Hirsh, Connie K, Md - Central Ohio Counseling Inc

I am in the medical fiield and i would never act like this. Do they really care about ther patients It sounds as if Dr Furuta that owns it only cares about money. more

I have been seeing psychiatrists for the past 15 years and have never had a doctor-patient relationship like I do with Dr. DelMedico. I actually look forward to my sessions with her because I learn so much about the science behind my illness. She is the first doctor to take me seriously and not write me off as the ""crazy bipolar girl"" when I brought up my concerns about ADHD. It turns out I have that as well, and now I am no longer struggling to keep up with my workload.\r \r However, this is the WORST office I have ever seen. I can get past the outdated magazines and the less than desirable decor because it IS just a psychiatrists/therapists office, but the ladies at the front desk are the most unprofessional I have ever encountered. For one, I have never seen them in anything but jeans, sweatshirts, and greasy hair. If these were my employees I would expect more out of respect for patients and themselves. Second, I have watched them be insensitive and rude to patients who are in distress. This is completely unacceptible. I don't care how much you wish you weren't at your job, you DON'T treat anyone that way, let alone those with mental illness. \r \r Now on to trying to ask a question, or request a refill. Sometimes it is not possible to get an appointment before your prescription runs out. After navigating the maze of ""press this for that"" and leaving a message (I have never ever reached a live person) my doctor's personal assistant consistently takes at least 3 days to return a call. I have a tendency to not realize how low I am on my meds until I am a day or two away and these meds cause some serious withdrawal issues, then after I finally get the refill I have to readjust to them which is just as bad. Granted, if I were more diligent this could be avoided, but also if THEY were more diligent it would be better as well. \r \r When I first came to the office I saw a therapist. I later decided that she and I didn't have a good rappot, but there is one thing to note about her. She gave me her personal cell phone number to schedule appointments because the office is that bad. That speaks volumes to me.\r \r I adore my docor so much that I have recommended her to many people, but the recommendation comes with the warning about how badly the office is run. I don't mind her being behind schedule so much because I know she is spending the necessary time with her patients. Thankfully I have enough flexibility in my schedule that I can allow for that, but I know not everyone does.\r \r If you are thinking about choosing COC, do so with the knowledge that it is far from perfect. more

I agree with most everything that everyone is saying about the administrative staff. They are not personable, they are very busy, they get annoyed easily, but seriously, Columbus Ohio has a terrible shortage of psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors. That being said, the professionals in this office are amazing. Never have I been shortchanged in my care by the Dr. Furuta or my therapist, Alison. Don't choose your doctor based upon the support staff. Yes, they may be a pain in the butt, however, any issues I have had with them have been easily worked out in a timely manner. I have only been a patient for about two months, however, compared to the office where I used to go for medication management and therapy, this place is a dream! more

Been a patient for almost four years for an anxiety disorder. Got a call out the blue yesterday saying I owed a huge balance and that all my appts were cancelled. I doont owe anything. I have always paid my bill in full each appt. The administrator or whoever runs this office is very foolish. I would never go there again because I cant trust the entire place now...and it is true the office literally smells and you will never get your calls returned! more

After 10 years as a patient at Central Ohio Counseling, I have finally found a new office. The doctor I see is older, still writes his appts in a date book, hand writes receipts, no computer to be found. But it is a wonderful experience after the horrible conditions at the COC offices.\r It's amazing to me that my new doctor answers my calls! or actually returns one in a timely fashion.\r He spends close to an hour actually discussing my health. At COC the only hour I got was in the waiting room. If the doc spent more than 10 minutes with me it was only because they couldn't find their prescription pad.\r The new office is not modern, the decor is a bit dated. But the chairs are clean, there is always hot water for tea. And nice music playing. At COC the hedges need cut, the carpent needs swept , the mangy dog needs a bath, and the office furniture scares me. It's almost made worse (if it can) by the rude signs all over the place. ""Shut the door"" ""turn off your phone!!"" ""Give us your insurance"". It seems, if the door doesn't shut properly, then fix it or replace it. Why do I have to shut off my phone?? there is no sensitive medical equipment here. Besides, I need some sound to drown out the overbearing quiet in this office, which is only broken by the receptionist ignoring the phone.\r I am sorry for any patients who have not been able to find someone new, who will care for them properly. I know it took me a very long time on several waiting lists, but it was worth every effort needed to get better. more

I have been a patient of one of the physicians at COC for years. I have followed that Doctor to many offices as he has changed groups. I must say, fair or not, that the support staff at COC negatively affects my opinion of him. I have experienced everything touched upon by the other people who have taken the time to leave reviews. After years I am considering leaving a doctor that I like simply to get away from the idiots on the support staff. It is a special person that can mix ignorance and arrogance. They apparently search for these people when they hire. First, I don't expect much. I really don't. I don't even need you to be nice to me. Just take make my appointment, take my money, and answer the phone should I happen to have a problem. THEY CAN'T PULL THIS OFF. They seem to go out of their way to do a poor job. They are rude, arrogant, confused, disorganized, and unprofessional. God forbid something goes wrong with a prescription or something of that nature. Getting it resolved is just a nightmare. It is impossible to actually talk to a human being via the phone. They are the only medical practice that I have ever encountered that does not feel the need to answer the phone, EVER! They are probably doing us a favor though. When they do answer, it rarely yields a result. It pains me to write this but I agree with the person who is reporting them. They actually need an authoritative body to look into the practice. It is just BAD. If you are truly in need of care and you believe that those you trust with your care should treat you with simple respect and dignity, go elsewhere. more

This is the most poorly managed practice we have ever encountered. In fact, I will look into reporting them to the Better Business Bureau or some medical board...after we get our scripts AND after we find another provider. The customer service is poor, the organization is abysmal, and quite frankly, the docs that we have encountered have probably been fired from other practices. They don't listen, are not engaged and spend a few minutes with you. \r \r If anyone is reading this and has the power to impact this office, PLEASE intervene. There are many people who truly need help and support and this could become an acceptable source. Fire the office staff or outsource to a medical call group. more

Well I am sitting in the waiting room where I have been for over an hour. If there were any other docs in the area who took my insurance and could write scripts I wud switch in an instant. I hope that ur mental illness is not too urgent because I just heard the receptionist say there were 70 voice mails and she would not be able to listen to them today! more

I have never been to a doctor's office that has been this horrible and this disorganized. First of all, when you're sitting in the waiting room you can't help but notice your dismal surroundings. It's great if you want to feel like you're time traveling because all of the magazines are so outdated you feel you've stumbled back into the past. While waiting for an unreasonable amount of time you can entertain yourself by watching all of the other people waiting.. or the stressed out receptionists as they struggle to juggle the multitude of phone calls that come in. My doctor didn't even recognize me in the waiting room for at least a year, because he has so many patients. The final straw today was when I had tried for weeks to get into the office to see my doctor before he went on vacation. No luck, no one to talk to at the office... only endless amounts of phone tag, and being transferred to people who don't pick up or don't call you back. No one there cares. Now my prescription has run out and no one there will fill it for me. I have to wait 3 weeks until my doctor has an open appointment... that's 3 weeks of living in way that I hoped I never would. I need my medication and they know that and offered me no help. I called them crying and they transferred me to a line where no one picked up and eventually it went dead. Now I have to find a new psychiatrist and pay $150 for my assessment fee when all I needed was a simple prescription refill. more

With out a doubt the worst doctors I have ever been to. although very compassionate very disorganized, and don't get me started on the time management. The front office staff is very unprofessional to put it nicely. I have been here four time and all four time the doctors are all at least 45 minutes to an hour behind schedule. I finally walked out yesterday after waiting for 48 minutes in the lobby. The practice tries to see too many patients at the same time, therefore you find yourself waiting and waiting. There is a sign hanging in the lobby that says ""please excuse the front desk delays we are short staffed due to sickness."" That is laughable the same people are always there and as stupid as ever. The facility itself is completely gross and outdated. You have to throw yourself into the bathroom door to get it to shut. The carpets look like they are from 1950 and have not been cleaned since then. All the furniture it completely frayed and dingy. There is a musky smell they try to cover with air freshener. I have never had a good experience in all four of my visits here. Dr. Martin did not listen to anything I said and put me on some medicine that my new doctor says was a waste since I clearly don't have ADHD. more

I walked in this week for my follow up appointment, only to be told my doctor had been admitted to the hospital and canceled all appointments for the next two weeks. I was understanding that this had just occurred, but explained that I would be leaving the country in a week and needed two months worth of medication for the trip. However, no arrangements had been made by my doctor so all that could be done was to write down my information on a post-it and tell me they would call me back. I have since called back for any updates, and after going through 3 messages prompting me on which number to press, etc. I was only able to leave a voicemail which was never replied to. When trying desperately to figure a way to receive my prescriptions, we got in touch with another doctor at COC who refused to get involved, even threatening to hang up! Finally, to my immense relief, Dr. Martin himself called me, and despite his bad health made an appointment to see me ASAP. He is the saving grace of a very confusing, disorganized ""professional corporation."" Pros: great, truly caring doctor, if he may be the only one! Cons: never call me back, poor system for problems that may occur more

Dr. Furuta seems to be trying to revive the company, but he should seriously consider replacing the entire support staff, or it would seem a losing battle.\r \r Whenever I show up for an appointement, the recptionist will sometimes get a call and say please hold. This is nice, the thing is I wish I knew the magic number to get that far. Whenever I call, I just get a recorded message and always have to leave a VM. I never get a ""live"" person. \r \r When I do call I have to listen to a diatribe by the doctor's secretary about all the rules and regulations, which as others have noted, really makes you feel like all they care about is socking you for all sorts of fees. It is as though they count on you to miss appointments or need new meds. Everything is fine unless you need them make one adjustment. For instance I had an appointment recently and got my scripts and next appointment. Unfortunately, I lost these. Note I did not miss my appointment and that is why I needed a new script, which the aformentioned message, clearly states is cause for a $35 fine, and to some extent I can see this. However, I simply lost the Rx, I made and kept my appointment. The doctor just needed to take 2 minutes to rewrite it. Well after several calls they finally decided to get the script rewritten for $35 of course. Note I did have 2, and so she big heartedly only charged me for one, However, when I went to pick it up, I tried to see if she would see me to ""discuss my particular situation,"" but she would have nothing to do with that. Then I drop off my prescription only to find when I pick it up it was not even written for the full amount so as to carry me to my next appointment. So now I need to either change my next appointment, I am sure they can find a charge for that or I have to go through the hassle again in a couple of weeks. It is funny but sad, but you wonder why some psychatric patients lose control and shoot people, it was probably not the doctor but their dang support staff.\r \r Oh and here is another good one. Someone in front of me says ""I am here for an appointment with Dr. x."" ""Oh, he has been out for several days due to sickness, would you like to rescedule your appointment?"" Does this person have any grounds to charge this place for their missed appointment? Were they not notifed the doctor was not in? This person now perhaps has missed work, maybe even had to take the time off without pay, and had to travel to get here, and will need to do it all again, and all they get is, ""would you like to reschedule."" Instead they could say, ""hold on though, this sucker behind you owe's us for some re-written scripts which took no time at all to rewrite, but we can take his money and pay you for our negligence."" I would perhaps feel better about that than knowing the money is simply lining their pockets and perhaps funding their next office party. Pros: Dr. takes time to talk and discuss issues Cons: Dealing with the rest of the staff is downright dreadful more

This is not a good situation, but I am unfortunately trapped. Because of schedules with my family and job I wasn't able to keep or reschedule an appointment. Now I'm out of my medication and cannot get a refill called into the pharmacy. I've called three times to no avail. The fourth time I got a message that if I missed my appointment I can't get a refill until I pay an add'l $25; this is laughable b/c I've been seeing LaLonde for about 9 months and after the initial visit he's spent less than 10 minutes a visit with me - I get, ""hi, how you doing? everything ok? here's your script see you in a month."" I can't afford to keep paying co-pays and not get decent service - my meds work; I'm back from the brink -write the Rx for more than a month at a time.\r \r I'm researching how to report these abuses of power to the AMA, APA and the state board - I believe all this facility cares about is billable time not patients. Pros: Take my insurance and had openings for new patients Cons: inefficient about returning calls; money grubbing more

They have so many patients they don't keep anyone straight, I have been bumped appointments on several occasions, charged the wrong co-pay. I repeat myself every time I see Dr. Lalonde because he doesn't take good notes or listen to what the patient is saying. He categorizes his patients and treats you accordingly. The secretary is completely rude and incompetent and messes up everything you schedule. DO NOT USE THIS OFFICE Pros: They accept new patients Cons: Dr. Lalonde experience very impersonal, secretary misbooks more

I'm not sure about the previous 2 star review. This office is one of the busiest I have ever seen (that might be why the person answering the phone was unable to give counseling or anything more than brief answers). There are always people coming and going, with most appointments booked 1 month in advance. (Most times you can get on the cancellation list to get in sooner.) All of my appointments with my doctor in this office have worked around my schedule. There are many doctors in this office and their schedules might differ. However, the appointments I have attended were scheduled anywhere from 3pm to 8pm. My doctor has listened to my problems and perscribed medication to help me combat them. While some patients might be over medicated, my doctor has only perscribed me the minimal dose of what I need. He even worked with me when one perscription did not have the desiered effect; calling in a perscription to my local pharmacy so I did not need an additional appointment.

\r \r All in all, I've had good experience with this business. However, each doctor is different and I have only seen 1 of the many that practice there.

\r \r One side note, (as with most health care facilities) make sure you have your insurance information each and every time you go to avoid any billing issues. I forgot my new card for one appointment and the charges were pushed around until they were too old to be paid for by insurance. (Probably because my appointments were mostly in the late evening, after the billing lady had left for the day. Phone calls to the billing department are less than desirable as you are normally only able to leave a voice mail that may or may not be returned.) This was my own fault and does not affect my opinion on my doctor's talent. Pros: Away from busy shopping areas, Minimal wait for appointment Cons: Changing appointment times prove difficult due to the high volume of patients more

The receptionist is beyone rude. I was so anxious and depressed when I called and this woman made me feel even worse. Very condescending and disrespectful. I have enough people in my life making me miserabe without paying people to make me feel bad. Plus, it is nearly impossible to get an appointment even if you are sucidal. They don't care about patinets at all at Connie Hirsh's practice. more

The woman that answers the phone was rude and did not answer my questions. She was not soothing at all. And they don't have evening appointments, so what are you supposed to if you have to be at work during the day. I can't afford to pay these people if I don't go to work. more

I received counseling in another state and was not diagnosed correctly and heavily medicated for something I did not have. Once I began treatmenet with Central Ohio Counseling my life took a turn for the best. I began seeing the light at the end of the tunnel get bigger and bigger and I am now a productive functioning individual that is doing very well as a result of the wonderful people at Central Ohio Counseling.\r I highly recommend their services. more