Professional Foot and Ankle Care

12/18/15Dear *** ***,
This letter is in response to your letter regarding the above person's complaint regarding fees for missing a previously scheduled new patient office visitMy office has policies regarding canceled and missed office visits
These policies have been
in place for over thirty yearsAs a courtesy to patients, I do not double book appointments, so when a patient does not show for an appointment; it is detrimental to the office both in scheduling efficiency and financiallyWe allot minutes for new patients and when a patient does not provide advance notice, that is a slot that another patient with a serious issue can take and not have to waitThe office policy states that a minimum of forty eight hours business days' notice is required to cancel an appointment, otherwise a fee is assessedIn the case of a new patient, it starts at seventy five dollarsAll new patients are informed of the policy when they initially schedule their visit, and reminded again one week prior to their visit when the office provides a courtesy call to remind patients of their upcoming visitIf the patient has an emergency, this policy is waived on a case by case basisAdditionally, the policy is posted in the office at the front desk in large bold writing, it is in the office policy manual in the waiting area, and it is written on the appointment cards.This patient scheduled an office appointment on 8/19/for date of service 10/13/We have it documented that he was informed of the office policy at that timeHe was called on 10/6/to remind him of his appointment and the office policy againThe information was left on his answering machineThe morning of his appointment, 10/13/15, he left a message on the office answering system that he was cancelling his appointment for later that same dayHe left no reason as to why he was cancelingMy staff tried to call him multiple times on his cell phone during the day, and he did not pick up his phoneA bill was mailed to the patient for the missed visitOn 10/20/he called the office before office hours and left a message on the answering system that he was not going to pay the bill because “I canceled my appointment”Again, he made no mention of his daughter being ill as the reason for cancelingMy staff called him and left a message on his voice mail why he was being chargedWe never received ten phone calls as he states in his letterIt wasn't until 11/30/that he came to the office during patient hours demanding to speak with the doctorThis was not possible as patients were being treated by me, and this is a matter that the staff handlesHe spent approximately minutes in the office discussing the matter with my staffIt was at this time that he stated that his daughter was ill and that was the reason he canceled his appointmentMy office is quite flexible when it comes to accommodating patient needsThis patient never mentioned on multiple opportunities that his daughter was ill until he received multiple billsIt suddenly occurred to him that he could use that excuse when it became apparent the charge was not being removedInterestingly, the patient never mentioned about rescheduling his visit even before he received a billExpenses for the Office do not stop when a patient does not showWe could have accommodated another patient's needs if he would have cancelled in advanceI have provided excellent patient care for over thirty yearsOur policies are in place to help schedule patients in a smooth timely fashionI believe my staff went above and beyond the in scheduling this patient, reminding him of his appointment, and explaining our policies.Sincerely,Mitchell S

12/18/15Dear [redacted],This letter is in response to your letter regarding the above person's complaint regarding fees for missing a previously scheduled new patient office visit. My office has policies regarding canceled and missed office visits. These policies have been in place for over thirty...

years. As a courtesy to patients, I do not double book appointments, so when a patient does not show for an appointment; it is detrimental to the office both in scheduling efficiency and financially. We allot 30 minutes for new patients and when a patient does not provide advance notice, that is a slot that another patient with a serious issue can take and not have to wait. The office policy states that a minimum of forty eight hours business days' notice is required to cancel an appointment, otherwise a fee is assessed. In the case of a new patient, it starts at seventy five dollars. All new patients are informed of the policy when they initially schedule their visit, and reminded again one week prior to their visit when the office provides a courtesy call to remind patients of their upcoming visit. If the patient has an emergency, this policy is waived on a case by case basis. Additionally, the policy is posted in the office at the front desk in large bold writing, it is in the office policy manual in the waiting area, and it is written on the appointment cards.This patient scheduled an office appointment on 8/19/15 for date of service 10/13/15. We have it documented that he was informed of the office policy at that time. He was called on 10/6/15 to remind him of his appointment and the office policy again. The information was left on his answering machine. The morning of his appointment, 10/13/15, he left a message on the office answering system that he was cancelling his appointment for later that same day. He left no reason as to why he was canceling. My staff tried to call him multiple times on his cell phone during the day, and he did not pick up his phone. A bill was mailed to the patient for the missed visit. On 10/20/15 he called the office before office hours and left a message on the answering system that he was not going to pay the bill because “I canceled my appointment”. Again, he made no mention of his daughter being ill as the reason for canceling. My staff called him and left a message on his voice mail why he was being charged. We never received ten phone calls as he states in his letter. It wasn't until 11/30/15 that he came to the office during patient hours demanding to speak with the doctor. This was not possible as patients were being treated by me, and this is a matter that the staff handles. He spent approximately 20 minutes in the office discussing the matter with my staff. It was at this time that he stated that his daughter was ill and that was the reason he canceled his appointment. My office is quite flexible when it comes to accommodating patient needs. This patient never mentioned on multiple opportunities that his daughter was ill until he received multiple bills. It suddenly occurred to him that he could use that excuse when it became apparent the charge was not being removed. Interestingly, the patient never mentioned about rescheduling his visit even before he received a bill. Expenses for the Office do not stop when a patient does not show. We could have accommodated another patient's needs if he would have cancelled in advance. I have provided excellent patient care for over thirty years. Our policies are in place to help schedule patients in a smooth timely fashion. I believe my staff went above and beyond the normal in scheduling this patient, reminding him of his appointment, and explaining our policies.Sincerely,Mitchell S