Lakeshore Medical Clinic, LTD

My Surgeon told me to call my primary doctor which is [redacted] and I did. He refused to refill my 5mg vicidon until my appt with the surgeon that is in 2 days I showed him the mri report that proves the problems I am having. He denied to help me and said he would call in Tramodal and he knows this does not work for me as I told him that and he knows that only because he prescribed that to me before and is awhare that this does not work for me all I requested was 10 vicidon to hold me over until my appt thats it im done.

Review: I was seen in this particular medical office for a general appointment. The problem; I waited over one hour in the exam room, the MD finally came in to see me and started discussing something which was not related to my initial appointment. I had to correct the MD and redirect to the current concern for the appointment. The physician spent about 10-12 minutes speaking to me without completing an exam then left. I was later billed for $193.00. This was not the first time this occurred, I was to see another physician 1-2 weeks prior for the first time and I waited about one hour in the exam room before the MD came in. I understand the billing is based on ICD 9 coding practices. I filed a dispute claim and was directed to the dispute department who took approximately 7 weeks to determine something I already knew. My point is I should not be billed for 10-12 minutes after waiting over one hour for services. I called to speak with the supervisor after speaking with the dispute dept, the supervisor could not help me and she could not recommend next steps. I was told by another billing dept representative there is nothing I can do. This is poor customer/patient care and satisfaction. There has to be a way to dispute a charge when not warranted. How does an organization hold their physician and office staff accountable? I work within the healthcare field and now over 14 years and I will not recommend this facility or organization. They poorly represented and no one seems accountable for their practices.Desired Settlement: Charges for DOS 7/1/13 resolved or written off.

Business

Response:

RE: Complaint I.D. [redacted] Patient [redacted], date of service 07/01/13

Ms. [redacted] had been in touch with Lakeshore Medical Clinic regarding her dissatisfaction of the cost of the office visit. The following is an account of this contact.

Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’s phone call, our business office conducted a coding audit; this audit includes review of the physician visit notes and the billed charges. The audit result indicated documentation of the visit is appropriate to charges billed. Ms. [redacted] was not accepting of the audit results and further pursued cost reduction making contact with our clinic manager, Ms. [redacted].

The clinic manager reiterated to Ms. [redacted] the audit results and re-stated charges would not be reduced since the visit was appropriate in meeting the medical concerns brought forward by Ms. [redacted].

Ms. [redacted] did mention the long wait time during her conversation with our manager, [redacted] apologized for the delay and explained that although it is both Lakeshore Medical Clinics and our physician’s intent to stay on time it is not always achievable. There are many reasons for delays including meeting patient needs at the time of the visit, patients arriving late, and physician schedule disruptions.

The providing physician has been contacted asking for her recollection of the visit. The doctor was surprised at the complaint and reviewed documentation as well. An internal patient complaint investigation has been completed and reviewed by Lakeshore Medical Clinic administration.

Lakeshore Medical Clinic Women’s Pavilion is a very busy practice. It is clearly a patient satisfier when the day goes well and patients are seen at their appointment time. We strive for timely care and know this goal is not always meet but although we may not always meet the patient expectation related to wait times, we do provide quality care. Fees charged are based on the care provided. The care provided to Ms. [redacted] was appropriate to meeting her medical needs, and based on the care provided the fees were not reduced.

Regional Clinic Director

Consumer

Response: