ComplaintsforStony Brook Medicine Department of Ophthalmology

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had an appointment today (7/22/2022 at 8:20am) with ****************** at Stony Brook Medicine Department of Ophthalmology. Upon arrival, we were told that the doctor is not here and that they left a message that the appointment was cancelled on July 11th or 12th. However, we did not receive a message from them nor did they send us a letter that the appointment was cancelled. We asked them to make us an appointment with another doctor, but the receptionist told us to make it ourselves. I told them that it will take weeks before getting another appointment unless it comes from a doctors office and she told me well maybe you shouldnt have cancelled your daughters appointment before. They were negligent, disrespectful, and not truthful. They said they were not allowed to make an appointment on our behalf. However, our pediatric dermatologist did make an appointment with them on our behalf because it is an urgent matter. My daughter, who is four months old, will now have to wait for another month before making an appointment with another doctor for their gross negligence in failing to notify us that the doctor has gone on maternity leave. Instead of trying to resolve the situation, the receptionist just got up and left us standing there. I have never seen more disrespectful and careless staff in my life. We demand they fix their mistake by booking an appointment for us as soon as possible. Attached is a screen shot of my voice mail showing no voice mail was left on these days. I removed the rest of the numbers for privacy.

  Business response

  08/04/2022

  ****** ** **** ****** ******** ****** *** ********************* ***** *** ************ ** *****
   
   
  Dear ********************,
   
  The information provided below is in response to a customer complaint  received by the ********************** from *** **** ************.  The assigned ID # is ********.  As detailed below, the events as described in the complaint, are not accurate.  
  
  *** ************* daughter was originally scheduled to see ****************** for an initial new patient appointment on June 15, 2022.  On June 10, 2022, *** ************ cancelled the new patient appointment and the appointment was rescheduled for July 14, 2022.  On June 27, 2022, *** ************ again called *** ******** ****** to cancel her daughters appointment, and the appointment was rescheduled for July 8, 2022.  However thirty minutes later, *** ************ called *** ******** ****** again to cancel the July 8, 2022 appointment, and the appointment was then scheduled to go forward on July 22, 2022.  On July 12, 2022, at approximately 5:39 p.m., *** ******** ****** called *** ************ at ************, the same number listed on her BBB complaint, to advise her that ****************** needed to cancel the July 22, 2022 appointment and that *** ************ should make an appointment with another pediatric ophthalmologist, *****************************************  
  
  In spite of the July 12, 2022 call from *** ******** ******, on July 22, 2022, *** ************ presented to *** ******** ****** with her daughter, claiming that she was never notified that of the cancellation.  She was again advised that ****************** needed to cancel the appointment due to the late stage and status of her pregnancy and that *** ************ should make an appointment with ****************.  *** ************ was further advised that *** ******** ****** could not make the appointment on her behalf, as they can only do so for established patients and given that the initial new patient appointment had never gone forward, ****************** had never actually seen/treated *** ************* daughter, so there was no history or prior appointment to reference the child condition.  When provided a piece of paper with *** ******* contact information, *** ************ crumpled the paper up and threw it at the front desk clerk.  Our understanding is that *** ************* daughter has a treating dermatologist who scheduled her for an appointment with a different pediatric ophthalmologist.
  
  Hopefully this clarifies the events that transpired.  We are always happy to clarify and assist in resolving these complaints.
   
   
  

  
  

  Customer response

  08/05/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because

  The business' response could not be further from the truth. They never called to cancel the appointment nor did they send us a letter in the mail to do so despite there being a 10 day wait. If I got a call, why did I go to the office during my scheduled appointment? It is clear from their message that they are punishing us for canceling the previous appointment. I would have been understanding had they called us to cancel the appointment, that would have bought me 10 days to get another appointment for my daughter somewhere else. I already attached a screenshot of my voicemail showing that they are lying about calling us, which they did not address. I will be happy to get a letter from phone company showing no call was made to me on July 12 or any nearby dates. Unlike what the business said, our pediatric dermatologist DIDNOT make an appointment for us with another doctor. Furthermore, they did not explain that they can't make an appointment for us because she is not a patient. Instead the clerk left us standing there with a piece of paper and went to the back room chatting with other personals, totally disrespectful. It seems to me that the business is more concerned about the legality of whether or not she is a patient of theirs rather than her health and helping out.  

   

   

   

   

  
  
  
  
  
   
  

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