Review by
Anonymous
on
May 28, 2015
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Lifeline Medical Associates, LLC - 680 Kinderkamack Road Suite 204
Office & Staff Evaluation
Practice Evaluation
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Ease of Getting an Appointment
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Courtesy of Practice Staff
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Appearance & Atmosphere of Office
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Handling of Billing & Insurance
- Average Wait Time 31 minutes or more
Provider Evaluation
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Willingness to Spend Time with You
- Listening Skills Not rated
- Clear explanations Not rated
- Trust in Decision Making Not rated
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Accuracy of Diagnosis
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Post-Visit Follow-Up
“Run away”
I think that you should RUN - not walk - away from his office show details I think that you should RUN - not walk - away from his office:
May 28th, 2015 - He made several mistakes including telling me that I had a normal U/S (which I did not) and that I did not require follow up (but I did.) He also refused to order necessary follow up tests and also to tell me the name of his practice (Lifeline) so that I could complain about it, instead telling me to go see the specialist that he had previously told me I did not need to see.
Mistake Number One: I had an appointment with Dr. Dotto on April 1, 2015, suffering from exhaustion, pelvic and back pain, bloating, etc. He said that he was going to take blood (thyroid and CBC) and order a trans vaginal U/S. I asked him to also test CA-125. At first he said no. “You don’t have ovarian cancer” and stated that he would do it if the U/S results were abnormal. I told him that I didn’t want to have blood drawn twice. he finally agreed. When I went into he room to have the blood drawn, the phlebotomist said that she was testing fro thyroid and CBC. I told her CA-125, too. She said that Dr. Dotto had not ordered it. I asked her to go speak to him. She did, and came in with the correct script. (On April 2nd I received a call from Dr. Dotto’s office that the CA-125 was elevated and was given the phone number for an oncologist gyn. I called her to schedule an appt. Her office called back and told me to wait for the U/S results and that they would call me back if I needed to make an appt.)
Mistake Number Two: I had the U/S on 4/6. The radiologist office told me that Dr. Dotto would have the results by the next day. I called Dr. Dotto’s office on 4/7 and left a message asking for a call back with the results. I received a call back in the late afternoon that the results were in but that the Dr. had not yet reviewed them. I asked to have the results emailed to me or if I could come to get them, as I did not want to wait another day to get them. I was told that I would receive a call back with answers. Later, Dr. Dotto’s office called back to tell me that the results were normal and required no follow up. (On that same day, a bit later, I received a phone call from Nikki in Dr. Vaiyada’s office stating that according to Dr. Dotto, the results of the U/S were normal and I did not need to see her.)
Mistake number Three: On April 15th, I opened an email from Hackensack Radiology letting me know that I could access my records online if I started an acct. I did, and was shocked to see that my U/S results indicated two cysts on my left ovary. I called Dr. Dotto’s office and asked for a call back regarding my concern that the results were not “normal” as I had been told. When Dr. Dotto’s office called back, I asked whether the prior info that I had received regarding no need for flow up was incorrect and was told that there had been some errors, and that I should definitely follow up and have the blood work and U/S repeated after a few months.
Mistake Number Four: On May 26th I called Dr. Dotto’s office and left a message requesting the follow up that had been discussed. (Unfortunately, no one ever answers the phone, and the patient must always get past several messages to leave a voice mail for a return call.) I received a call back stating that Dr. Dotto was (again) out for several days (he had been leaving for a two week vacation after my 4/1 appt. and his staff was complaining on 4/28 that he was taking several weeks off this July creating an unfair and inconsiderate environment for two employees who would they only have one day each off that entire month.) I was told that he would be back on Thursday 4/28, but that she didn’t think that he would repeat the tests since his notes indicated that I was told to see a specialist on 4/15. I explained that I had in fact been told on 4/7 that a specialist was not required, and stated that I wanted to come in on the 28th for the blood work and script for the U/S. She told me that she would speak to him first thing on 4/28 and call me with the time to come in, telling me that it “shouldn’t be a problem.”
On 4/28, I waited until 11:30 for a call that did not come. I then called the office and was forwarded to the service, who told me that she would immediately pass the info to the Dr. and that I would receive a call back soon. At 12:30 I called back and again was forwarded to the service, telling me that they were “at lunch.” At 1:15 I went to the office and waited 30 minutes before being brought into Dr. Dotto’s office, after being told that I could not have the blood work performed until I spoke with Dr. Dotto The nurse apologized that he head not called me though she had asked him to first thing that morning, and said he would see me right away. i then waited in his office. After a while, I looked out into the hall. Dr. Dotto was standing there. I asked him if he was ready to which he replied “no Dawn, have a seat and wait in the office.” I told him that I had waited long enough and would like to have the blood work completed while I wait for him to finish up what he was doing. He then ushered me into the office and told me that he was not going to order the test or give me a script for an U/S because I need to see a specialist. When I told him that he had previously told me that I DID NOT need to see the specialist, he said that was "not true, it never happened.” When I told him that the oncologist gyn office had called me to tell me that same, he said that it “wasn’t true.”
I asked for my medical records and he said he would send them to me. He refused to tell me the name of the practice when I asked if he was a part of a group. His secretary had to give me the information about Lifeline. After 90 minutes in his office, I left with incomplete medical records, and no help with the blood work and script that I needed. I was told that the phone notes could not be printed, or if they could they didn’t know how to do it. I was also told that she had no record of any phone call notes from 4/7 (despite the fact that I have printed phone records of incoming calls on that date from his office.) She further stated that the only calls made to me about results according to her system were on 4/2 and 4/15. When I asked if it would be typical for a doctor to wait to call a patient for 9 days after receiving abnormal test results, she said “no”.
Comment - “ Run away ”
I think that you should RUN - not walk - away from his office show details I think that you should RUN - not walk - away from his office: May 28th, 2015 - He made several mistakes including telling me that I had a normal U/S (which I did not) and that I did not require follow up (but I did.) He also refused to order necessary follow up tests and also to tell me the name of his practice (Lifeline) so that I could complain about it, instead telling me to go see the specialist that he had previously told me I did not need to see. Mistake Number One: I had an appointment with Dr. Dotto on April 1, 2015, suffering from exhaustion, pelvic and back pain, bloating, etc. He said that he was going to take blood (thyroid and CBC) and order a trans vaginal U/S. I asked him to also test CA-125. At first he said no. “You don’t have ovarian cancer” and stated that he would do it if the U/S results were abnormal. I told him that I didn’t want to have blood drawn twice. he finally agreed. When I went into he room to have the blood drawn, the phlebotomist said that she was testing fro thyroid and CBC. I told her CA-125, too. She said that Dr. Dotto had not ordered it. I asked her to go speak to him. She did, and came in with the correct script. (On April 2nd I received a call from Dr. Dotto’s office that the CA-125 was elevated and was given the phone number for an oncologist gyn. I called her to schedule an appt. Her office called back and told me to wait for the U/S results and that they would call me back if I needed to make an appt.) Mistake Number Two: I had the U/S on 4/6. The radiologist office told me that Dr. Dotto would have the results by the next day. I called Dr. Dotto’s office on 4/7 and left a message asking for a call back with the results. I received a call back in the late afternoon that the results were in but that the Dr. had not yet reviewed them. I asked to have the results emailed to me or if I could come to get them, as I did not want to wait another day to get them. I was told that I would receive a call back with answers. Later, Dr. Dotto’s office called back to tell me that the results were normal and required no follow up. (On that same day, a bit later, I received a phone call from Nikki in Dr. Vaiyada’s office stating that according to Dr. Dotto, the results of the U/S were normal and I did not need to see her.) Mistake number Three: On April 15th, I opened an email from Hackensack Radiology letting me know that I could access my records online if I started an acct. I did, and was shocked to see that my U/S results indicated two cysts on my left ovary. I called Dr. Dotto’s office and asked for a call back regarding my concern that the results were not “normal” as I had been told. When Dr. Dotto’s office called back, I asked whether the prior info that I had received regarding no need for flow up was incorrect and was told that there had been some errors, and that I should definitely follow up and have the blood work and U/S repeated after a few months. Mistake Number Four: On May 26th I called Dr. Dotto’s office and left a message requesting the follow up that had been discussed. (Unfortunately, no one ever answers the phone, and the patient must always get past several messages to leave a voice mail for a return call.) I received a call back stating that Dr. Dotto was (again) out for several days (he had been leaving for a two week vacation after my 4/1 appt. and his staff was complaining on 4/28 that he was taking several weeks off this July creating an unfair and inconsiderate environment for two employees who would they only have one day each off that entire month.) I was told that he would be back on Thursday 4/28, but that she didn’t think that he would repeat the tests since his notes indicated that I was told to see a specialist on 4/15. I explained that I had in fact been told on 4/7 that a specialist was not required, and stated that I wanted to come in on the 28th for the blood work and script for the U/S. She told me that she would speak to him first thing on 4/28 and call me with the time to come in, telling me that it “shouldn’t be a problem.” On 4/28, I waited until 11:30 for a call that did not come. I then called the office and was forwarded to the service, who told me that she would immediately pass the info to the Dr. and that I would receive a call back soon. At 12:30 I called back and again was forwarded to the service, telling me that they were “at lunch.” At 1:15 I went to the office and waited 30 minutes before being brought into Dr. Dotto’s office, after being told that I could not have the blood work performed until I spoke with Dr. Dotto The nurse apologized that he head not called me though she had asked him to first thing that morning, and said he would see me right away. i then waited in his office. After a while, I looked out into the hall. Dr. Dotto was standing there. I asked him if he was ready to which he replied “no Dawn, have a seat and wait in the office.” I told him that I had waited long enough and would like to have the blood work completed while I wait for him to finish up what he was doing. He then ushered me into the office and told me that he was not going to order the test or give me a script for an U/S because I need to see a specialist. When I told him that he had previously told me that I DID NOT need to see the specialist, he said that was "not true, it never happened.” When I told him that the oncologist gyn office had called me to tell me that same, he said that it “wasn’t true.” I asked for my medical records and he said he would send them to me. He refused to tell me the name of the practice when I asked if he was a part of a group. His secretary had to give me the information about Lifeline. After 90 minutes in his office, I left with incomplete medical records, and no help with the blood work and script that I needed. I was told that the phone notes could not be printed, or if they could they didn’t know how to do it. I was also told that she had no record of any phone call notes from 4/7 (despite the fact that I have printed phone records of incoming calls on that date from his office.) She further stated that the only calls made to me about results according to her system were on 4/2 and 4/15. When I asked if it would be typical for a doctor to wait to call a patient for 9 days after receiving abnormal test results, she said “no”.