Michael Hodge Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.
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SAVE YOUR SANITY! DO NOT SEE THIS DR. he is arrogant and hides behind his staff, of which his office manager and nurse/assistant are incompetent.
I had my lap-band in CT by a fantastic Dr (Ehrlich) & lost 115 lbs but when I moved to TN I needed a new Dr. because I had gained weight back after I quit smoking & Dr. Hodge was nearby.
My first appointment I showed up and was told that I would have to pay $250 because his Office Manager failed to get me pre-certified.
I came back several days later. He filled my port but it felt like he actually took fluid out instead - I was afraid of gaining more weight so called for him to see me again and I was refused an appointment or to speak with Dr. Hodge - stating he would not see me for another month. I had also not been given any office procedures, diet plan or lab work.
After a month I showed up for my next appointment for what I thought was a fill. I was told my apt was not in the system (later found in old system) AND the office manager again failed to get me pre-certified. I was told that he would not fill me for TWO months (his policy) so I could see him that day, but only with my $20 co-payment and he would not fill me because it had only been a month. I was upset and asked to speak with Dr. Hodge and was refused - AND asked to leave the office after his office manager argued with me about our phone conversation and belittled me in front of the staff and other patients. She even threatened to call the police on me!!! I totally stood my ground because I was rightfully upset!
I asked for my medical records for which by law I was entitled to and again, was refused my records from my original Dr. unless I paid $20 for the first page and ? 0.20 thereafter.
I was so upset, I have never had any problem, been disrespected or belittled by any physician or staff member and I have had a good amount of physicians. His poor receptionist looked embarrassed and as humiliated as I felt.
SAVE YOUR TIME - don't go to this office. They are clueless, heartless, belittling, arrogant and incompetent. I have been a nurse for 13 years and would NEVER treat a patient with the disrespect that I was treated by Dr. Hodge and his staff (save for his receptionist who I feel should run far and fast). Stop hiding behind your staff Dr. Hodge, tell your patients your stupid office procedures before they make an appt with you to save their efforts and teach your staff how to pre-certify your patients prior to appointments - you are no God and certainly not the only game in TN. I would also STRONGLY recommend a customer service class for your office manager (?wife) and other staff as well as yourself.
And Dr. Hodge if you are reading this review, YOU should have come out and addressed my concerns, as I was obviously upset. You should have also reviewed your office policies with me and reviewed my chart prior to my appointment, instead of wasting my time while you did it during my one and only actual appointment with you. As a health care worker, I can tell you that the behavior I experienced by you and your staff are unacceptable where I come from (and anywhere I have been). Your office manager is an argumentative nasty woman... that needs to be fired along with your assistant (and your receptionist needs a raise for putting up with them) Read further reviews where it says your staff was caught blatantly lying... I'm not the only one who feels this way.
If you are looking for a surgeon who will hold your hand each step of the way and who you will see every time you have an appointment, this is not your guy. I have seen him, in person, a grand total of two times in the year and a half I have tried to get this surgery approved. He has a wonderful nurse practitioner who will be taking out my drain and staples. His resident saw me several times while I was in the hospital and was the one responsible for answering my questions about pain and for getting me discharged from the hospital. He has a great educational program and support group for his patients. His office staff don't always submit paperwork when they say they will, so I had to stay on top of that.
In all, I think Dr. Hodge is a very competent surgeon but not very personally involved with his patients. If I had a choice of friendliness and attentiveness vs. skill, of course, I'll take skill! He is also highly regarded by my own PCP.
Kind and informative first impression. My first impression was proven correct. Overall, the office staff is wonderful and very caring. Dr Hodge is very attentive and understanding. When I came to him with a problem postop, he took me very seriously and had me admitted to the hospital immediately. He has taken very good care of me and I would recommend him to anyone!
Met Dr. Kramer for the first time in Feb. 08 for problems relating to GERD. He was very kind and listened to my concerns. It was at that time we discussed bypass as a option for all my comorbidities. He is a very knowledgable doctor who focuses mainly on Bariatric surgery. I am really looking forward to having him on my team throughout this journey. His office staff is outstanding and really seem willing to go above and beyond for their patients. rn4-30-2008rnHad to switch to Drs. Watson and Hodge in Johnson City due to insurance reasons. Have not met them yet but I hope they are as professional as Dr. Kramer is.
It was fairly easy to get an appointment with Dr. Hodge and the staff seemed friendly and well informed about my insurance. My surgery date was about 45 days after my first consult. Dr. Hodge appeared bright and compassionate. He gave me material to read and a week to consider my WLS options. Dr. Hodge was very honest and informed me of the risk of gastric bypass and made sure I understood that it is a tool to help me in my weight loss and I must make a lifetime committment to change for it to be truly successful. It is wonderful to have a surgeon who is experienced and personable.rn rn
To be honest, I wasn't very impressed. After my 2nd visit, Dr. Hodge was pretty nice. I think they want to see how serious we are about having this surgery. Dr. Hodge's staff has alway's been super nice. Alway's helpful & kind. Dr. Hodge stresses the aftercare you will need, & also let's you know how IMPORTANT it is. He told me up front how careful I would have to be. On a scale of 1-10, Dr. Hodge is an 8. I have done so well, I think his surgical competence is WONDERFUL!!
Dr. Hodge was great! He made me feel extremely comfortable about a very difficult subject. Overall, my first impression of Dr. Hodge is that he is serious about his profession and wants only the best for his patients both before and after surgury.rnrnUpdate: While the before care was good, his office aftercare left something to be desired. I live over an hour and a half away from his office and twice his staff scheduled me an appointment only for me to drive down there and have them say, \"there's been a mistake\". Both times, I had appointment cards that they had filled out with the exact time and dates to which they said, \"Sorry, we must have looked at the calendar wrong.\" The second time, I asked the office staff if there was anyway that Dr. Hodge could go ahead and see me since this was just a quick followup. They said that Dr. Hodge was not there that he was in surgery. At that moment, Dr. Hodge walked down the hallway and into his office. I called there attention to this and they ignored me. Unfortunately, after two visits similar to this, I dismissed myself from his care and have since had to rely on my PCP for any followup issues. I did speak with Dr. Hodge, however nothing was ever really resolved. Please understand that this was really an office staff and office procedures issue more than a surgical performance issue.
My surgeon was wonderful. We did not think that our insurance would approve so i went thorugh it as just in case. The day it got approved i was scared. I asked him a bunch of questions and he was honest about everythign. I asked him about dying and he said \"if it is your time to go God will take you\" - right then i knew i was dealing with a Christian man and I felt so much better.I actually did not see him after teh surgery but i saw his partner. tHey gave me aa book on all the things to eat or drink and when. (But I lost it) Anyway I could not be happier witht eh docotrs that i encountered.