RE: [redacted] CASE ID NO: [redacted] I am writing in response to your letter dated 10/5/regarding the above named individual with the case noas stated aboveLet me first of all thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the complaint made against my business *** [redacted] , who is a year old male (notice I said normal, meaning he is NOT handicapped or mentally rded, and is very capable) was first seen in my office on 4/21/and again on 5/24/He had a follow up appointment for 7/7/Unfortunately, I had emergency surgery on 7/1/16, and so on the morning of 7/5/16, my staff members who were working in the office, called ALL the patients who were to return that week, to reschedule their appointmentsThey spoke directly with some of the patients, but some were not available and voicemails were left At about 3pm that same day, they again called the patients whom they had left messages for that morning and had not responded, and left them specific dates and times for their appointment, letting them know that if the time given did not work for them, they needed to call us to reschedule that appointmentThey were informed that if we did not hear back from them, we would assume that the appointment was OKSome patients called back that day to reschedule their appointments, and others did not [redacted] was given an appointment for 7/20/He never called to rescheduleA reminder call was again made on 7/6/16, by my staff, who were in the officeHis dad says he showed up on 7/7/for his appointmentWell, he must have gone to a wrong location because my office was open, though I was not there physically, but my staff members were in the office and did not see him that day I have an automated system in place that reminds ALL patients about their appointment times, one week before the appointment and two days beforeThat means that patients are reminded twice before their appointment is dueThis occurs by Text, phone call (voicemails left if no answer) and also email if one is registered on their account [redacted] was called and texted one week before his appointment (on 7/13/at 9.17am) and again two days before the appointment (7/18/at 3.19pm )I have printed the records of this automated phone call/messaging system and I can give you the company’s contact information if you desireHe never called to cancel this appointment at any timeOn the day of the appointment, he did NOT show upThere is an office policy that anyone who does not cancel their appointment at least 24hours before gets a charge for $The patients sign this agreement when they first come to the office, as it is part of the office paperwork that is given to themI am also sending you a copy of this financial policy that all new patients must sign at the initial visitHowever, we still give grace even when you call that same day to cancel, but he never didTherefore, as is the norm, he got a bill for $ His mom first called complaining, saying he did not get a reminder callHowever, she was given proof over the phone about the exact dates and times he was calledAlso, please NOTE that calling the patient to remind them of their appointment is a courtesy service that we provide for freeIt is NOT our duty to remind adult patients of their appointments as they are grown and need to be responsible for their calendar When ***’s father received the bill, he called and was disrespectful to my receptionist and was threatening us that if he was made to pay the bill, he will post very negative comments about us on social mediaHe stated that if we did not want that to happen, then we needed to withdraw the billHe actually called the receptionist back to ask her if she had told me about his threat, and she said she hadHe asked her what my response was, and she stated I did not care what he did with social mediaI guess that once he found out that I did not care about social media, his next recourse was to go to you His excuse for not wanting to pay was that his son did not listen to his messagesI don’t think we can be held responsible for any patient NOT listening to their messages especially when they are adultsWe are using the phone number he asked us to contact him on ALL patients pay this fee when they do not show up for appointments, and have not cancelled, unless they have a reason that is justifiable, like admission in the hospital, death in the family, etcI do not see how “not listening to my voicemail” is justifiableIn my opinion, that is [redacted] ’s responsibilityHe is a adult malePerhaps if his parents make him pay for it himself, next time he may check his messages, knowing that there is a consequence for a missed appointmentIt is not fair to treat them any differently than we treat our other patients who pay the fee when they have not showed up for appointment without cancelling I believe that we are justified in our charge of $It is something I can waive and have done for other patients depending on the reason and method of asking, but I see no justifiable reason here, and besides, instead of asking nicely, rather he was threatening us with social mediaThreats are not the best way to resolve issues, as that is a form of bullying and should not be condoned I hope my explanation answered the questions that you havePlease feel free to contact me if you have additional questionsSincerely, Josephine O [redacted] , MD; MPH
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
First, I would like to clarify a few inaccuracies in DrO***’s response. At no time was I ever rude or disrespectful to her staff. Apparently anyone who disagrees with her office policy is being disrespectful. Also, it was only after I attempted to resolve the bill and they refused that I said I would go ahead and pay the bill and then post what happened on social media. I also asked the staff member if she had discussed the issue with the doctor and did the doctor care that she was going to get some negative PR on social media. I wanted to make sure the doctor was aware of the situation and not something that only the staff was aware of and give her a fair chance to reconsider. She said she had discussed it with her and she didn’t care. I posted on social media what had happened and asked friends how they would respond. There wasn’t a single response that agreed with the business practice and everyone said the bill should not be paid. This included one local doctor who was flabbergasted at such a business practice.Restating the facts, my son went to his scheduled appointment that he had made on July 7. This was a follow up appointment so he had been to the office before and knew where the office was. When he arrived no one was there (contrary to what the doctor claimed). Since it was a follow up appointment (for a wart removal) and he wasn’t having any problems he decided not to reschedule the appointment. The doctor’s office took it upon themselves to reschedule the appointment by leaving a number of voice mails on my son’s phone. As I said before, my son was not aware of the appointment because he never heard the voice mail indicating he had an appointment. This is the business policy which is being deemed inappropriate. If a patient does not call back confirming the appointment then there is no appointment and one should not be booked. I am sure this is not the first time this has happened to a patient and they were subsequently charged a no-show fee. This practice needs to stop. The solution is real simple. If you try to book an appointment by leaving a voice mail and you don’t get a response back, DON”T BOOK THE APPOINTMENT!The resolution I expect from this complaint is that the business correct their inappropriate policy and that they refund my $35.In closing, it is fairly obvious from the condescending tone in DrO***’s response that she didn’t appreciate me getting involved because my son is an adult. My response to that is ‘what difference does that make’, I would do the same for my year old mother. Also, it is not for DrO*** to decide whether someone should listen to their voice mail or not. Some people ignore their voice mails. That quite frankly is none of her business. What is her business is the fact that she inappropriately charges for appointments that were not made by her patients
Regards,
*** ***
RE: [redacted] CASE ID NO: [redacted] I am writing in response to your letter dated 10/5/16 regarding the above named individual with the case no. as stated above. Let me first of all thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the complaint made against my business. [redacted]...
[redacted], who is a 30 year old normal male (notice I said normal, meaning he is NOT handicapped or mentally rded, and is very capable) was first seen in my office on 4/21/16 and again on 5/24/16. He had a follow up appointment for 7/7/16. Unfortunately, I had emergency surgery on 7/1/16, and so on the morning of 7/5/16, my staff members who were working in the office, called ALL the patients who were to return that week, to reschedule their appointments. They spoke directly with some of the patients, but some were not available and voicemails were left. At about 3pm that same day, they again called the patients whom they had left messages for that morning and had not responded, and left them specific dates and times for their appointment, letting them know that if the time given did not work for them, they needed to call us to reschedule that appointment. They were informed that if we did not hear back from them, we would assume that the appointment was OK. Some patients called back that day to reschedule their appointments, and others did not. [redacted] was given an appointment for 7/20/16. He never called to reschedule. A reminder call was again made on 7/6/16, by my staff, who were in the office. His dad says he showed up on 7/7/16 for his appointment. Well, he must have gone to a wrong location because my office was open, though I was not there physically, but my staff members were in the office and did not see him that day. I have an automated system in place that reminds ALL patients about their appointment times, one week before the appointment and two days before. That means that patients are reminded twice before their appointment is due. This occurs by Text, phone call (voicemails left if no answer) and also email if one is registered on their account. [redacted] was called and texted one week before his appointment (on 7/13/16 at 9.17am) and again two days before the appointment (7/18/16 at 3.19pm ). I have printed the records of this automated phone call/messaging system and I can give you the company’s contact information if you desire. He never called to cancel this appointment at any time. On the day of the appointment, he did NOT show up. There is an office policy that anyone who does not cancel their appointment at least 24hours before gets a charge for $35. The patients sign this agreement when they first come to the office, as it is part of the office paperwork that is given to them. I am also sending you a copy of this financial policy that all new patients must sign at the initial visit. However, we still give grace even when you call that same day to cancel, but he never did. Therefore, as is the norm, he got a bill for $35. His mom first called complaining, saying he did not get a reminder call. However, she was given proof over the phone about the exact dates and times he was called. Also, please NOTE that calling the patient to remind them of their appointment is a courtesy service that we provide for free. It is NOT our duty to remind adult patients of their appointments as they are grown and need to be responsible for their calendar. When [redacted]’s father received the bill, he called and was disrespectful to my receptionist and was threatening us that if he was made to pay the bill, he will post very negative comments about us on social media. He stated that if we did not want that to happen, then we needed to withdraw the bill. He actually called the receptionist back to ask her if she had told me about his threat, and she said she had. He asked her what my response was, and she stated I did not care what he did with social media. I guess that once he found out that I did not care about social media, his next recourse was to go to you. His excuse for not wanting to pay was that his son did not listen to his messages. I don’t think we can be held responsible for any patient NOT listening to their messages especially when they are adults. We are using the phone number he asked us to contact him on. ALL patients pay this fee when they do not show up for appointments, and have not cancelled, unless they have a reason that is justifiable, like admission in the hospital, death in the family, etc. I do not see how “not listening to my voicemail” is justifiable. In my opinion, that is [redacted]’s responsibility. He is a normal adult male. Perhaps if his parents make him pay for it himself, next time he may check his messages, knowing that there is a consequence for a missed appointment. It is not fair to treat them any differently than we treat our other patients who pay the fee when they have not showed up for appointment without cancelling. ...⇄ I believe that we are justified in our charge of $35. It is something I can waive and have done for other patients depending on the reason and method of asking, but I see no justifiable reason here, and besides, instead of asking nicely, rather he was threatening us with social media. Threats are not the best way to resolve issues, as that is a form of bullying and should not be condoned. I hope my explanation answered the questions that you have. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. Sincerely, Josephine O[redacted], MD; MPH
RE: [redacted] CASE ID NO: [redacted] I am writing in response to your letter dated 10/5/regarding the above named individual with the case noas stated aboveLet me first of all thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the complaint made against my business *** [redacted] , who is a year old male (notice I said normal, meaning he is NOT handicapped or mentally r
ded, and is very capable) was first seen in my office on 4/21/and again on 5/24/He had a follow up appointment for 7/7/Unfortunately, I had emergency surgery on 7/1/16, and so on the morning of 7/5/16, my staff members who were working in the office, called ALL the patients who were to return that week, to reschedule their appointmentsThey spoke directly with some of the patients, but some were not available and voicemails were left At about 3pm that same day, they again called the patients whom they had left messages for that morning and had not responded, and left them specific dates and times for their appointment, letting them know that if the time given did not work for them, they needed to call us to reschedule that appointmentThey were informed that if we did not hear back from them, we would assume that the appointment was OKSome patients called back that day to reschedule their appointments, and others did not [redacted] was given an appointment for 7/20/He never called to rescheduleA reminder call was again made on 7/6/16, by my staff, who were in the officeHis dad says he showed up on 7/7/for his appointmentWell, he must have gone to a wrong location because my office was open, though I was not there physically, but my staff members were in the office and did not see him that day I have an automated system in place that reminds ALL patients about their appointment times, one week before the appointment and two days beforeThat means that patients are reminded twice before their appointment is dueThis occurs by Text, phone call (voicemails left if no answer) and also email if one is registered on their account [redacted] was called and texted one week before his appointment (on 7/13/at 9.17am) and again two days before the appointment (7/18/at 3.19pm )I have printed the records of this automated phone call/messaging system and I can give you the company’s contact information if you desireHe never called to cancel this appointment at any timeOn the day of the appointment, he did NOT show upThere is an office policy that anyone who does not cancel their appointment at least 24hours before gets a charge for $The patients sign this agreement when they first come to the office, as it is part of the office paperwork that is given to themI am also sending you a copy of this financial policy that all new patients must sign at the initial visitHowever, we still give grace even when you call that same day to cancel, but he never didTherefore, as is the norm, he got a bill for $ His mom first called complaining, saying he did not get a reminder callHowever, she was given proof over the phone about the exact dates and times he was calledAlso, please NOTE that calling the patient to remind them of their appointment is a courtesy service that we provide for freeIt is NOT our duty to remind adult patients of their appointments as they are grown and need to be responsible for their calendar When ***’s father received the bill, he called and was disrespectful to my receptionist and was threatening us that if he was made to pay the bill, he will post very negative comments about us on social mediaHe stated that if we did not want that to happen, then we needed to withdraw the billHe actually called the receptionist back to ask her if she had told me about his threat, and she said she hadHe asked her what my response was, and she stated I did not care what he did with social mediaI guess that once he found out that I did not care about social media, his next recourse was to go to you His excuse for not wanting to pay was that his son did not listen to his messagesI don’t think we can be held responsible for any patient NOT listening to their messages especially when they are adultsWe are using the phone number he asked us to contact him on ALL patients pay this fee when they do not show up for appointments, and have not cancelled, unless they have a reason that is justifiable, like admission in the hospital, death in the family, etcI do not see how “not listening to my voicemail” is justifiableIn my opinion, that is [redacted] ’s responsibilityHe is a adult malePerhaps if his parents make him pay for it himself, next time he may check his messages, knowing that there is a consequence for a missed appointmentIt is not fair to treat them any differently than we treat our other patients who pay the fee when they have not showed up for appointment without cancelling I believe that we are justified in our charge of $It is something I can waive and have done for other patients depending on the reason and method of asking, but I see no justifiable reason here, and besides, instead of asking nicely, rather he was threatening us with social mediaThreats are not the best way to resolve issues, as that is a form of bullying and should not be condoned I hope my explanation answered the questions that you havePlease feel free to contact me if you have additional questionsSincerely, Josephine O [redacted] , MD; MPH
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
First, I would like to clarify a few inaccuracies in DrO***’s response. At no time was I ever rude or disrespectful to her staff. Apparently anyone who disagrees with her office policy is being disrespectful. Also, it was only after I attempted to resolve the bill and they refused that I said I would go ahead and pay the bill and then post what happened on social media. I also asked the staff member if she had discussed the issue with the doctor and did the doctor care that she was going to get some negative PR on social media. I wanted to make sure the doctor was aware of the situation and not something that only the staff was aware of and give her a fair chance to reconsider. She said she had discussed it with her and she didn’t care. I posted on social media what had happened and asked friends how they would respond. There wasn’t a single response that agreed with the business practice and everyone said the bill should not be paid. This included one local doctor who was flabbergasted at such a business practice.Restating the facts, my son went to his scheduled appointment that he had made on July 7. This was a follow up appointment so he had been to the office before and knew where the office was. When he arrived no one was there (contrary to what the doctor claimed). Since it was a follow up appointment (for a wart removal) and he wasn’t having any problems he decided not to reschedule the appointment. The doctor’s office took it upon themselves to reschedule the appointment by leaving a number of voice mails on my son’s phone. As I said before, my son was not aware of the appointment because he never heard the voice mail indicating he had an appointment. This is the business policy which is being deemed inappropriate. If a patient does not call back confirming the appointment then there is no appointment and one should not be booked. I am sure this is not the first time this has happened to a patient and they were subsequently charged a no-show fee. This practice needs to stop. The solution is real simple. If you try to book an appointment by leaving a voice mail and you don’t get a response back, DON”T BOOK THE APPOINTMENT!The resolution I expect from this complaint is that the business correct their inappropriate policy and that they refund my $35.In closing, it is fairly obvious from the condescending tone in DrO***’s response that she didn’t appreciate me getting involved because my son is an adult. My response to that is ‘what difference does that make’, I would do the same for my year old mother. Also, it is not for DrO*** to decide whether someone should listen to their voice mail or not. Some people ignore their voice mails. That quite frankly is none of her business. What is her business is the fact that she inappropriately charges for appointments that were not made by her patients
Regards,
*** ***
RE: [redacted] CASE ID NO: [redacted] I am writing in response to your letter dated 10/5/16 regarding the above named individual with the case no. as stated above. Let me first of all thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to the complaint made against my business. [redacted]...
ded, and is very capable) was first seen in my office on 4/21/16 and again on 5/24/16. He had a follow up appointment for 7/7/16. Unfortunately, I had emergency surgery on 7/1/16, and so on the morning of 7/5/16, my staff members who were working in the office, called ALL the patients who were to return that week, to reschedule their appointments. They spoke directly with some of the patients, but some were not available and voicemails were left. At about 3pm that same day, they again called the patients whom they had left messages for that morning and had not responded, and left them specific dates and times for their appointment, letting them know that if the time given did not work for them, they needed to call us to reschedule that appointment. They were informed that if we did not hear back from them, we would assume that the appointment was OK. Some patients called back that day to reschedule their appointments, and others did not. [redacted] was given an appointment for 7/20/16. He never called to reschedule. A reminder call was again made on 7/6/16, by my staff, who were in the office. His dad says he showed up on 7/7/16 for his appointment. Well, he must have gone to a wrong location because my office was open, though I was not there physically, but my staff members were in the office and did not see him that day. I have an automated system in place that reminds ALL patients about their appointment times, one week before the appointment and two days before. That means that patients are reminded twice before their appointment is due. This occurs by Text, phone call (voicemails left if no answer) and also email if one is registered on their account. [redacted] was called and texted one week before his appointment (on 7/13/16 at 9.17am) and again two days before the appointment (7/18/16 at 3.19pm ). I have printed the records of this automated phone call/messaging system and I can give you the company’s contact information if you desire. He never called to cancel this appointment at any time. On the day of the appointment, he did NOT show up. There is an office policy that anyone who does not cancel their appointment at least 24hours before gets a charge for $35. The patients sign this agreement when they first come to the office, as it is part of the office paperwork that is given to them. I am also sending you a copy of this financial policy that all new patients must sign at the initial visit. However, we still give grace even when you call that same day to cancel, but he never did. Therefore, as is the norm, he got a bill for $35. His mom first called complaining, saying he did not get a reminder call. However, she was given proof over the phone about the exact dates and times he was called. Also, please NOTE that calling the patient to remind them of their appointment is a courtesy service that we provide for free. It is NOT our duty to remind adult patients of their appointments as they are grown and need to be responsible for their calendar. When [redacted]’s father received the bill, he called and was disrespectful to my receptionist and was threatening us that if he was made to pay the bill, he will post very negative comments about us on social media. He stated that if we did not want that to happen, then we needed to withdraw the bill. He actually called the receptionist back to ask her if she had told me about his threat, and she said she had. He asked her what my response was, and she stated I did not care what he did with social media. I guess that once he found out that I did not care about social media, his next recourse was to go to you. His excuse for not wanting to pay was that his son did not listen to his messages. I don’t think we can be held responsible for any patient NOT listening to their messages especially when they are adults. We are using the phone number he asked us to contact him on. ALL patients pay this fee when they do not show up for appointments, and have not cancelled, unless they have a reason that is justifiable, like admission in the hospital, death in the family, etc. I do not see how “not listening to my voicemail” is justifiable. In my opinion, that is [redacted]’s responsibility. He is a normal adult male. Perhaps if his parents make him pay for it himself, next time he may check his messages, knowing that there is a consequence for a missed appointment. It is not fair to treat them any differently than we treat our other patients who pay the fee when they have not showed up for appointment without cancelling. ...⇄ I believe that we are justified in our charge of $35. It is something I can waive and have done for other patients depending on the reason and method of asking, but I see no justifiable reason here, and besides, instead of asking nicely, rather he was threatening us with social media. Threats are not the best way to resolve issues, as that is a form of bullying and should not be condoned. I hope my explanation answered the questions that you have. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. Sincerely, Josephine O[redacted], MD; MPH
[redacted], who is a 30 year old normal male (notice I said normal, meaning he is NOT handicapped or mentally r