Summary: Do your family a favor and don't settle for Bent Tree Family Physicians or Dr. Amy Latta, where you are not a patient...you're a customer. From outrageous fees to discouraging patient questions, this practice is not the place for caring parents with young children. I recommend you find a doctor that will take after-hours calls for sick children, will encourage parents to participate in the health decisions of their children, and that will provide your medical records when requested.
Everything you are about to read is true. I confirmed the fee schedule with a Bent Tree employee to make sure I would be quoting facts.
Last year, my family moved from Austin to Plano. When my wife found Bent Tree Family Physicians, we went ahead and had our Austin doctor transfer our medical records. Of course, this record transfer was free, as this is part of our Austin doctor taking care of her patients. Our 2 year old son tends to get sick during the winter and that is when reality set in.
Let's talk about unreasonable fees. They charge a $25.00 fee for any after hours call. What that what? I have never heard of a family practice charging for after hours emergencies. I called my insurance provider; she had never heard of charging for calls either and thought I had to be mistaken. With a 2 year old, I don't want to be debating on whether to call our family physician for help. (Note: I confirmed this fee is for any call, no exceptions.) Patients deserve better.
Let's talk about quality of care. Sure, you get what you pay for. Sure, I will stomach these fees to get the best care in the area. Well, here the rules of the free economy do not apply. Every time I have been to see a Bent Tree doctor, the doctor had a quick conversation about why we were there, took a few readings (blood pressure, looked in an ear or two) and then made the diagnosis. Nothing too shocking here, as doctor offices are volume driven. What was shocking was the fact that we were passed to the RN for any questions. After the diagnosis, the RN comes in with scripts and recommendations. I guess the thought is that customers don't have questions. Patients deserve better.
Let's talk about respect for the patient. If the office is running an hour behind, and they know it, they should at least respect the patient enough to inform them they are behind at check in. After waiting an hour after our scheduled appointment time with a sick 2 year old, I was equally unimpressed with the lack of apology or explanation. Patients deserve better.
And, finally, back to fees. Even more egregious is the fee they charge to leave. Being good parents, we realized that we could not continue taking our child (or the one on the way) to this practice. They deserve better. My wife found a better run practice, where you are a patient and a person, and called Bent Tree to have them transfer our son's medical records to the new doctor. My mouth hit the floor when I was told it was a base fee of $25.00 with $0.50 for each page after the first 20. No other doctor has ever imposed this fee. Certainly under HIPPA, this is illegal, right? Nope. Under Texas Administrative Code Title 22, Part 9, Chapter 165, Rule 165.2 they are charging the maximum they legally can. It would be illegal for them to charge $25.01. Well played Bent Tree, just 1 penny shy of legally being criminals. The icing on the cake was when Dr. Amy Latta told us she couldn't waive the fee because we were switching doctors. She didn't even make an effort to hide the fact that they wanted one last dip into my bank account. I would have respected her more if she hit me in the back of the head and just took my wallet.
Patients deserve better.
If you are looking for a Family Physician...Keep Looking!
Pros: Magazines in the waiting room....that's about it.
Cons: You are customer, not a patient.
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