North San Antonio Healthcare Assoc.

May 25, Revdex.com Complaint Response (Complaint ID ***) Mrs*** *** had an appointment with Dr*** on Monday, October 8, At the time of the appointment a copayment amount of $was not collected from herWhile it is our office policy to collect
copayments from patients when they check in for their appointments there are occasions when this does not occurFor example there are times when our credit card machine may not be working or the person at the front desk failed to ask for the amount or at times patients may report that they don't have the money and ask if they can call later with a credit card or bring by the amount another timeI can't say for certain why this $was not collected on October 8, I can say that I have reviewed our records and show neither a credit card transaction nor a check was taken from this patientWe do not have a theft problem with the small amount of cash that is collected from patients in the officeI have reviewed Mrs***'s account history and found that she had visits during the past yearsShe paid her copayment on each occasion with the exception of the visit on 10/8/1/19/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 5/24/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 5/29/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 6/11/2008 $20 Personal Check #*** 2/9/2009 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 1/7/2011 $30 MasterCard ending in *** 10/8/2012 No Payment Made As you can see, there is a history of payments via Master Card or check and never a cash paymentIf a cash payment was made there would have been a receipt generated from our system and even if the patient did not want the receipt there would have been history of the event and there is noneWe also have several signs posted that clearly state if you pay with cash and do not receive a paper receipt to ask to speak with the office manager before leaving the officeWe did change to a new electronic medical record system last year in September and now have had all account balances from our old system uploaded to the new system and that is why the recent patient statements were generated and sent out which started the conversation with Mr***Mr*** mentioned in his complaint that "this type of error should have been caught on other return visits in that time period"It would have been caught and the $balance would have been addressed had has his wife had any appointments after the appointment on October 8, However, she has not had any future appointments since the October 8, visitAttached you will find the documentation in our electronic medical records system documenting my conversation with Mr*** on April, 11, There was no threat made to refuse serviceHe was informed by our billing and scheduling department that we could not schedule any future appointments until this matter was resolveThis was not a threat, this was policy told to him per the physicians/owners of North San Antonio Healthcare AssociatesWe are not able to continue to provide services to patients who owe money to the practice with no intent on paying for services performedI understand that Mr*** wants a refund of the $We are unable to refund him this money as it is our responsibility to collect the copayment amount from patients per our insurance contractThe doctors that own the business have been made aware of this matter and believe if Mr*** is unhappy with the services provided by this office he may certainly seek medical services from another healthcare provider

May 25, Revdex.com Complaint
Response (Complaint ID ***) Mrs*** *** had an appointment with Dr*** on Monday, October 8, At the time of the appointment a copayment amount of $was not collected from herWhile it is our office policy to collect copayments from patients when they check in for their appointments there are occasions when this does not occurFor example there are times when our credit card machine may not be working or the person at the front desk failed to ask for the amount or at times patients may report that they don't have the money and ask if they can call later with a credit card or bring by the amount another timeI can't say for certain why this $was not collected on October 8, I can say that I have reviewed our records and show neither a credit card transaction nor a check was taken from this patientWe do not have a theft problem with the small amount of cash that is collected from patients in the officeI have reviewed Mrs***'s account history and found that she had visits during the past yearsShe paid her copayment on each occasion with the exception of the visit on 10/8/1/19/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 5/24/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 5/29/2007 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 6/11/2008 $20 Personal Check #*** 2/9/2009 $20 MasterCard ending in *** 1/7/2011 $30 MasterCard ending in *** 10/8/2012 No Payment Made As you can see, there is a history of payments via Master Card or check and never a cash paymentIf a cash payment was made there would have been a receipt generated from our system and even if the patient did not want the receipt there would have been history of the event and there is noneWe also have several signs posted that clearly state if you pay with cash and do not receive a paper receipt to ask to speak with the office manager before leaving the officeWe did change to a new electronic medical record system last year in September and now have had all account balances from our old system uploaded to the new system and that is why the recent patient statements were generated and sent out which started the conversation with Mr***Mr*** mentioned in his complaint that "this type of error should have been caught on other return visits in that time period"It would have been caught and the $balance would have been addressed had has his wife had any appointments after the appointment on October 8, However, she has not had any future appointments since the October 8, visitAttached you will find the documentation in our electronic medical records system documenting my conversation with Mr*** on April, 11, There was no threat made to refuse serviceHe was informed by our billing and scheduling department that we could not schedule any future appointments until this matter was resolveThis was not a threat, this was policy told to him per the physicians/owners of North San Antonio Healthcare AssociatesWe are not able to continue to provide services to patients who owe money to the practice with no intent on paying for services performedI understand that Mr*** wants a refund of the $We are unable to refund him this money as it is our responsibility to collect the copayment amount from patients per our insurance contractThe doctors that own the business have been made aware of this matter and believe if Mr*** is unhappy with the services provided by this office he may certainly seek medical services from another healthcare provider

This patient called our office and asked to schedule an appointment to establish care with *** *** ***. She came at her appointment time and was asked to complete our new patient paperwork. Her insurance information was obtained and she proceeded to see the physician.
Nothing we do in our office is FREE. We DO NOT allow meet and greet with the physician to decide if you want him to care for you. We schedule appointments, new patient information including past medical history, current medical history and health insurance is obtained and verified. She was not asked to pay anything at the time of her visit as she has an insurance with a deductible. We typically submit claims to the insurance and then balance bill the patient once our claim has been processed. She was never told by anyone here that her visit would be freeShe obviously misunderstood not having to pay at the time of the visit. She did sign all of our new patient registration forms (copies of financial information provided - NOT MEDICAL RECORDS). While she may not have a current active medical issue vitals were obtained along with her medical history and *** *** spent time in an exam room evaluating her. A medical claim was submitted to her insurance company for the amount of $209.00 we have a negotiated contract with the insurance company so a contractual adjustment of $was made to the claim and the remaining $was applied to the patients deductible. She called our office disputing this bill. It was explained to her by both our billing person and office manager (myself) just as it has been explained above. I can assure you she was NEVER told by anyone in our office that her visit would be FREE. Physician time is valuable and unfortunately we are not able to see patients for free and keep our doors openThe only resolution to this issue is for the patient to pay her bill. Failure to do so will leave us with no option other than to turn her account over to a collection agencyThank you for your assistance with this matter,
*** ***
*** *** - North San Antonio Healthcare Associates

This patient called our office and asked to schedule an appointment to establish care with [redacted].  She came at her appointment time and was asked to complete our new patient paperwork.  Her insurance information was obtained and she proceeded to see the physician. ...

Nothing we do in our office is FREE.  We DO NOT allow meet and greet with the physician to decide if you want him to care for you.  We schedule appointments, new patient information including past medical history, current medical history and  health insurance is obtained and verified.  She was not asked to pay anything at the time of her visit as she has an insurance with a deductible.  We typically submit claims to the insurance and then balance bill the patient once our claim has been processed.  She was never told by anyone here that her visit would be free. She obviously misunderstood not having to pay at the time of the visit.  She did sign all of our new patient registration forms (copies of financial information provided - NOT MEDICAL RECORDS).  While she may not have a current active medical issue vitals were obtained along with her medical history and [redacted] spent time in an exam room evaluating her.  A medical claim was submitted to her insurance company for the amount of $209.00  we have a negotiated contract with the insurance company so a contractual adjustment of $125.35 was made to the claim and the remaining $83.65 was applied to the patients deductible.  She called our office disputing this bill.  It was explained to her by both our billing person and office manager (myself) just as it has been explained above.  I can assure you she was NEVER told by anyone in our office that her visit would be FREE.  Physician time is valuable and unfortunately we are not able to see patients for free and keep our doors open.The only resolution to this issue is for the patient to pay her bill.  Failure to do so will leave us with no option other than to turn her account over to a collection agency.Thank you for your assistance with this matter, [redacted] - North San Antonio Healthcare Associates

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]