Problem with OSU

Hi all. I am just curious if anyone else has had any problems with OSU? Up until now I have been SOOO HAPPY with them. Now I am really starting to question them. I was so upset today I was really thinking about changing doctors. If I didn't already have a date I think I would. Dr. Curry in Cincinnati sounds great. I love Dr. Needleman but am really starting to question a couple people in his office. Today was a discouraging day with OSU Bariatric! I saw Dr. Needleman last Tuesday. This was to be the last step before everything would be submitted to insurance. Last Friday I called Shannon who advised me that the letter from Dr. Needleman had not been dictated yet. She said she would be out of the office this week and be back on Thursday. On Monday or Tuesday I called Kathy Horton and asked if the letter had been dictated yet and I also asked her to pull my PCP's final notes from the computer. She said the letter hadn't been dictacted yet. The next day I called Stacy at Dr. Needleman's office and was told that Dr. Needleman had not electronically signed the letter before he left for vacation. No big deal. I thought it might be a good idea to get everything else in to Aetna so I called Kathy back to ask her if this would be possible. Lavidia (not sure if that is her name) answered and after I said it was Shellie Davis she said Kathy was not in. I didn't really believe her but didn't think much of it. I tried to leave a message for Kathy and just said that I wanted to see if she could go ahead and send everything in. Lavidia was quit snotty and said there were no "decision makers" in the office an there wouldn't be for the rest of the week. I knew she was lying because Shannon had already told me she would be back on Thursday. So, today - Thursday - I called Kathy's direct line and she immediately took a nasty tone with me and said Lavidia had told her I had been calling EVERY DAY!!! I was sooo insulted. First of all, it is my health and I have learned through past experiences that you have to stay on top of things. Secondly, I had NOT called everyday! I called Kathy at the beginning of the week and spoke with her and then called the second time and spoke with Lavidia. I have been so happy with Shannon. She has always seemed right on top of things and very friendly. I am really concerned now to have to deal with this Lavidia or Lucidia or whatever her name is. When I spoke with Shannon on Friday she specifically told me the insurance process for Aetna. She said Kathy would call Aetna to start the process. Aetna would then assign my case to a nurse and then call OSU back to have my file faxed directly to the nurse assigned. When I spoke with Kathy today she agreed to go ahead and send things to Aetna. She said she had planned on calling me to tell me this anyway "since I had been calling". She made it a point to tell me that Aetna wouldn't show anything in the system until next week. Since Shannon had already told me that the first step was to call it in I asked about the process. She told me she just faxes it and it takes about 3 days or so to show up in their system. Now I am feeling like I am being lied to. I understand that there are delays in the process. I can live with that as long as there is honesty and trust. This is a big surgery and I want to feel comfortable with not only the doctor but also the office staff. Has anyone had anything like this happen?

If I were you I would give Barix a call. They process everything very fast. I had an approval in two weeks, then got to schedule my surgery. I hate when the medical community gives attitude. Like you said it is your health. What is going to be like for after care? What if you needed to call the surgeon with a question? What if you are confused on what you can and can't have? I know at Barix we have a special number we call, give our surgery date, and home phone number, then the surgeon calls back within 15 min. Good Luck, It is your health, and if they are treating you like this now, what will the treatment be like afterwards? The insurace companies do not have a problem with you switching Doctors. Doctor Curry is also a great choice, he is only an email/phone call away. Hugs, Lisa

That is my thought exactly!! I don't believe I would actually deal with this office after surgery. I think at that point I would go throught the actual surgeon's office, but I am not sure. I want to feel that I am not just a number. Up to this point I have felt 200% confident in them but I really question my confidence now. Unfortunately, Barix Clinic is not on my insurance plan. I have heard good things about them. I see Dr. Curry's postings here and he seems like a very genuinly sincere doctor. I am really thinking of giving him a call. Thanks for your input. Shellie

You are correct, afterwards you would not be dealing with this office. You would be dealing with Dr. Needleman, his office secretary, and his nurse. And in my experience with Dr. Cook's staff, they were very responsive. I had some questions about the time frame for my surgery because I was in school and was trying to make arrangments. I was at OSU for another appointment so I walked over to their office. I was immediately told no one was in the office by the lady in the general surgeon office, she gave me the phone number, which I had...but I wanted to talk to someone. I tried to find the office and when she saw me trying to go down the hall, she said, I told you no one was there!, I was almost in tears as I waited for the elevator, then I heard...Oh, hi Kathy...I looked over and 2 ladies were at the office door, as if they had just walked by...so I sat down in the chairs and waited for them to walk by me...when they didn't I said...Hi, are you Kathy Horton, she said yes...I introduced myself and asked her my questions. I wanted to know when she thought I would be scheduled to see the surgeon, be having surgery, etc. She remembered my situation, and told me the information...she also said that since I already had prior auth from Medicaid and was in the midst of my nutrition classes, that she would pull my chart and send it over to Dr. Cook, who she said would do my surgery because I was high risk. By the time I got home (2 hours drive), Dr. Cook's secretary had called and left me a message about my consult. So yes, I encountered someone who was rude, but all the other VERY helpful people completely made up for it. I wish now that I could come back to OSU for my hernia repairs, because my doctor down here and her staff are not the friendliest...but she is the BEST...which I'm not sold really matters to me much. But I also know how to handle her, if you know what I mean...or at least I'm learning how to. ~sarah

Well Shellie, I will tell you about Dr.Curry. He is the most wonderful,caring,genuine human I have ever met. And then he is a fabulous Doctor who only cares about you. He will always be there as you can see,he just cares about all of us and thats what we need going through this. He has a great sense of humor and thats very important. He will be there for you and hes terrific. And look at all the beautiful woman he is remaking. He is so special to me. He gave me my life back with compassion, Love,Cindy

Shellie, I am not sure if my OSU surgeon Dr Mikami uses the same staff as Dr Needleman, but I am completely happy with everyone in the office. Dr Mikami has a wonderful kind caring personality and everyone that I have dealt with within the office is the same way. I had an excellent surgical experience with Dr Mikami and you might be able to switch to him. There are a lot of his patients on the board here and I think they will agree he is a wonderful Doctor. I am really sorry that you had a bad experience. Hopefully they were all just having a bad day and you got caught in the middle of it. Best of luck with your surgery Hugs Laura

It sounds like trust & communication has broken down with some of the OSU staff. Dr. Needleman needs to be made aware of the problems you're having with some of his staff, ASAP! Many years ago I had a similar situation with my dentists new office manager. Unfortunately he didn't stand behind me even though I'd been a patient of his for many years. He lost 12 patients that day (the rest of my family left him as well). If your surgeon is able to "correct" the actions of a few personnel, you should be good to go. However, you may need to find another surgeon if you don't see any improvement in the service you receive from his staff. Dr. Curry & his entire staff is indeed excellent. I checked out 5 surgeons before I made my decision & his was the only office that I felt were not going to give me "problems" down the road. Best of luck... NancyT

Thanks to everyone for your input. I do need to keep things in perspective. I feel better knowing that it is not the same staff that I would need to deal with after surgery. Thanks for all of your support! Shellie

After you have your surgery they know you better and are aware of your needs more than before. It is totally two different offices that you are dealing with right now. The bariatric clinic and the Dr office itself. Just be a little patient. I met Dr Needleman... he is wonderful and very knowledgeable. You don't want to back out now... you have done so much. You never know if you start somewhere new you may have to do some of the testing over again. Good Luck! Hugs Julie

Hi Shellie~ I am one of Dr Curry's biggest cheerleaders!!! dr C & his staff are INCREDIBLE!!! I saw you have Aetna~~ so do I and I got NOWHERE at Barix (read my profile/story) they gave me the total run around and then dumped me because of Aetna Hope this helps Dr Curry is the BEST! Deb H @ Indian Lake lap RNY 2/4/05 Dr Curry 252.5/192/140???