The scheduling department refused to call my "husband" just that; she referred to him in speech and WRITING as my "boyfriend". He hasn't been my "boyfriend" in 32 years, but she called him that, even though I had corrected her. LGBTQ-IA folks know this as the familiar passive aggressive, homophobic dig and a form of discrimination under NY STATE LAW. I am putting this out there before she dead-names a transperson.
Staff has not been trained in how to deal with post surgical delirium, communication is poor, the palliative care person is really just someone sent to make excuses so the case managers and hospitalists do not need to speak with the patient's family, and the patients of some doctors are sent home without adequate care instructions and with no follow up from the surgeon. This is not to say that there are not some wonderful, outstanding staff members in addition to those who are annoyed to have their reading interrupted. St. Peters was not always like this. The level of care has really gone downhill, which may be a reflection of our whole system. But, hey, they have new tvs in the rooms.
I have gone there for two years for check up. They don’t care their patients. I had to wait 20-30 mins and doctor visit took 5 min. I asked them to send me to a specialist, they never called me for appointment. I asked to transfer my documents to other doctor, they lost my request and it is over one month waiting for that transfer. I have pain in my heart. If I have heart attack, I don’t know who is responsible? Even I call them, no response. If you care your health, avoid them.
Michelle is amazing at this practice. She answers the phone for Gail Casals and makes your appointments. they will be lost without her. My primary, Gail Casals, recently retired and I am heartbroken. Switching to a new PA, Karen. We will see how it goes. Check in is a NIGHTMARE. Get there early. It’s been this way for YEARS! It’s not the employees but the system itself. Don’t bother checking in online because it goes NOWHERE and they do it all over again when you get there. Your medical history is NEVER correct in the system no matter how many times the nurse goes over it with you. Medications never stay updated. Allergies disappear. This could be a huge problem considering I am allergic to morphine. Billing? Watch every bill you get! They bill the wrong insurance or bill insurances out of order. When insurance refuses to pay due to their error they send you the entire bill. WATCH YOUR BILL CLOSELY!!!
Dr. Balaraman is excellent, but my two stars is because the administration of this office is a complete nightmare. Their billing methods are unclear and shady. If you ever need to call them for anything, forget about it as you'll never get through to anyone. Leave a message and they will not call you back. I don't know how you can inquire about anything or even schedule an appt. Call the main 1-800 number or St. Peter's and they cannot help either.
Can't stand the doctor, spoke with Nurse mgr. Was told: "You can only change Drs 2 X's in 20 yrs?.....excuse me, what?! Haven't been seen since. Over a year. Won't go back. Overwhelmed Drs Doing the minimum!!!!!
Extremely long waiting time before they answer the phone, in order to schedule an appointment it always takes abou 1 hour if you ever get connected at all. The front desk Staff have very poor customer service.
Horrible administration. Really washed out any good the Doctors may be.
I walked away feeling as though my best health care interests were not of a high concern for them
