Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center

Review: my wife and I went to this fertility clinic as recommended by our healthcare provider. after a brief consultation by Dr. [redacted] he recommended we try an IUI procedure, my wife was prescribed medications. $290.93 dollars in medication that the doctor now says we do not need because the treatment is not likely to work and we need to go for IVF. the two different procedure require different medications and our meds are now useless. On top of all this we have a different price list for IVF that the clinic says was given to us by mistake the price we were quoted was $2500. which we have in writing, however the clinic says that is incorrect and the procedure can cost between 9500.00 and 13000.00. needless to say we can not afford the IVF treatment. we asked for a refund on the medications, but the doctor says that will not be possible and we will just have to absorb the price or try for the IUI treatment which is not likely to work anyway.Desired Settlement: we would like at least a partial refund on medication that was prescribed by a doctor and who now claims that we were never told to order this medication, when in fact it would be impossible for us to order any prescription drugs without a doctors orders. we would also like an apology from doctor [redacted].

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern:

A response to the cited complaint was faxed on 4/2/2013 and 4/11/2013. Please contact us with any additional questions or needed follow-up.

Sincerely,

[redacted], Regional Executive Director

See Attachment

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

it is true that no medical records were provided on my wife's first

visit. regardless of this fact the doctor still prescribed medications

without knowing all aspects of our situation. I have never been to a doctors office and been prescribed medications and at the same time told not to fill the prescription . it is impossible to legally obtain these medications with out a doctors orders. the fact remains that we were prescribed medications, and told to pick them up at our pharmacy. it was not until after dr. [redacted] had seen my test results and said that we needed to pursue the ivf treatments and that the medications prescribed will not be needed for ivf treatment. on top of it all we were given the wrong cost sheet for ivf treatments. the price we were later told is double the amount of what we have on paper. do all doctors give prescriptions for medicine that may or may not be used? no they don't. they give you a prescription for you to use, because you need it. doctors dont give medications that you dont need. if this was a prescription for pain killers this would be a criminal case not a complaint with the Revdex.com.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The original response addressed this issues. The patient was given prescriptions and told not to fill until the physician reviewed the records. It is not uncommon that a physician may give a script and told not to start or fill until after a test or results are back. Thank You,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: that is not what happened, we were told to fill the perscription the doctor s office had called in the perscription to our pharmacy, it was a special order and not something they keep on hand.

Regards,

Business

Response:

**. [redacted],

We appreciate the time and consideration given in the cited Revdex.com complaint. While we feel we followed protocol and communicated effectively with the patient regarding their treatment options we have decided that in a show of goodwill that we will offer the patient a 50% medication refund with the following conditions:

They drop of medications to nurse so they can be donated to couple without insurance coverage. Mark package with physicians name on it.

Provide a copy of the recipient from the pharmacy for what was purchased (invoice is preferred but no required).

Once we have these, we will issue a check to them. Will take about 7-10 business days.

Please let me know if we can provide any additional information.

Sincerely,

Regional Executive Director

Shady Grove Fertility

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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,

Review: I scheduled an appointment with Shady Grove at [redacted]. I gave them all my information including my insurance information. I was told they were going to check on my benefits and let me know what my coverage is. They gave me an appointment a month later, so they had the time to check whether I qualified or not. I come in the to the appointment for a consultation, up until the last minute, I was told by the financial advisor that my consultation appointment is covered by my insurance. Under the impression that I was covered, I sat down to schedule further appointments for testing needed. As I was about to leave, they tell me that it turns out I am not covered and I have to pay the balance of the appointment which is $230. I believe I wasn't given the option to choose, I was basically tricked into finishing up the appointment then was told I wasn't covered. If they had told me from the beginning, I would've chosen a practice that my insurance participates with.

I cancelled all my appointments with them and chose another practice who told me upfront what my coverage was.Desired Settlement: I am requesting that they remove the balance on my account.

Business

Response:

Dear Madam or Sir:The topic has been discussed with the patient and was credited the amount in question. Issue is resolved.Thank you,[redacted]

Review: I paid money for consultations and testing procedures with the agreement that Shady Grove Fertility Clinic would perform a medical procedure. Shady Grove Fertility broke this agreement. Shady Grove Fertility abandoned me as a patient without a valid reason and against standard ethical protocol according to the American Medical Association and the state medical board. Shady Grove Fertility refused to treat me in the middle of treatment after they had prescribed me a treatment protocol to follow. So far, Shady Grove Fertility has failed to refund me any consultation fees or insurance co-pays I have paid them in expectation that these procedures would be performed. They have also collected money from my insurance company.

The manner in which Shady Grove Fertility abandoned me as a patient and failed to honor their agreement has also delayed my ability to get this treatment at Shady Grove or another clinic. I will now have to start over at another clinic and pay all the consultation fees. Because of the delay, I will have to undergo repeat testing and pay for this testing again.

Shady Grove Fertility's response to my complaint has been dismissive and has failed to address the actual merits of my complaint in any way.Desired Settlement: - A full refund of all testing costs, consultation fees and co-pays that I paid in expectation of this treatment being provided by Shady Grove Fertility.

- If possible, compensation for any additional costs due to the delayed treatment.

Business

Response:

Please note that we responded to **. [redacted]'s complaint on May 9, 2013. The response letter has been attached.

Please feel free to contact me for further information.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: They agreed to perform a medical treatment. They broke this agreement. I have attached the treatment protocol that I was following when they broke this agreement. They failed to refund me the money I paid them and they were reimbursed by my insurance. This deprives me of insurance resources and my own resources that I need to start over at another clinic. Their response letter fails to specifically address my current complaint with the Revdex.com. In fact, the response letter they sent in response to this current complaint is the same letter they used to for an old complaint. This is just one more example that demonstrates their egregious pattern of dismissive, contemptuous and disrespectful treatment of me that disregards basic medical ethics and, in my opinion, is an intentional effort to inflict emotional distress.

Regards,

Business

Response:

**. [redacted], Please note that our original letter in response to **. [redacted]’s complaint covers the items noted in the email below. At **. [redacted]’s follow-up appointment on 4/17/13, she was given a copy of a protocol that she would follow when it was determined she was ready to start. She was instructed by her nurse to call when she was ready and had scheduled her injection class. On 5/1/13, **. [redacted] was dismissed from our practice; this was prior to her contacting her nurse with her desire to start treatment or scheduling an injection class. Please feel free to contact me if further information is required. Thanks,Vicki [redacted]Regional Executive DirectorWashington Metropolitan Area Shady Grove Fertility[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I have pasted **. [redacted]'s latest response below, along with my response:

"**. [redacted], Please note that our original letter in response to **. [redacted]’s complaint covers the items noted in the email below. At **. [redacted]’s follow-up appointment on 4/17/13, she was given a copy of a protocol that she would follow when it was determined she was ready to start. She was instructed by her nurse to call when she was ready and had scheduled her injection class. On 5/1/13, **. [redacted] was dismissed from our practice; this was prior to her contacting her nurse with her desire to start treatment or scheduling an injection class. Please feel free to contact me if further information is required. Thanks,[redacted]"

What **. [redacted] says is not true, and **. [redacted] was never part of my medical team. I will repeat, the only reason that the treatment would have been stopped was if the "day 3 testing" (performed on 4/12/2013) indicated that the treatment likely would not work. I never agreed to any condition for ending treatment because certain people at the clinic suddenly decided they didn't like me or my lifestyle-- or because I expressed concerns about their certain aspects of their clinic operations. If I had known such arbitrary reasons were to be used to make clinical decisions regarding whether or not to continue with my treatment, I never would have started the expensive and involved testing to begin with. The test results from 4/12/2013 were normal. The purpose of the 4/17/2013 appointment was for my doctor (**. [redacted]) and nurse ([redacted]) to inform me the test results were normal and to proceed with the next phase of the treatment. I was issued a treatment protocol at that time (on 4/17/2013) and was told to schedule an injection class, which I did. Everything was set and I was following the protocol. As is clear on the written treatment protocol (which I emailed to you, **. [redacted]), there was nothing indicating that I needed to make additional contact with my nurse to continue with treatment. But that is beside the point anyway, as they still broke the agreement to perform treatment.

I will add one more thing in response to an earlier statement **. [redacted] made about "patient trust", and her characterizations of me being unreasonably mistrustful: Up until **. [redacted] and his nurses essentially abandoned me as a patient, I had the utmost confidence and trust in them. However, I did express some concerns about other aspects of my experience as a patient at that clinic. I think patients should be allowed to express concerns without being retaliated against and being dismissed as patients in the middle of treatment (or fear that they will be dismissed). Patients are not supposed to be treated like this according to standard medical ethical protocols-- or even protocols of common courtesy and respect ANY kind of business shows its customers. But the type of medical treatment provided by this clinic (Assisted Reproductive Technology, ART) is held to even higher standards of medical ethics compared to other medical practices because ART is so costly and deals with the sensitive medical issues of patients in vulnerable situations. Of course there are "trust" issues with a clinic like this and patients have a right to ask questions. I would never want to see another patient going through ART be treated like this by this clinic, especially after investing so much time, trust and money in treatment as I did. I'm filing this complaint not just for me, but other patients who could be hurt by this clinic. The public needs to be informed about this clinic treated me.

I will submit more documentation by tomorrow. I will email it to you directly, **. [redacted].

Regards,

Review: Me and my spouse have been going to Shady Grove for two years now. To start off when we first started going there I was on my fathers insurance and now since we are married (for a year now) they WILL not switch my insurance over so my spouses is now my priamry. I even had my fathers insurance call (with us on the phone) and leave a voice mail for the women who deals with the insurance for their pratice saying that that insurance is no longer my primary that my spouses is autimatlicly my primary. And still a year later they refuse to change it. And we think it is because my spouses insurance covers EVERYTHING to where all we have to pay is a coypay and with my father well his covers nothing. So other then that we have been switch nerses without being told why or even that they switched us so now our previous nurse will NOT talk to you look at us or nothing not being professional about it at all (but we dont know why we was switched in the fist place. And for them to have us call and find the shots, pills all the medicine and find what pharmacy has it how much, calling head quarters to find medicine then calling our nurse back and letting her know what we could find. Im sorry but that is not our job what so ever. We have friends going there that they have NEVER had to do that the nurses do it for me. WHen we was calling around the people we was talking to didnt understand why we was the ones calling. Patients dont do that! But when you go in there or call everybody tell you something completly differnt. And now ive been waiting for two weeks for a phone call back from two different nurses about my medicin. There is alot more I could keep going but to narrow it down we feel discriminated that we are a same sex couple, our insurace covers complely and cause we are young. Ive almost lost my job from going to this place, gainged over 50lbs becasue of emotional stress. We just really feel the way they are treating us is unreal. We have spent over $5000 and to be treated the way we are now is just beyond rediculous. The emotional distress is unreal. And now since no one will call me back or emial me back I know for sure there is something going on with them discriminating against us for one of the things I listed and I want something done about. It has gone on for way to long. We have even considered having a lawyer get involved with us and sue. Something needs to be done! This place is the WORST office I have ever delt with they are making us to not even want to have a family, if we have to go through them to have a family then we just wont have one. No one should be treated the way we are! We desirve every single penny weve spent that was not needed half the time!Desired Settlement: We want our money back! That or free service till I become pregnant. For someone to be coming pregnant you should stress them out the way they do. For me to have gained over 50lbs just in stress. I know going through a place like that is stress I completly understnad but the way we are being treated is not normal. Considering we have 3 of our couple frinds going there (hederosexual) and being treated completly normal, somethings not right. Something needs done and needs done now! So the next same sex couple or couple that has amazing insurance doesnt have to daeal with this. And we have went to the headquarters of Shady Grove about this and nothing was done the women just said "oh no we dont treat anyone different for having good insurance we are happy for the couple when thats the case" well 6 months later and nothing has changed!

Business

Response:

From: [redacted]

Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2014 9:20 PM

To: '[redacted]@Revdex.com.org'

Cc: [redacted]

Subject: complaint #[redacted]

Review: Hello,

I contacted Shady Grove Fertility to request that they send images from a medical scan they did on me--the scan is called an HSG. I asked that they send the images to my doctor; however, they only sent the report. When I asked for the images, they replied that, as far as they were concerned, the report was good enough, and my doctor didn't need to have the images.

My doctor feels he needs these images to treat me; otherwise, he'll have to redo the scan. The scan may require anesthesia, and I'd rather not go through that again.Desired Settlement: I'd like to have the images from my HSG sent to my doctor, as I requested.

**. [redacted]

Business

Response:

**. [redacted] was provided a print out of the scan and report when she asked for it. Shady Grove followed the standard protocol and responded appropriately. In her most recent request, we did as she requested and copied the images from our EMR system to a disc which will be sent to her. This is not the normal protocol as the image is simply a still picture downloaded to a disc - the same image that was given to her in a print format when she initially requested it.

Review: In March I was asked to pay $1600 in advance for an IUI procedure to be performed in March/April. Due to test results gathered at the time, we were unable to have the IUI procedure performed. When I asked for the money to be credited back, I was told they would hold it until we completed the same testing in April to determine if we could move forward with the procedure in April/May. While waiting for the testing date in April, without the help of Shady Grove, I became pregnant. Because this eliminated the need for the IUI procedure, I called Shady Grove again to ask for a refund of the advance payment. I was told there were smaller bills for the testing appointments that must be satisfied before they could release the refund. I gave them full permission to cover the remaining bills with funds from this payment and refund the remainder. I have called every month since and have still not received a refund. I have been told by Shady Grove that no action has been taken on the account since July 21st, and been given a direct line phone number on which I have left 2 unreturned voicemail messages.

At this point the original charge was made approximately 5 months ago. In May I paid $14.38 in credit card interest on these charges. In June I paid the credit card bill with funds from my savings account, so these funds have not been earning interest for the additional 3 months while I wait for the company to refund me money I never needed to pay.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund and possibly compensation for the $14,38 paid in credit card interest. I would also like to ensure this does not happen to other patients.

Consumer

Response:

Good morning,

Review: We hired SGF to perform two IVF cycles. They performed the first cycle (1 fresh transfer and 1 frozen transfer) which was completed in June 2012. The first cycle did not take and we did not get pregnant.

One month later, on July 15, 2012, we moved from [redacted] to [redacted], Mexico due to a government transfer by the Dept. of Justice

Once we arrived in Mexico, we had an important decision to make. [redacted] is 40+years of age, which makes her chances of IVF working lower than women in their 20s or 30s. Another factor that greatly affects the success percentage rate is stress. With more stress, the numbers go down.

Considering the totality of the circumstances, we had an important decision to make. If we proceeded with a second cycle, the stressors (from the move to another country, the stressors automatically inherent with IVF procedures, [redacted] having to return to the US and be away from her family for the important phases of the IVF process) [redacted] would undergo and be subjected to would certainly have a strong negative affect on the chances of a second IVF working.

Before making this life decision, we needed to know how much of a refund we would receive back from Shady Grove. We contacted [redacted], Shady Grove's financial representative at the time ([redacted] office) and asked her what the amount would be and I explained that the refund policy was confusing and and told her that the fees are not clearly itemized, so it is nearly impossible for us to determine what amount we were eligble for in terms of a refund. She indicated that she wanted to double-check our contract and calculate the numbers to be sure she quoted us correctly. [redacted] later emailed us and told us that the refund amount would be $2,500. She sent us a form to fill out should we decide to opt out of the second IVF cycle and request a refund. With this specific information, and that which we discuss above, we decided to pursue adoption and submitted the form to Shady Grove requesting our $2,500 refund and opted out of the 2nd cycle.

Months went by and, in Mach 2013, I contacted Fertility Finance to ensure that the $2,500 refund had been sent by Shady Grove and credited as indicated by [redacted]. The refund was never received by our finance company, so I contacted [redacted] at Shady Grove. She subsequently informed us that she was now working in another department within Shady Grove and referred us to the new financial representat, [redacted]. [redacted] reviewed our file and then told us that we were only eligible for a $750 refund.

Whether or not a mistake was made by [redacted], that is not our fault. After reviewing our contract, we were unable to determine what, if any refund we would be eligble for if we withdrew from the IVF program. For that reason, we contacted Shady Grove's financial representative to receive that figure. [redacted], on behalf of Shady Grove, represented that we would receivd $2500. She did not say we would receive "approximately" $2500, or "I think it will be about $2500". She said you will receive $2500.

Based on what we were told by [redacted], we opted to adopt and have since paid over $4000 in non-refundable money to our adoption agency. Had we not received the figure of $2500 from [redacted], and if she had told us $750 was the refund amount, we would have made whatever arrangements necessary for [redacted] to undergo a 2nd IVF cycle.Desired Settlement: [redacted], in late 2012, was Shady GROVE's financial accounts manager. She represented Shady Grove and their billing/contracts for patients. As an official representative for Shady Grove, she quoted us in an email that we would receive $2500 back from Shady Grove. That quote was given as a specific amount to be received and it wsa provided in response to our request to know what the amount would be so we could make the best decision, financially and for our family planning purposes.

Shady Grove needs to honor the quote given by their representative, or legal action will be forced to resolve the issue.

Business

Response:

We are in receipt of complaint ID# [redacted] and are responding today, 4/17/13.

We would like inform the Better Business Burear of the status of the refund amount for [redacted] and [redacted]. [redacted]. They had chosen a global package treatment plan. The Multi-Cycle Discount Program was designed to have 2 fresh attempts at IVF and subsequent Embryo Transfers resulting from treatment while in the the Multi-cycle Program.

The estimated figure quoted was at a point in their treatment where the services they had would have been covered under the global agreement. Because they were undecided at what point they would like to either continue treatment or withdrawal from the program, the credit on the account was subject to ultimate review upon withdrawal. Initally, the refund amount was estimated at $2500. Although their understanding was that the $2500 quoted was an exact amount it was an estimate only. Unfortunately, the couples' treatment did exceed the first estimate and was recalculated. Subsequently, we have given further discounts to the treatment services that were completed in good faith to arrive at a refund amount that was just shy of $2500.

Per our agreement with the financing company, credit used by [redacted]and [redacted], must be returned to the finance company. An additional check has been issued to the finance company this week in the amount of $1526.25. This amount along with previously refunded amount of 960.84 equals $2467.09.

While we were unable to assist this couple in building their family, it has never been Shady Grove Fertility's intent to misrepresent or inaccurately relay information to our patients. The refund amount has been verified with the finance company, and they can expect the $1526.25 refund to arrive sometime this week or early next week. While the check may be received by Fertility Finance, the loan closure process will take place and will be resolved on Fertility Finances' timeline and internal accounting processes.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I received an email from Shady Grove fertility a day after making this complaint. The email indicated that, after reviewing the facts I sent to them with management, they would be giving the amount indicated in their response to this complaint. With that information and the correction to their original amount refunded, we are satis sisfied and appreciate very much Shady Grove's final response.

Trying to extend a family through altnernative means such as IVF is stressful enough. Throughout the IVF process, Shady Grove was nothing less than wonderful in their services. We are happy to see this resolution to the financial situation and will quickly recommend SGF in the future.

Regards,