Family Vision Care

We must recieve HIPPA release form  to discuss information regarding any patient seen at this office.  Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely Family Vision Office Management.

Review: After the passing of Dr.[redacted] the new owner's business practices have been questionable to me. Every time I have been there I've seen issues with their services such as:

Price Gouging: I have 4 receipts from a few days apart. 2 out of 3 of them are re-checkups and they are ludicrously high priced compared to what they were previously.

Unnecessary Medical Exams: I underwent an eye dilation procedure that I've never had to have done before. Then I found out that this procedure is typically done on senior citizens over the age of 60. I am only 24 years old, this procedure took place when I was 22, and I have no history of eye related illnesses other than being near sighted.

Contact Lenses Evaluation: I've underwent two of these procedures already and I have been wearing contact lenses for a solid 10 years now with no problems at all. They did *not* do anything different from my usual eye exam check up so I feel that these were just extra charges levied onto my bill.

Prescription Medicine: On the 4th of July some gunpowder from a firework show somehow managed to get into my eye and scratch it leaving an infection. I went in for an eye exam, which they said they couldn't do because of my eye's condition. They prescribed to me eye drops to help with the infection. The cost at my local [redacted] pharmacy for a small 5ml bottle of eyedrops almost ran up to $100. It was only because someone at the pharmacy called the establishment and requested something more affordable did I get medicine that day. This tells me that they are aware of cheaper products but still chose to prescribe an unnecessarily expensive bottle to me. On my second exam, two days later, they prescribed me another 5 ml bottle of eyedrops. This time with a steroid to reduce swelling. The price? Another $100.After I requested they not prescribe anything prohibitively expensive to me again. I was informed that, and I quote, "this medicine is a more affordable price" by one of their physicians. I refused to pay that and I did not get the eyedrops that day. The swelling went down on it's own and it that also tells me that I did not need the new eye drops at all. So they brought me in for another exam and attempted to prescribe me expensive medicine that wasn't needed at all.

Improper billing: I had neglected to mention this earlier but all of those exams for my eye were, under my knowledge, meant to be paid for by my health insurance. I was informed nothing about the price of those procedures and received nothing in the mail from my insurance provider. Then, a month later, while I was in for the eye exam I initially needed. One of their workers walked into the room half-way-through my exam with a sticky note that said I owed them $280 dollars. I was never informed by them, or my insurance provider, that those exams were costing me anything at all. I had assumed my insurance was picking up the tab since nobody at this business was telling me that I owed them money. Now my bill for all 4 of my visits plus new contact lenses is over $500.

I'd like this place investigated for questionable business practices. This doesn't seem normal when compared to their previous owner.Desired Settlement: As it stands I have no intention of paying a dime of these bills and I will be taking my business elsewhere from now on. I've been going here since I was a child but ever since the new owner stepped in this place has been causing me more headaches than it's worth.

I would like these bills either dropped altogether or reduced to a more reasonable price.

Regardless of the outcome I will still be seeing a different eye doctor.

Business

Response:

We are writing to you concerning the complaint filed by Mr. [redacted]. We are more than happy to address Mr. [redacted]'s concerns and are surprised that we did not know of these concerns prior to receiving your letter.We purchased this practice over 2 yrs ago and have worked diligently to provide the best care while offering the latest technology and medical treatments. We offer services within this medically-oriented eye care practice within the proper guidelines and protocols of insurance companies. Our pricing on exams and how we file for eye exams are based on the problem that the patient presents with, what tests are performed, and what medications are prescribed. We never charge an additional fee for a dilation and the dilation is performed to evaluate the health of the eye and is necessary in all patients, regardless of age.Contact lens evaluations are ¡n addition to any eye exam. We evaluate the health of the eye and review additional measurements so that we can make sure the patient is not over wearing the contact lens, the contact is not causing changes in the shape of the eye, and that the eye is getting enough oxygen through the contact lens. Even if the patient feels that there are "no problems," based on our contact lens evaluation, we can determine if there are changes with the health of the eye. We often recommend newer technology in contacts in order to increase the oxygen supply and to reduce risk of infection/adverse changes with the eye.When patients present with an injury, red eye, medical condition causing changes with the health of their eye, we are required to bill the medical insurance for the visit. We cannot control what the insurance will cover and are required to collect the deductibles and co-pays that the insurance states are necessary. Mr. [redacted] was seen at the beginning of July for his eye problem and we had just received notice from his medical insurance that the balance was his responsibility at his August visit. It will often take 4-8 weeks from filing a claim to get an explanation of benefits or payment from the insurance. He may have not known of his remaining balance at the August visit because we had just received notification from insurance.When treating a red eye, especially in contact lens wearers, a small injury can quickly turn infectious,For this reason, we often prescribe newer- generation antibiotics so that we can be diligent with any infection that may be present. We electronically-prescribe medications and will often get alerts from the insurance concerning formulary compliance while we are ordering the medication. In some instances and with some insurance companies, we do not. With his insurance no notification was posted. Once we obtained notification from the pharmacy, we were more than happy to change his medication to help with cost.With the changing health care environment, insurances are setting higher deductibles and passing higher-cost copays and responsibility to the patients. We are not able to write-off amounts on patients' accounts that insurance companies state we must collect from the patient. We feel it would be in Mr. [redacted]'s best interest to contact his health insurance carrier to see if we may modify his responsibility on those visits.We appreciate the opportunity to discuss this complaint with you and look forward to a reasonableresolution.Sincerely,[redacted], O.D.[redacted], O.D.