National Spine & Pain Centers

This review is for the office on Rockville Pike as there is no listing for them on Unilocal.I am so disgusted with this practice I cant even begin to tell you. I was a very happy patient and have referred quite a few people here but no more. I went through a procedure for my back in June of 2015 and it went great. I really like Dr Singla and his care but his practice and billing will keep me from ever coming back. I just received a bill that was over $ 2500 for a procedure that costs me just under $ 500 last year, so I call the billing office and was met with a rude, condescending lady who did not want to help but was quite clear in explaining to me that the Dr office has no responsibility to consult with me about the «new» structure of the office that resulted in me getting a bill for over $ 2500 for a procedure that I require each year. So they evidently changed the way the office is structured and this resulted in charges that I never have had before since before they would waive a bunch of fees that Insurance would not allow and are now required to be paid by the patient, again I asked this «lady» that this most definitely should have been discussed with me as I would have never gone through with this procedure as I cant afford to pay for this if it is this much more expensive than what I had exactly the same time a year before with the exact same insurance, she again said that they dont have to go over any financial information with me and its my responsibility and I have to pay this or else. Or else? Or else what, they will send me to collections for a bill that is 5x what is was before because they changed the way the company is structured? A VERY BIG CAUTION TO ANYONE GOING TO THIS PRACTICE OR THINKING ABOUT IT, BE SURE TO GET ALL OF THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION FIRST BEFORE YOU ALLOW THEM TO DO ANY PROCEDURE OR YOU WILL BE IN THE SAME BOAT AS I AM WITH A BILL THAT YOU CANNOT PAY. BEWARE, BE VERY AWARE.

This review is for the staff of the Rockville Pike office as there is no listing for them on Unilocal.
The last time I saw Dr. Singla at Rockville office was in February 2015. I could not return for a follow-​up appointment until I had 6 months service on a new job. When I called back to make an appointment, my call was addressed by a snippy, unprofessional young woman (who obviously lacks common sense or customer service skills). She informed me of a «new» office policy that if I hadn’t been seen within a month of my initial appointment I would have to have a full physical work-​up by their nurse practitioner and then I could schedule an appointment with Dr. Singla. I requested an appointment for a late Friday afternoon since I commute 60 miles to work. She was very snippy about the request and said she didn’t know when she could get me in. She said the new policy addressed drug abusers. Nice. She essentially told me I was a drug addict. When she was reluctant to find an appointment for me (and it would have required my taking off a full day from work), I asked to have my records transferred to the center in the town where I work; I could possibly go during lunch or early morning or late afternoon without a problem. She nastily told me that it would take up to a week to do so and that the office manager at the referred office would have to determine if my records could be transferred. Interesting. An office manager reviewing my file? I do believe that violates HIPPA laws. I informed the young lady that in the meantime while the «office manager» determined whether my files could be transferred, I would seek another pain clinic. She shot me down stating that if I signed a paper when I first came to the clinic stating that if I sought treatment elsewhere I would no longer be considered a patient of NSPC and would never have another appointment with them. Really? Again, this astute young lady insulted me again saying that the purpose of the week-​long transfer is intended to dissuade addicts. To this day I don’t know if my records were sent to the office I requested, no one has ever contacted me, I tried calling the office to which I wanted a referral and was told the office manager was out that day and would I like her voicemail. Still, no response.
I am anything but an addict. The pain med. prescribed I can’t take at night as it keeps me awake. I do not take meds at work and only have a small window of time after work that I can take anything before bedtime.
I am posting this on Unilocal as I am certain a letter to Dr. Singla would not get through to him. It is a sad situation as I wanted to return to this practice but now am forced to go through the inconveniences of seeking another practice and having records transferred unless NSPC wants to hold them hostage. Hopefully there is legal recourse I can take if this last possibility materializes.

Do not expect this office or staff to return a phone call. The care is minimal, no one sits down to discuss the success rates of the procedures that they do on you. Even though most similar procedures have had no success on me, they felt the need to do them over so that they can profit monetarily. You are set up to fail, as you are given a pile of paperwork to fill out on the first visit. You are not given time to read everything, so I signed the paperwork asking about one form which I did not understand. I was told that it meant that «I would not shop doctors» which I had no intent on doing. What I did was use medications written to me by doctors before I started at this office. I did not consider this to be «shopping». The event that had me use older meds on hand was that I spent the night in the basement watching tv as I could not sleep due to pain. By morning, being all alone, I found it impossible to walk up two flights of stairs to get my new Rx so only finding the old medication kept in the basement along with lidoderm patches and Voltaren gel, I used what was on hand. This resulted in them acting as though I was a criminal and was given a list of places to continue my care. At no time did anyone sit down to ask what had happened or why. As a senior citizen, I found this to be a first! Never have I been exposed to such a lack of care or interest in my well being. The only motive for being in business has nothing to do with helping the individual, as I have been ignored over and over again, leaving several phone messages only to never get a response. I did go in and got to meet with the Office Manager. She looked me in the eye and promised to call me back about the above incident and talk to the doctor who was treating me saying that «the shopping for doctors» statement should have not been used to describe the form I signed. NEVER GOT ANY CALL BACK!
SO BE PREPARED FOR A ONE WAY DIALOG WITH THIS FACILITY (which includes the Rockville office too as I have never got a return call in spite of leaving messages to be contacted in the past).
I understand the severity of the medications that are given to me. If they don’t work I do not take them, hence the stockpile of medications I have set aside as I do not wish to poison myself for the fun of it. It must be able to offer some relief of the pain I suffer daily. I now am on Pamelor, and while not perfect, I do get some relief from it… but why did this facility not start down this road earlier, by using narcotics as the starting point and not explore medications that have less of a «stigma»?