Got Po'ed yesterday!!!!!

[bersaguy]

So after trip to eye doctor about new glasses last week he wanted me to go to Loden Vision Center for a cataract evaluation exam. I called Yesterday and when the woman answered to the phone she said May I help you and I said my eye doctor said I needed to call you and get an appointment for Cataract exam. The next words out of your mouth was who is your insurance carriers?????? Didn't even ask for my name first. I fired back and said don't you even want to know my name or is the money more important than patient care at Loden???? He tone changed really fast and she began taking down all my information and then finally got around to my insurance carriers. I told her I wanted an afternoon appointment. Now I called the Gallatin Location Of Lodens and she says which office do you want to go to and named of 3 that would require a 30 + minute drive and I asked he if I had called the Gallatin Location and she said yes and I said does my address not say Gallatin Tennessee and she said yes and I said if I live in Gallatin and your office is located in Gallatin why would I want an appointment in downtown Nashville? A long pause on the phone and she said they had appointment for 1:45 of September 2nd and I said I will take it and I thanked her. I sincerely hope that their doctors are much more intelligent than she is............... :stunned:  

[monkeylizard]

It's normal for a health care provider to ask that at the beginning of the conversation. If you have a carrier they don't accept, then getting all your personal information and finding out what you need done is a waste of everyone's time, unless you happen to be able to pay 100% out of pocket which is unusual these days. I'd be more upset if they took the time to get my information, get the referring doctor's information, find out a good time for me to come in, then tell me "oh, sorry. we don't take XYZ insurance."

 

As for the location, you do know that some people live and work in different places, right? Depending on the time of day, an office near my work may be more convenient for me than an office near my home.

Edited August 6, 2015 by monkeylizard

[raildog]

When my wife had LASIK we loden was one of the places we checked out took us back to a room meet with the doctor's assistant she looked my wife over told us all the details had the lady that handled the money come in and talk to us never saw the Doctor asked if we could meet him was informed that he does not talk to patience had the procedure done elsewhere

[bersaguy]

When my wife had LASIK we loden was one of the places we checked out took us back to a room meet with the doctor's assistant she looked my wife over told us all the details had the lady that handled the money come in and talk to us never saw the Doctor asked if we could meet him was informed that he does not talk to patience had the procedure done elsewhere

If you don't mind my asking where did your wife go for her surgery? The only raason I went to Loden was my doctor referred me to them and even had all the paper work for me to fill out to save time at the appointment. I gave them my insurance information already knowing they accept it because I asked my Eye Doctor last week if Loden took Medicare and he said yes so I knew they took it before she ask.

[gregintenn]

So how did you like Dr. Ross?

[bersaguy]

So how did you like Dr. Ross?

Great guy, very personable and very willing to discuss and answer questions. Very honest about patient needs. He said he could make me glasses but would be unfair to me and my insurance to do so without first getting the cataract evaluation exam cause I have very thick cataract's on both eyes according to him. He said that after my cataract's are removed I may not even need glasses. As far as I'm concerned he is 1st class all the way. I have recommended him several of my family members that were waiting to get new glasses until after my visit to his office. Thank you very much for referring me to him...................... :up: :up:

[gregintenn]

Great guy, very personable and very willing to discuss and answer questions. Very honest about patient needs. He said he could make me glasses but would be unfair to me and my insurance to do so without first getting the cataract evaluation exam cause I have very thick cataract's on both eyes according to him. He said that after my cataract's are removed I may not even need glasses. As far as I'm concerned he is 1st class all the way. I have recommended him several of my family members that were waiting to get new glasses until after my visit to his office. Thank you very much for referring me to him...................... :up: :up:

That's been our experience with him. I'm glad to hear your experience was the same.

[vontar]

I suspect she may work at Gallatin and tried to steer you away from her home office.

[raildog]

If you don't mind my asking where did your wife go for her surgery? The only raason I went to Loden was my doctor referred me to them and even had all the paper work for me to fill out to save time at the appointment. I gave them my insurance information already knowing they accept it because I asked my Eye Doctor last week if Loden took Medicare and he said yes so I knew they took it before she ask.

The Doctor she ended up going to was Colby Stewart in Murfreesboro. He no longer practices in Tennessee he moved back to Texas to take over his father's practice

[Pete123]

It's normal for a health care provider to ask that at the beginning of the conversation. If you have a carrier they don't accept, then getting all your personal information and finding out what you need done is a waste of everyone's time, unless you happen to be able to pay 100% out of pocket which is unusual these days. I'd be more upset if they took the time to get my information, get the referring doctor's information, find out a good time for me to come in, then tell me "oh, sorry. we don't take XYZ insurance."

 

As for the location, you do know that some people live and work in different places, right? Depending on the time of day, an office near my work may be more convenient for me than an office near my home.

 

I don't agree with the comments I'm quoting in the context they are written.

 

Bersaguy is not a stockyard animal to be run through the sale barn.  The practice will make good money on his procedure.  They certainly ask his name before asking how they get paid.  

 

As in most things, it isn't what you say, it's how you say it.  She could have asked his name nicely, then said, "before I get all your information, let's touch bases on insurance. I don't want to take your time getting information only to find that I'll need to refer you."

 

That would add about ten seconds to the phone call and would leave Bersaguy in a feeling valued.  People matter and how they are treated matters.  Having said that, assume that this medical practice doesn't care about that.

 

If he has insurance at all, there is a high probability that they take it.  So, it makes business sense to find out about a customer before pissing them off.