Galanis, John C, Md - Southwest Medical Ctr

While my physician is great, dealing with the folks that answer the phones, work at their pharmacy and at the front desk, is a nightmare. Rude, inconsiderate and inefficient. My recent experience was calling at 4:55 PM to set an appointment. First I was connected to the wrong doctor's office, even after clearly spelling and repeating the doctor's name. Next I had to call back and they put me on hold and I think they ""disconnected"" me. I called back a third time and went to their answering service at 4:58 PM, meaning they were forwarding the calls before 5:00 PM. When I came into complain about their unprofessional, inconsiderate and rude behavior, THEY complained to my physician. I'm the bad guy because I've had enough of their poor customer service and rudeness. Good riddance. They will continue to lose patients (that are not geriatics) to other physicians and medical centers. And don't even get me started on their pharmacy. The used to have an employee who was incredibly rude, snide and even made ugly comments about some of the patients who were still within ear shot. An incredibly bad experience and I'd rather switch than fight. Their ""manager"" is another piece of work. Her attitude is incredibly hostile and rude as well. A more poorly-run operation you cannot find. If you have no other options and don't want to drive, they're perfect, but if you want to be treated like a valued customer or patient, you will not find that here. more

After taking almost an hour trying to get my friend who had broken his neck as well as his hip, out of the house and into the car, and into the Southwest Building, my friend was told that he had the wrong medical card with him. He was told that he was using an RX card. This was confusing to me because it was the same card used to be admitted into the hospital for surgery and rehab. Nevertheless, the card was refused. And my friend was not treated. After waiting an hour while the staff was trying to confirm if my friend was insured, we decided to leave. Any place that would let a patient sit for an hour with a broken neck , and a broken hip , was not a place that he wanted to be treated. And after calling the insurance company, it was confirmed that he did indeed have the right medical card. This treatment was shameful! more

Initially, the phone greeting is peppered with the word ""fer"" instead of ""for""...when finally transferred to my Physician's office, I was greeted with ""Hello"" (only) in a short and terse tone, after giving my name, and request for an appointment, I was repeatedly asked ""who is this"", and never once was I asked to ""please hold while they managed to procure an appointment. My appointment was finalized by ""...you need to get here by 11:00"". Period, nothing else...where is the compasion and friendliness. Keep in mind, we as patients, are utilizing this service when we are not having the best times of our lives. Pros: ""Job"" vs Career Cons: indifferent, unprofessional more

I agree with patient x ... was reading these reviews when I realized that this tech was the same woman my relative had a problem with just last week. Wonder why she is still there. Pros: good docs Cons: a bad tech more

I have been taking my 87 y/o father there for years as well as being a patient myself. He sees a internist, cardiologist, podiatrist and gastroenterolgist. The office staff , medical assistants and radiology techs have always been kind, considerate and helpful consistently and I couldn't imagine taking him any other place. Pros: Great Doctors Staff and parking Cons: wish they'd tell you when staff is running late more

I see two Doctors at Southwest Medical and I'm not sure if I'm returning. I'm not personally invested in either Doctor even though I appreciate them personally the staff in this building is appalling. Last week I fell and hurt both my ankle and hip. I had another issue so I scheduled two appointments with both doctors. First Doc sends me to get me ankle and hips X-rayed. Right off I could tell Holly the tech was having a bad day and seemed completely inconvenienced by my appearance: No greeting other than Change in this room. Once in the Xray room I noticed the height of the table which usually wouldn't be an ordeal if my hip and foot were functional. High table, I commented and was told, Well it can't be lowered so you're going to have to find a way up there. Eventually I did and she did the hip Xray but while doing my foot she dropped the heavy film case on the toes of my ailing foot! I yelled in pain, tears were running down my face when she asked (very exasperated) Did that really hurt? That was followed by an angry, I didn't mean to do that ma'am! No apology, no questions if I was OK. Nothing but an overtly hostile attitude. I asked an employee in another room where I could report the incident and headed to the Admin. office to report the behavior. I then went to my other Doctor's office. When he entered the room he asked to see my foot. Mystified, I asked why and he explained an incident report had been filed. I took off my shoe and sock, we discovered my toe had been cut. He asked if I wanted an Xray (irony?) which I declined since I had enough radiation exposure for the day. This was an extreme experience although many months ago I had tests for a serious concern and came home on a Friday evening to hear a phone message saying Call the office for your test results. It was a very anxious weekend. When I called on Monday I asked why they just didn't leave a message saying the test was negative and was told, Legally we can't leave a massage like that. But legally they can leave a message saying the results are back and you get to wait three days to hear the results. Flagrant incompetence of behalf of the administrative staff. Not one smile or warm greeting in the building from the employees. It's a bizarre environment to visit, as if everyone there is chronically unhappy. On the drive home I drove through a fast food business where I was greeted and asked how I was doing. I appreciated being asked and noted the smile of the guy handing me a sandwich through the window. I was impressed. Every other business I visited that day I was treated the same way and by friendly people. While I'm not interested nor do I have the time for a conversation with a stranger I do appreciate being acknowledged as something other than an interloper and an inconvenience. Last comment: When I called today to talk to the supervisor at SW Med and told her I was reconsidering a return visit she told me 'Of course that is your choice' (utter indifference) and she would pass my comments along to my Doctors. I told her I speak for myself. Add trespass and boundary issues to the injury. Pros: Great Doctors Cons: Staff lacks skills, customer service more

We've been patienstsat Soutwest for about 2 years. We like the central filing system they use and the variety of docs in one building is a huge draw. Also the parking is very user friendly. The center had recently been remodeled and there are some ""growing pains"". Your doc no longer has a specific assitant or nurse which destroys all hope of patient rapport. Scheduling is a little confusing as calls seem to be transferref all over the place before reaching someone who can really schedule you. We're chalking this up to reorganization and are hopeful things will mellow a bit. Our doc (Desai) has been a gem and we very much like him. All in all I see good potential for this center. Just be patient and if you have any major problems contact the admministrator, Sharon. She's great. Pros: central filing, great parkinig, attractive remodel Cons: long waits, confusing phone system more

This establishment has only brought be trouble. They told me they sent a prescription and they really didnt, they make me wait 30 + minutes after the time your appointment is scheduled, im not sure if the receptionists have gone to school, and the billing and information department screwed my paperwork up many times. I am no longer a patient there and I am finally being taken care of with no stress. Its great. Pros: some great doctors Cons: bad everything else more

I recently moved to St. Louis from Ohio and was searching for a regular physician and I was referrd her by one of my co-workers. She had been coming here for years so I figured it had to be decent. Well, I was wrong. This is the filthiest doctor's facility I have ever seen in my life. All the employees lack customer service skills. The doctor's really don't care what you have to say and in my case they couldn't seem to find a diagnosis. This place is a big waste of time and money. Trying to make an appointment is also near impossible because every time I have tried to make one, I seem to have to wait until the day of when I want to be seen making it very difficult to plan your days. I would never recommend South West Medical to anybody. Pros: parking Cons: every thing else more

have been coming to the Medical Center for many years. This is the worst I have ever seen it. The cleanliness of the facility is horrible, the floors are dirty, the bathrooms are filthy. The cleaning people work during business hrs, I would think some type of safety violation if someone were to fall. more

This doctor operated twice on my husband's shoulder. Doc would say different things to us than he said to the workers' comp people. We started recording him at the visits because he would tell us different things than he would tell the WC people. He told my husband the shoulder was one of the worst injuries he'd ever seen...was severely messed up...and THEN he told the WC people my husband was FAKING! Pros: Husband didn't die on the operating table. Cons: After two surgeries, he's still broken. And doctor is a nutjob. more