Ryan M Walton DDS

In reference to case ID [redacted] mailed to DrLoren Petry and Petry & Walton DDS:I purchased the practice a couple of years ago, and am the owner of record at the date of service in question (12/15/16).? I also made the financial decision in this case, so please accept my response instead of that of DrPetry.Ms [redacted] has every right to be concerned in this case, but I believe that concern should be with her insurance company.? Unfortunately, poor communication on the part of insurance companies is making our ability to correctly identify covered services more and more difficult.? Please allow me to explain the details and respond to the Customer's Statement of Problem.First, a panoramic radiograph is not meant to analyze the back teeth, which Ms [redacted] seems to claim in her first sentence.? Panoramic radiographs are meant to evaluate the health/disease of the existing teeth, assess the remaining upper and lower jaw bone and the health and positioning of the TMJ (major joint of the jaw), look for the presence or absence of tumors, cysts, and other abnormalities, etc.? Simply not having back teeth is not a reason to exclude this from her dental health regimen.Also, I am certain the hygienist did not tell her the radiograph would be at no cost to her.? We likely said that the radiograph? should be a covered benefit under her insurance.? These are quite different statements, and we are very careful with our wording.? Very regularly, insurance will "cover" one of the services we perform without covering the service at 100%.? It is quite rare that insurance covers 100% of anything anymore.? Her insurance policy states that the panoramic radiograph? is a covered benefit every years.? Ms [redacted] first became a patient in our office 2/14/after recent dental extractions at another office (and concerns over poor treatment and billing concerns there)If she had this panoramic radiograph? taken at the other office in the last five years, we would have no way to know.? Ms [redacted] would know when this was taken.? Insurance companies do not share this information with us, as it is an agreement between the insurance company and the patient (and in this case, a previous doctor).? Ms [redacted] is ultimately responsible for knowing her insurance policy and its details.? We do everything in our power to help, but sometimes we end up on the wrong side of poor communication between patients and their insurance.Finally, as for the "I also did not get the oral cancer screening that I was billed $for" statement - the $charge is for dental code [redacted] (Periodic Oral Evaluation - established patient).? We performed this service in addition to the cleaning that day.? This consists of checking the teeth for decay, fractures, and mobility.? I also assess the function of the jaw joint, perform an oral cancer screening, check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures, and evaluate the other soft tissues for abnormalities.? We performed this service for her on the day in question.In an effort to provide some goodwill, I am willing to clear her outstanding balance of $to leave her account balance at $0.00, provided she not return to our office for dental care (except for emergency care until she finds a new dentist).? If she would like her records transferred to another office, a small fee may be applied.Please accept this information as my understanding of the factual basis relating to Ms [redacted] 's concerns.? If I may be of additional help, please do not hesitate to contact me.Respectfully,Ryan MWalton, DDS

I am rejecting this response because: Wow! There is no goodwill or honor to be seen here! Not sure why, but I am shocked by the complete line of lies and unprofessional responseI still stand by my original complaint.I had a $credit before this last office visit and I fully expect it to be refunded as well (see attachment)I also expect the $credit for a total of $The exact amount my insurance reduced the x-ray to (see attached)Walton has no idea what his hygienist told me as he was not in the roomThe factual basis is that I said NO to the x-ray because I have no back teeth and I didn’t see any sense to it! Regardless, hygienist said “would be covered”, not “should be covered”If she had said the word “should” then I would have had billing run the EOB before the service was preformed just as I always did in their officeMy mistake for believing herHad I not told the hygienist “NO”, then I would have done the honorable thing and accepted responsibility for the billDon’t lie to my face and expect a reward for it!!! All that being said: when a patient says “NO” they should be respected not intimidated & lied to!!!The oral cleaning is not even a part of the claim, but since Walton wants to address it, then tell the truthThe hygienist took the unwanted x-ray and cleaned my teethFrom there she walked me right over to the dental chair for a scheduled appointment to have a cavity filledThe oral screening never happenedBy Walton’s own admission, "check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures"If he truly evaluated my mouth, then wouldn't he know for sure that I have partials & not complete dentures? Especially since they were made through his and Doctor Petry’s office!!! The inaccurate and unprofessional comment as to why I changed dentists is yet another example of the immaturity & disrespect Walton holds for his patientsNot to mention the lack of confidentiality, even if it is trueTruth be told, I transferred to Doctor Petry’s office (Walton’s father in law) because after some price checking Doctor Petry provided the best price for my new partials and I liked his Christian mannerism I would now like the fee for transferring dental records addressed in this claimExactly what is the small fee? Personally, I feel the oral exam fee that my insurance coalready paid should be more than enough to cover itThat would be a show of goodwill.In closing, I guess we can agree to disagree, but not at my expenseI stand firm on the billing issueI am owed a full refund and it is not an act of goodwill to remove a portion of the billing from my accountPerhaps the hygienist should be held accountable? As long as the $is refunded to me and the $is removed, showing a zero balance, then we have a meeting of the mindsI will expect a refund check and final statement by mail showing a zero balanceI also need the “transfer of dental record fee” addressedThen and only then will I be satisfied & consider this case closed.Thank you Walton for asking me not to return, but your office was already informed to get my dental records ready for transferI would never support your practice again, not even in an emergency! How ludicrous!!!

In reference to the patient's complaint, they asked if we accepted (or took) their insurance We accept almost every insurance, but are not "in-network" with every insurance We answered her question honestly...we do accept her insurance We have a large group of patients who opt
to visit us, despite the fact that we are not "in-network." In fact, I would guess it is the majority of our patient-base that make this decision.We attempt to estimate insurance coverage as accurately as possible Insurance companies, however, are not transparent with their decisions and sometimes end up paying dramatically different amounts than expected This is one of those cases I would recommend that Ms*** contact her insurance company to see why the coverage amount was so little We are happy to work on her behalf to find out as well, but the insurance company often does not share this information with us, as it is an agreement between her and the insurance company We are the provider of service.We would never attempt to intentionally deceive someone That is not good business practice Please let us know if we can assist in any other way. *** ** *** ***

In reference to case ID *** mailed to DrLoren Petry and Petry & Walton DDS:I purchased the practice a couple of years ago, and am the owner of record at the date of service in question (12/15/16). I also made the financial decision in this case, so please accept my response instead
of that of DrPetry.Ms*** has every right to be concerned in this case, but I believe that concern should be with her insurance company. Unfortunately, poor communication on the part of insurance companies is making our ability to correctly identify covered services more and more difficult. Please allow me to explain the details and respond to the Customer's Statement of Problem.First, a panoramic radiograph is not meant to analyze the back teeth, which Ms*** seems to claim in her first sentence. Panoramic radiographs are meant to evaluate the health/disease of the existing teeth, assess the remaining upper and lower jaw bone and the health and positioning of the TMJ (major joint of the jaw), look for the presence or absence of tumors, cysts, and other abnormalities, etc. Simply not having back teeth is not a reason to exclude this from her dental health regimen.Also, I am certain the hygienist did not tell her the radiograph would be at no cost to her. We likely said that the radiograph should be a covered benefit under her insurance. These are quite different statements, and we are very careful with our wording. Very regularly, insurance will "cover" one of the services we perform without covering the service at 100%. It is quite rare that insurance covers 100% of anything anymore. Her insurance policy states that the panoramic radiograph is a covered benefit every years. Ms*** first became a patient in our office 2/14/after recent dental extractions at another office (and concerns over poor treatment and billing concerns there)If she had this panoramic radiograph taken at the other office in the last five years, we would have no way to know. Ms *** would know when this was taken. Insurance companies do not share this information with us, as it is an agreement between the insurance company and the patient (and in this case, a previous doctor). Ms*** is ultimately responsible for knowing her insurance policy and its details. We do everything in our power to help, but sometimes we end up on the wrong side of poor communication between patients and their insurance.Finally, as for the "I also did not get the oral cancer screening that I was billed $for" statement - the $charge is for dental code *** (Periodic Oral Evaluation - established patient). We performed this service in addition to the cleaning that day. This consists of checking the teeth for decay, fractures, and mobility. I also assess the function of the jaw joint, perform an oral cancer screening, check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures, and evaluate the other soft tissues for abnormalities. We performed this service for her on the day in question.In an effort to provide some goodwill, I am willing to clear her outstanding balance of $to leave her account balance at $0.00, provided she not return to our office for dental care (except for emergency care until she finds a new dentist). If she would like her records transferred to another office, a small fee may be applied.Please accept this information as my understanding of the factual basis relating to Ms***'s concerns. If I may be of additional help, please do not hesitate to contact me.Respectfully,Ryan MWalton, DDS

In reference to case ID *** mailed to DrLoren Petry and Petry & Walton DDS:I purchased the practice a couple of years ago, and am the owner of record at the date of service in question (12/15/16). I also made the financial decision in this case, so please accept my response instead
of that of DrPetry.Ms*** has every right to be concerned in this case, but I believe that concern should be with her insurance company. Unfortunately, poor communication on the part of insurance companies is making our ability to correctly identify covered services more and more difficult. Please allow me to explain the details and respond to the Customer's Statement of Problem.First, a panoramic radiograph is not meant to analyze the back teeth, which Ms*** seems to claim in her first sentence. Panoramic radiographs are meant to evaluate the health/disease of the existing teeth, assess the remaining upper and lower jaw bone and the health and positioning of the TMJ (major joint of the jaw), look for the presence or absence of tumors, cysts, and other abnormalities, etc. Simply not having back teeth is not a reason to exclude this from her dental health regimen.Also, I am certain the hygienist did not tell her the radiograph would be at no cost to her. We likely said that the radiograph should be a covered benefit under her insurance. These are quite different statements, and we are very careful with our wording. Very regularly, insurance will "cover" one of the services we perform without covering the service at 100%. It is quite rare that insurance covers 100% of anything anymore. Her insurance policy states that the panoramic radiograph is a covered benefit every years. Ms*** first became a patient in our office 2/14/after recent dental extractions at another office (and concerns over poor treatment and billing concerns there)If she had this panoramic radiograph taken at the other office in the last five years, we would have no way to know. Ms *** would know when this was taken. Insurance companies do not share this information with us, as it is an agreement between the insurance company and the patient (and in this case, a previous doctor). Ms*** is ultimately responsible for knowing her insurance policy and its details. We do everything in our power to help, but sometimes we end up on the wrong side of poor communication between patients and their insurance.Finally, as for the "I also did not get the oral cancer screening that I was billed $for" statement - the $charge is for dental code *** (Periodic Oral Evaluation - established patient). We performed this service in addition to the cleaning that day. This consists of checking the teeth for decay, fractures, and mobility. I also assess the function of the jaw joint, perform an oral cancer screening, check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures, and evaluate the other soft tissues for abnormalities. We performed this service for her on the day in question.In an effort to provide some goodwill, I am willing to clear her outstanding balance of $to leave her account balance at $0.00, provided she not return to our office for dental care (except for emergency care until she finds a new dentist). If she would like her records transferred to another office, a small fee may be applied.Please accept this information as my understanding of the factual basis relating to Ms***'s concerns. If I may be of additional help, please do not hesitate to contact me.Respectfully,Ryan MWalton, DDS

I am rejecting this response because: Wow! There is no goodwill or honor to be seen here! Not sure why, but I am shocked by the complete line of lies and unprofessional responseI still stand by my original complaint.I had a $credit before this last office visit and I fully expect it to be refunded as well (see attachment)I also expect the $credit for a total of $The exact amount my insurance reduced the x-ray to (see attached)Walton has no idea what his hygienist told me as he was not in the roomThe factual basis is that I said NO to the x-ray because I have no back teeth and I didn’t see any sense to it! Regardless, hygienist said “would be covered”, not “should be covered”If she had said the word “should” then I would have had billing run the EOB before the service was preformed just as I always did in their officeMy mistake for believing herHad I not told the hygienist “NO”, then I would have done the honorable thing and accepted responsibility for the billDon’t lie to my face and expect a reward for it!!! All that being said: when a patient says “NO” they should be respected not intimidated & lied to!!!The oral cleaning is not even a part of the claim, but since Walton wants to address it, then tell the truthThe hygienist took the unwanted x-ray and cleaned my teethFrom there she walked me right over to the dental chair for a scheduled appointment to have a cavity filledThe oral screening never happenedBy Walton’s own admission, "check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures". If he truly evaluated my mouth, then wouldn't he know for sure that I have partials & not complete dentures? Especially since they were made through his and Doctor Petry’s office!!! The inaccurate and unprofessional comment as to why I changed dentists is yet another example of the immaturity & disrespect Walton holds for his patientsNot to mention the lack of confidentiality, even if it is trueTruth be told, I transferred to Doctor Petry’s office (Walton’s father in law) because after some price checking Doctor Petry provided the best price for my new partials and I liked his Christian mannerism. I would now like the fee for transferring dental records addressed in this claimExactly what is the small fee? Personally, I feel the oral exam fee that my insurance coalready paid should be more than enough to cover itThat would be a show of goodwill.In closing, I guess we can agree to disagree, but not at my expenseI stand firm on the billing issueI am owed a full refund and it is not an act of goodwill to remove a portion of the billing from my accountPerhaps the hygienist should be held accountable? As long as the $is refunded to me and the $is removed, showing a zero balance, then we have a meeting of the mindsI will expect a refund check and final statement by mail showing a zero balanceI also need the “transfer of dental record fee” addressedThen and only then will I be satisfied & consider this case closed.Thank you Walton for asking me not to return, but your office was already informed to get my dental records ready for transferI would never support your practice again, not even in an emergency! How ludicrous!!!

I am rejecting this response because: Wow! There is no goodwill or honor to be seen here! Not sure why, but I am shocked by the complete line of lies and unprofessional response. I still stand by my original complaint.I had a $33.00 credit before this last office visit and I fully expect it to be refunded as well (see attachment). I also expect the $60.00 credit for a total of $93.00. The exact amount my insurance reduced the x-ray to (see attached). Walton has no idea what his hygienist told me as he was not in the room. The factual basis is that I said NO to the x-ray because I have no back teeth and I didn’t see any sense to it! Regardless, hygienist said “would be covered”, not “should be covered”. If she had said the word “should” then I would have had billing run the EOB before the service was preformed just as I always did in their office. My mistake for believing her. Had I not told the hygienist “NO”, then I would have done the honorable thing and accepted responsibility for the bill. Don’t lie to my face and expect a reward for it!!! All that being said:  when a patient says “NO” they should be respected not intimidated & lied to!!!The oral cleaning is not even a part of the claim, but since Walton wants to address it, then tell the truth. The hygienist took the unwanted x-ray and cleaned my teeth. From there she walked me right over to the dental chair for a scheduled appointment to have a cavity filled. The oral screening never happened. By Walton’s own admission, "check the fit of existing complete or partial dentures". If he truly evaluated my mouth, then wouldn't he know for sure that I have partials & not complete dentures? Especially since they were made through his and Doctor Petry’s office!!! The inaccurate and unprofessional comment as to why I changed dentists is yet another example of the immaturity & disrespect Walton holds for his patients. Not to mention the lack of confidentiality, even if it is true. Truth be told, I transferred to Doctor Petry’s office (Walton’s father in law) because after some price checking Doctor Petry provided the best price for my new partials and I liked his Christian mannerism.  I would now like the fee for transferring dental records addressed in this claim. Exactly what is the small fee? Personally, I feel the oral exam fee that my insurance co. already paid should be more than enough to cover it. That would be a show of goodwill.In closing, I guess we can agree to disagree, but not at my expense. I stand firm on the billing issue. I am owed a full refund and it is not an act of goodwill to remove a portion of the billing from my account. Perhaps the hygienist should be held accountable? As long as the $33.00 is refunded to me and the $60.00 is removed, showing a zero balance, then we have a meeting of the minds. I will expect a refund check and final statement by mail showing a zero balance. I also need the “transfer of dental record fee” addressed. Then and only then will I be satisfied & consider this case closed.Thank you Walton for asking me not to return, but your office was already informed to get my dental records ready for transfer. I would never support your practice again, not even in an emergency! How ludicrous!!!

In reference to the patient's complaint, they asked if we accepted (or took) their insurance.  We accept almost every insurance, but are not "in-network" with every insurance.  We answered her question honestly...we do accept her insurance.  We have a large group of patients who opt...

to visit us, despite the fact that we are not "in-network."  In fact, I would guess it is the majority of our patient-base that make this decision.We attempt to estimate insurance coverage as accurately as possible.  Insurance companies, however, are not transparent with their decisions and sometimes end up paying dramatically different amounts than expected.  This is one of those cases.  I would recommend that Ms. [redacted] contact her insurance company to see why the coverage amount was so little.  We are happy to work on her behalf to find out as well, but the insurance company often does not share this information with us, as it is an agreement between her and the insurance company.  We are the provider of service.We would never attempt to intentionally deceive someone.  That is not good business practice.  Please let us know if we can assist in any other way. [redacted]