommodate this patient.

I am writing to address the letter from patient ** sent as complaint to the Revdex.com. I will clearly outline our practices's policy for surgery scheduling and payment.  I will also include a detailed response from my staff to you in...

regards to ** as well, as we all had a very intensive meeting going over this case in our office. In addition, I understand that you have obtained a PRIVACY RELEASE OR HIPAA clearance from the patient to allow us this public disclosure and discussion regarding the patient.  TO BE CLEAR, THE PATIENT ** HAS AGREED TO HAVING ** PLASTIC SURGERY DISCUSS ANY PERTINENT MEDICAL INFORMATION WITH THE Revdex.com AND THE PUBLIC, AND THAT THE Revdex.com WILL ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS OPEN DISCUSSION AS YOU AND THE Revdex.com HAVE CLEARED THIS WITH THE PATIENT **.Our SCHEDULING AND PAYMENT POLICY:1. The patient electively schedules a consult for cosmetic plastic surgery. This cost $75 and is subtracted from the surgery fee if she proceeds.2. A thorough exam of the patient, from past medical history to his or her current condition is conducted.  The patient is eligible to schedule for surgery if she is deemed safe as a candidate. (Another detailed preop exam will be done by the plastic surgeon as well as the hospital facility preop nursing team, and the preop anesthesia team, before the surgery can proceed.  The patient will also undergo laboratory tests including **C, Chem panel, Coag panel, EKG, UA, and any other tests needed for preop evaluation. A clearance from the patient's primary care physician is also obtained. The patient can also be referred to an internal medicine clinic for preop eval if she doesn't have her own PCP.)3. The patient then has a detailed meeting directly with a patient coordinator. Surgery, anesthesia fee, OR facility fee are all discussed in detail. The patient learns during this meeting that there is a NON REFUNDABLE deposit of 15% of the total surgery cost, which is necessary because she is committing the entire plastic surgery practice, the hospital facility team of nurses and OR scrub technicians, and the anesthesia team, as well as the OR preop team and the recovery room team, and the various scheduling departments. We make it VERY CLEAR to the patient that TO SCHEDULE SURGERY IS A COMMITMENT because of the amount of work and effort from so many people.4. If the patient decides to proceed, she commits to a non refundable15% deposit fee, which has be to paid on the same day. (Attached below are copies of documents regarding non refundable payments agreed and signed from the patient **)5. The entire fee for the elective cosmetic surgery has to be paid in full 1-2 weeks prior to the operation.6. The patient undergo preop eval with DR ** and et al 1-2 weeks before surgery.In the case of patient **, we followed our scheduling and payment policy. She was evaluated and deemed a safe candidate for surgery.  She also had been medically cleared for surgery by her PCP prior to coming in for consultation for facial rejuvenation. Risks, benefits, and options for the procedure were fully discussed.  Patient demonstrated no body dysmorphic disorder. She had a potential history of polio, which had been cleared by her PCP. Discussions with anesthesia preop team also indicated no significant additional risks for surgery. The patient, with full understanding, chose to proceed with surgery scheduling.  She was not able to pay the 15% non refundable scheduling fee that day so the staff allowed, as a courtesy for the patient, a payment of  only $1000 and  she agreed to pay remaining deposit fee within the "next few days". We and our practice, and all facilities above committed to the patient's request and a considerable amount of time and effort, as described above, were invested to scheduling her surgery. She then "changed her mind".  The reason was unclear, as it ranged from polio concerns to cost.  We addressed both reasons of concern by offering the patient a similar equivalent procedure with a lower cost under oral sedation and local anesthesia, which is safer as no general anesthetic medication is used.  Whatever the concern, we tried to accommodate every patient as if he or she was our own family member.  This was the case for patient **.  We cannot, however, do all of the work above, spend considerable staff time and effort, get other facilities and teams involved without payment.  We communicated this with **, as we do with all patients scheduling surgery.  We have had a couple of patients who decided to not go forward with the procedure for whatever reason, and each has accepted the 15% Non refundable policy.  It would not be fair for those patients or our practice and teams if we bypass this policy because ** got the Revdex.com involved.  I feel that the Revdex.com was asked by patient ** to get involved to intimidate the practice to release a refund. I sincerely hope that the Revdex.com will review and evaluate this situation in a fair and thoughtful manner, and that the Revdex.com should not serve only as a platform for unjust complaints that will tarnish and bring harm to hard working business and medical practices.Below is a summary of STAFF input and response after our meetings regarding this situation:"At ** Platic & Cosmetic Surgery, we take pride in caring for our patients as if we were taking care of family.  A great deal of effort is taken to make sure we familiarize ourselves with a patient's past medical history, surgeries and current medications.  Dr. ** also spends as much time as needed to understand the patient's concerns before surgery.  Once he feels the patient would be a good candidate for surgery, he proposes options on how to proceed.  Our goal is to provide the best cosmetic results possible with safety as the top priority.  With this in mind, every surgery that we schedule takes a substantal amount of preoperative coordination, preparation and planning.  It has always been our policy to collect a non-refundable non-transferrable 15% deposit fee for all surgeries at the time of booking.  We appreciate that cosmetic procedures are elective.  So once the patient has decided to schedule a procedure, the non-refundable deposit policy is discussed in great detail and highlighted on our quote during the financial consultation.  In the case of Ms. [redacted], she was quoted the surgery, OR and anesthesia costs for performing her desired procedures with an anesthesiologist in the hospital setting during her initial consultation on May 1st.  A 15% deposit would have been more than twice the $1,000 that Ms. [redacted] gave to secure her surgery date and quote pricing on that inital date.  When she left that day, it was with the understanding that she would return with the remaining amount.  She was not charged our customary consultation fee since she booked surgery that day.   The 2nd meeting with Dr. ** as mentioned by Ms. [redacted] was unscheduled.  Our patient coordinator led her to a private room and then pulled Dr. ** out of a procedure so that he could briefly answer any other concerns that she might have.  Since she had multiple concerns to address, she was told to schedule a time when Dr. ** was not in surgery.  During the follow up consultation visit with Dr. **, Ms. [redacted]expressed her concern over costs and was offered a safe in office alternative.  However, it became clear that though Ms. [redacted] was medically stable for surgery in the hospital or in office, she hadchanged her mind due to cost and was requesting a refund of her non-refundable deposit.  Dr. ** expressed the willingness to review her case, but given the considerable amount of staff and physician time already expended to Ms. [redacted], there were no guarantees of a refund. " NON REFUNDABLE DOCUMENTS SIGNED BY PATIENT:

Business states: We will respond upon receipt of the HIPAA form.

Review: On January 2008 [redacted] did my reconstruction breast surgery. After some complications and removal of my implants , he went [redacted]. His staff was to call me with an appointment at his return. After many calls from me and some of my other doctors with no respond I was left to find a new doctor . I have had many complications since then. I have a chance to go to [redacted] but have had to cancel twice due to not having all my records. I have been calling his office since September 3, 2014 without satisfaction. His staff told me I would get them within a week, but after getting nothing called again to be told they need [redacted]'s approval. I informed them it is California law and I have a right to them. Still nothing. Yesterday, I called once again to be told again they need his approval. How long does it take to answer a question? Once again I informed her it was my right and the law , which was when she said it would be $25.00. I said it was fine which was when her response was "don't stop by to get the records and don't call us we will call you" and hung up. All I ask is for what is legally mine so I can continue finding a doctor to help me.Desired Settlement: I want my records . I also want others to know how his practice is ran.

Business

Response:

We use the usual standard policy for medical records release at our practice. This is same standard policy used by many hospitals and medical centers in the state of California. The procedure is as follows: A medical record request form must be completed by the patient in person or in writing, a copying fee or cost is collected, and an appropriate wait time (usually 2-4 weeks) is needed for the staff to retrieve and copy and make it available for the patient to pick up. If the patient has not been seen for a year or longer, additional time maybe needed to locate and retrieve from storage. Patients may not make requests over the phone as we have no way of verifying the identity of the patient. Any urgent need for medical information, such as for doctor to doctor communication, is accomplished by [redacted] making a direct phone call to the doctor taking care of the patient in question.

As for the case of patient [redacted]., we followed the exact procedure as described above. The staff actually went well above their duty to accommodate patient ** by quickly putting together her medical records with just a phone request, allowing her to show ID on pick up. She requested a copy of her medical records on Sept 24, 2014 over the phone. Because she has been released from our care since 2008, 2-3 staff members spent several hours searching old files and storage to get the medical for her. Her copy was ready for pick up September 26, 2014. She was notified 3 times by phone messages. She did not return any phone calls nor did she come in for the requested medical records.

On October 7, 2014, we received a notice from the Revdex.com stating that medical records were not made available for patient **. This comes as a surprise to us as our practice has done everything possible to accommodate this patient.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: First of all. I only have a cell phone which is never turned off. I have NEVER receive a call. If I was on the phone when they claim they called they could of left a message. I would be glad to request my phone records if necasary to poof I did no get a call. Second of all I request the records from [redacted] all on the same date and all were received I a timely matter. Funny how his staff needed two people to make copies of one folder of a few months and I got seven years from [redacted] the same day I requested them. I which the first time was September3,2014 not September 26 as he states. Lastly, the day after I received an email from you stating he had not responded I too received a certified letter stating my records had been ready. ell me what happen to the request I made between September3, 2014 and September 26, 2014? He also states he saw me longer then a year which also is not true. My surgery was January 31, 2007 and he dropped me as a patient when [redacted]. I don't believe he is a very honest doctor , Why would his staff say he had to "Approve the record and Adjust them if necessary?

Review: The original contract indicated that I would not be able to receive a refund on my deposit. The date of that visit was May 1st, it was very soon after I felt uncomfortable and went into their office to speak to the lady I gave the money to… only to learn that she was no longer employed there. The lady at the desk had bright red hair, she insisted that the doctor would be in any minute and he would be happy to see me, so she said follow me and I will seat you. As though I was in a restaurant ready to eat a meal. When the Doctor came in he was ready for surgery with his cap on and very angry. My visit that day was about three minutes. A meeting was set for me to meet with Dr. **.

At the next meeting Dr. ** told me to that I should NOT have surgery due to my concerns and he would refund most of my deposit, he refused to give me an amount.

Please note the enclosed letter I sent to Dr. **. The doctors I am making reference to are Dr. [redacted], his charge was $65 and Dr. [redacted], $60 they are both in Stockton and Dr [redacted] in Lodi did not charge for his visit.

Thank You,

Most Sincerely,

Dear Dr. **,

During our meeting you stated that I should not have plastic surgery. I inquired about my deposit of $1,000 given on 1 May, 2014. You indicated that I would receive a refund in the mail. I have made several phone calls regarding my deposit, one, the lady said her name was Donna. It has been months.

After speaking with you I met with three plastic surgeons. All three understood my concern that my polio doctor cautioned me about needing an anesthesiologist in a hospital setting. They even made me feel that it was good that I had this concern rather than saying should not have plastic surgery. Your first response was that some concerns are valid and some are not and that you used hospitals when you began your practice, however your patients had problems with germs.

With three plastic surgeons I met with, two charged for the first visit, 60 and 65 dollars, the third one did not charge for the visit. During my first visit with you, after I had paid the $1,000, I was asked for an additional $2,300 to be paid by the following Monday.Desired Settlement: Please may I have a refund from you, I have been very patient.

Business

Response:

Business states: We will respond upon receipt of the HIPAA form.

Business

Response:

I am writing to address the letter from patient ** sent as complaint to the Revdex.com. I will clearly outline our practices's policy for surgery scheduling and payment. I will also include a detailed response from my staff to you in regards to ** as well, as we all had a very intensive meeting going over this case in our office. In addition, I understand that you have obtained a PRIVACY RELEASE OR HIPAA clearance from the patient to allow us this public disclosure and discussion regarding the patient. TO BE CLEAR, THE PATIENT ** HAS AGREED TO HAVING ** PLASTIC SURGERY DISCUSS ANY PERTINENT MEDICAL INFORMATION WITH THE Revdex.com AND THE PUBLIC, AND THAT THE Revdex.com WILL ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS OPEN DISCUSSION AS YOU AND THE Revdex.com HAVE CLEARED THIS WITH THE PATIENT **.