Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My children are relatively new patients to this practice. I scheduled their annual physical on a Monday. When we were there, I said I had the form for my 16 year old to get her drivers permit. There are 2 questions that the doctor needs to complete. The doctor and the front desk both told me that there is a state requirement that the doctor has to have a separate appointment to do this. This seemed unlikely to me so I contacted the Department of Transportation (attached). They confirmed that this is untrue, and that the doctor can complete the form as long as the physical was within 6 months. This practice required a separate appointment for this and is charging me $45 for it. I told them I will not pay this as they could have completed the form without the appointment. It is unethical for a doctors office to lie to patients and to create false requirements in order to generate revenue for the practice. I am filing this complaint in order to have my charge removed from my account, and to prevent this practice from happening again with other patients. I have contacted the practice and they have refused to reply to my request to remove this charge. In fact, they added an additional $100 to the account saying they were not the primary care physician for an earlier appointment. Ive had the insurance company resubmit the claim and have yet to hear anything back from the practice.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2023

  I received a copy of a complaint filed against my practice, Gordon Klinow Pediatric Associates indicating dissatisfaction with my office. As suggested, I wish to advise you of our position.

   

  We first saw **** on March 31,2022 for a sick visit and strep test. She has ******* Insurance but had not yet appeared on our cap list (which confirms eligibility of insurance) We saw her in good faith but never received payment for services rendered.  We billed the patient as is our right without payment and over time, finance charges accrued. In October my office manager filed a claims investigation with *********************** to find out why we had not received payment and were told that the member became effective on 2/1/22 but did not pick a PCP (Primary Care Provider) until 6/1/22. I. On 11/21/22 both the finance charges and charges for the 3/31/22 visit were removed as a good faith measure on our part until IBC ran the claims investigation. IBC eventually paid the bill on 12/1/22 The invoice received by the patient dated 11/9 /22 was prior to this. We never took any money from the patient and continued to treat her

   

  On 10/17/21 **** had a yearly physical with Dr*******. If Dr ****s memory of the visit serves him right, she was 20 minutes to 30 minutes late but Dr******** agreed to see her anyway.  At the end of the visit, Dr******** recalls that the patient's mother remembered that **** needed a driver's permit application signed. Dr******* explained that it would take some time to do and because she was late and he was now running very late, it would be best to make another appointment. Regardless of the actual details of the discussion of the permit , **** did make another appointment to discuss her drivers license The State of Pa requires all applicants of Drivers Permits to be signed in the presence of their Doctor-It states so on the form- The reason is so that the doctor can discuss the risks and obligations of driving (to the teenage patient) in an effort to make sure they understand their responsibilities that come with driving a car. This has been the standard of care in our practice for the past 35 years. If the conversation takes place during a yearly exam it is included in the charge; if it is a separate visit, we charge for our time. **** was late for her appointment. Dr******** acted correctly to reschedule and charged accordingly. Once again, Dr******* acquiesced and removed the charges. Once again, no money Changed hands.

   

  Since the date of the complaint, ******************* has requested transfer of records for  her two children to another pediatric practice  We are happy to comply. For the record, there is a fee for the copying of records that is permitted under PA State Law. I have included the details from the PA.gov website so that ******************* understands that we are not doing anything illegal in asking for payment for copying of records. It is a cost to us that we pass on to the person requesting the record transfer. We have paper charting in our office which requires copying.

   

  Gordon Klinow has been In practice for almost 40 years. We pride ourselves on the personal care we give to our patients and their families and take joy in watching our kids grow up. We now take care of our grand-patients- the children of our patients who trust us with their kids. We do not lie and we do not cheat. We deny all these accusations.

   

  Yours truly, 

  Linda * K***** MD