Greenhaven Family Practice

As per your instructions, I will not include any personally identifiable informationHowever, if you need more background and detail regarding this complaint, a review of the records in my possession may be helpful The customer is pleasant in person, but presents differently on the phone even with meOn the one occasion she has had to pick up something from our office, she was all smiles and cheery even to [redacted] Unfortunately, I discarded the thank you card, an unexpected surprise from the customer, stating profusely how she appreciated us doing the referralI have overheard the customer on two occasions berating [redacted] over the phone for being incompetentOn this last occasion, [redacted] was near tears as the customer continued to criticize her, told her she is a liar, so I took over the call, listened to the same details outlined In her complaint letter and the rest of what ensued is documented on the October telephone conversation Since opening my business in April this year, one of my top priorities is to provide good patient careI always emphasize this to anyone I hireI have already gone through two other employees that did not meet my expectationsLet us not deny it is rare to find an employee who performs beyond their duties and [redacted] is one of them, Unfortunately, perfection is difficult to achieveObviously we had failed this customerHowever, I feel as an individual, it was inappropriate to criticize [redacted] in the manner this customer did and I stand by my defense that my staff did not withhold information, and that she is organized and reliableI anticipate future encounters with this customer will be disastrous thus the discharge I suspect the customer has had other conflicts with other businesses but she stopped patronizing them of her own accordI presented that option to her given she was not happy with our service, which she ignoredBeing discharged from a doctor’s office is not pleasantIt means the customer has crossed the lineMy office brochure has three grounds for dischargeOne of them is verbal abuse against staffIt is sad that we have to write this out for customers to see as more and more of our society are enabling people who display discourteous behaviori I will not rescind the dischargeI am flattered the customer wants to continue patronizing our officeHowever, there are a number of other similar lines of business, and I am confident she will find better service if not perfect elsewhere to suit her needs

As per your instructions, I will not include any personally identifiable information. However, if you need more background and detail regarding this complaint, a review of the records in my possession may be helpful.
The customer is pleasant in person, but presents differently on the...

phone even with me. On the one occasion she has had to pick up something from our office, she was all smiles and cheery even to [redacted]. Unfortunately, I discarded the thank you card, an unexpected surprise from the customer, stating profusely how she appreciated us doing the referral. I have overheard the customer on two occasions berating [redacted] over the phone for being incompetent. On this last occasion, [redacted] was near tears as the customer continued to criticize her, told her she is a liar, so I took over the call, listened to the same details outlined In her complaint letter and the rest of what ensued is documented on the October 14 telephone conversation.
Since opening my business in April this year, one of my top priorities is to provide good patient care. I always emphasize this to anyone I hire. I have already gone through two other employees that did not meet my expectations. Let us not deny it is rare to find an employee who performs beyond their duties and [redacted] is one of them, Unfortunately, perfection is difficult to achieve. Obviously we had failed this customer. However, I feel as an individual, it was inappropriate to criticize [redacted] in the manner this customer did and I stand by my defense that my staff did not withhold information, and that she is organized and reliable. I anticipate future encounters with this customer will be disastrous thus the discharge.
I suspect the customer has had other conflicts with other businesses but she stopped patronizing them of her own accord. I presented that option to her given she was not happy with our service, which she ignored. Being discharged from a doctor’s office is not pleasant. It means the customer has crossed the line. My office brochure has three grounds for discharge. One of them is verbal abuse against staff. It is sad that we have to write this out for customers to see as more and more of our society are enabling people who display discourteous behavior.. i
I will not rescind the discharge. I am flattered the customer wants to continue patronizing our office. However, there are a number of other similar lines of business, and I am confident she will find better service if not perfect elsewhere to suit her needs.

Review: I am writing you as a Consumer of Services citing an issue of incompetent and poor service from the provider, and her Medical Assistant, as referenced above. It is my experience, as a patient with Dr. ** since approximately May 2014, that her Medical Assistant named [redacted] proves to be grossly incompetent.

[redacted] lacks reliable communication skills and has proven on more than one occasion to be poorly organized and unfamiliar with, 1) the referral process for specialist services, 2) the variety of medical insurance providers and their networks, and 3) appropriate guidelines/procedures for referring patients to the proper health care provider/specialist. After speaking with [redacted] on more than one occasion about referral follow though, she is extremely defensive with regard to her duties and responsibilities, unnecessarily rude and communicates poorly on the telephone with regard to explaining herself, the steps taken to complete a referral and her reasons for making the choices she has with regard to care and proper specialist follow through.

As a patient of this office for about six months, today (10/14/2014) Dr. **'s Medical Assistant [redacted] --once again-- lied about contacting the proper medical provider for my services, backtracked about her work efforts and lied about the timeline referrals were placed for me.

For example: On 9/22/14 [redacted] referred me to [redacted] in Elk Grove, CA. My insurance does not contract with this provider. On 9/29/14 [redacted] placed a referral for me to see [redacted] in Elk Grove. My insurance does not contract with this provider. I specifically told [redacted] I could see [redacted] providers and there there was a [redacted] office on [redacted] in Elk Grove, CA. On 10/7/14 --after having to contact [redacted] via telephone almost half a dozen times, she finally processed the referral correctly to [redacted] in Elk Grove, CA.

When I called Dr. **'s office on the morning of 10/14/2014 to confirm this referral and to see where we were in the process, [redacted] told me she sent in a referral to the correct physical therapy location over three weeks ago. She told me she faxed it to [redacted]. After I called to confirm my physical therapy referral, [redacted] let me know Dr. ** wanted to speak with me and put me on hold. When Dr. ** came on the telephone, she told me it was clear that I was unhappy with her care and she told me I was DISCHARGED from her care as of this date (10/14/2014).

I explained to Dr. ** that her medical assistant [redacted] has lied to me, has withheld information, has been unorganized and is unreliable in her communication with regard to following a reliable and effective referral process. I explained to Dr. ** that her staff was a reflection of her and it shouldn't be so difficult to have an MA process a simple referral for physical therapy is the MA is properly trained and knows what she is doing.

Dr. ** repeated that I was DISCHARGED from her care, and then she hung up the phone.

The lack of professionalism, courtesy for the patient/customer and display of incompetence on the part of Dr. **'s MA is extremely unsatisfactory; Dr. **'s rash choice to DISCHARGE me combined with her defensive inflexible demeanor on the telephone shows a very poor business practice and a complete, clear lack of wanting to provide continued, diligent and thorough patient care, overall.

Clearly, Dr. ** operates with the belief that if a patient doesn't like the way her staff treats them, then that patient can move on. Le me re-iterate: I have only been a patient of Dr. ** for about 6 months. This type of treatment she has displayed toward me, her patient, as a service provider and a medical care giver is untenable and should not be allowed as a medical care provider.

I would like to be clear that I never have had an issue with the care I received from Dr. **: my issue has been with her MA, [redacted]'s, incompetent, unreliable, and unorganized service.

Now, I am currently without a primary care physician and, as a patient with chronic fatigue, chronic pain and a **pus-like disease, Dr. ** has put my health and continued well-being in a very precarious position by claiming I am "DISCHARGED" from her office simply because I was advocating for my own rights, my own medical care and the proper procedures to acquire all of it. The stress of this situation and the work I have needed to do to stay assertive and diligent in my own health care and coordinate with Dr. **'s office does not aide in the care or healing of my own diagnoses and ailments. Dr. ** has added insult to injury in this situation by refusing to treat me any long. This is an abhorrent mis-use of Dr. **'s education, position, title and training.

Dr. **'s information medical brochure (please see copy attached) states she is: "...a DO... also a physician fully-licensed and trained to diagnose illnesses, disorders, and provide preventive care."

It is apparent the only type of patient care Dr. ** wishes to provide is the one that is convenient and easy for her and her unstable demeanor on any given day.

I should not be punished by Dr. ** for pursuing accuracy, and being assertive and diligent in my own health care needs.

Sincerely, [redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like Dr. ** to rescind my discharge and to be able to continue my care with her.

Business

Response:

As per your instructions, I will not include any personally identifiable information. However, if you need more background and detail regarding this complaint, a review of the records in my possession may be helpful.

The customer is pleasant in person, but presents differently on the phone even with me. On the one occasion she has had to pick up something from our office, she was all smiles and cheery even to [redacted]. Unfortunately, I discarded the thank you card, an unexpected surprise from the customer, stating profusely how she appreciated us doing the referral. I have overheard the customer on two occasions berating [redacted] over the phone for being incompetent. On this last occasion, [redacted] was near tears as the customer continued to criticize her, told her she is a liar, so I took over the call, listened to the same details outlined In her complaint letter and the rest of what ensued is documented on the October 14 telephone conversation.

Since opening my business in April this year, one of my top priorities is to provide good patient care. I always emphasize this to anyone I hire. I have already gone through two other employees that did not meet my expectations. Let us not deny it is rare to find an employee who performs beyond their duties and [redacted] is one of them, Unfortunately, perfection is difficult to achieve. Obviously we had failed this customer. However, I feel as an individual, it was inappropriate to criticize [redacted] in the manner this customer did and I stand by my defense that my staff did not withhold information, and that she is organized and reliable. I anticipate future encounters with this customer will be disastrous thus the discharge.

I suspect the customer has had other conflicts with other businesses but she stopped patronizing them of her own accord. I presented that option to her given she was not happy with our service, which she ignored. Being discharged from a doctor’s office is not pleasant. It means the customer has crossed the line. My office brochure has three grounds for discharge. One of them is verbal abuse against staff. It is sad that we have to write this out for customers to see as more and more of our society are enabling people who display discourteous behavior.. i

I will not rescind the discharge. I am flattered the customer wants to continue patronizing our office. However, there are a number of other similar lines of business, and I am confident she will find better service if not perfect elsewhere to suit her needs.