The problems of getting information to patients and with the billing department seem related to me-- and they speak to an overall management concern... like, if the billing department makes flubs like this, and the nurses don't have a system for getting info to people, then... what is happening back in the lab to keep everything humming? Plus the billing and communication issues add so much to an already stressful and scary time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had a great experience with Dr Sacks - wonderful doctor!! However I just got a bill today for $10,000 more than I expected and the billing department seems to think my distress is unreasonable. Hope to get things resolved there soon!

LOL -that reminds me of when they sent my bills to a collections agency twice this year -without ever sending me an invoice!!! When I called the billing department, they explained that their billing system had been down for a couple of months, so the older charges on my account just ended up going to collections. GRRREAT!

We sort of had the opposite experierience. The way we learned we were a go for implantation was when the nurse called to remind us that the bill needed to be paid before the procedure ... The following week.

Anonymous wrote:Had a great experience with Dr Sacks - wonderful doctor!! However I just got a bill today for $10,000 more than I expected and the billing department seems to think my distress is unreasonable. Hope to get things resolved there soon!

LOL -that reminds me of when they sent my bills to a collections agency twice this year -without ever sending me an invoice!!! When I called the billing department, they explained that their billing system had been down for a couple of months, so the older charges on my account just ended up going to collections. GRRREAT!

OP, I don't know anything about the Bethesda office, but I loved Dr. Sacks in DC. He gives his patients his email address, and I would email him directly with questions. He always responded within a day. I've never met a doctor before or since who would do that.

Had a great experience with Dr Sacks - wonderful doctor!! However I just got a bill today for $10,000 more than I expected and the billing department seems to think my distress is unreasonable. Hope to get things resolved there soon!

I also had a problem with CFA not getting info to us quickly. It took months to get info that was available in a day. Finally I found a sympathtic nurse on the phone and she somehow got us the info. There didn't seem to be an established process for getting info to us.

The OP wasn't having problems with CFA's billing (though as a patient there, I agree that it seems to be problematic.) She was having trouble with the office following through on giving her medical information. Neither problem is a good one to have, but getting medical information correct is essential.

I think Sacks is the reason to go to CFA. The billing department continues to be a joke. There is no way their billing operation could continue the way it is in a typical medical practice. I think in a fertility clinic, the patients are so desperate to not waste time that they are very reluctant to drop a dysfunctional practice the way they would in any other medical situation, because they'd have to start all over again with another doctor. Some of the nurses are so great and very experienced, others are immature and don't seem very clued in to the seriousness their patients feel about their IF. I find the front desk to be a bit casual with patients' information. But if you want a small practice, where you see the same doctor every day, Sacks is really the only viable alternative to SG, IMO. But the clinic needs to get professional accountants and medical admin people in place in their business side. They needed to do so yesterday! Last year!

We moved from SG to CFA, due to the type of service issues OP mentioned. But I know someone who moved from CFA to SG for the same reason. It is just sad that, as another poster said, we have to pay thousands of dollars and make sure everyone is doing the right thing at the right time.

Agree w/ above poster!!!

I've been to SG and sqitched to CFA. At least at CFA you get to see the same MD every visit, which was very appealing to us. We did not feel like numbers or that we had to repeat our story to a different physician each time we went in.

You cannot let the process happen to you, everyone must listen and learn what they need to know. You cannot expect minimally educated staff to fill in the blanks so you have to be proactive.