Patient First

Worst customer service ever! The doctor I had is the worse. Her interpersonal skills are horrible!!! I went there clearly irritable from an allergic reaction and I’m itching all over… She comes in and doesn’t even introduce her self and doesn’t even ask my name… She remained mute and unmoved my my physical and visible discomfort… In all of my years I’ve never have a physician be so, out of touch!!! Everyone else that encountered before her was fine, but I really didn’t like her communication style and inability to communicate or clarify my questions and concerns. She prescribed medicine but didn’t discuss side affects… Well not until I asked of course! But why wasn’t that her initial inclination?

I cannot thank this Patient First enough for how compassionate they were and how efficient my time spent here was. I had meetings in the area that morning and since I was scheduled to fly out of the country in a few days, I was starting to get nervous that my «cold» was more than a cold. So I called Patient First to see what their availability was like and headed over. They had me in and out within an hour… with meds purchased on site (because of course it wasn’t just a cold, it was really bronchitis and an ear infection). Both the Dr and the intake folks were super sweet and treated me as if I was a regular patient of theirs. I appreciate that kind of bedside manner and if I am in need of medical attention in this area again I would not hesitate to return.

I was hesitant to go here because I know how long urgent care places can take. I got there at 8:02, 2 minutes after it opened to see that there were 5 people in front of me so I was thinking the worst. The lady that checked me in was very friendly. The PA didn’t spend a lot of time with me but he didn’t really need to because my problem was minor and he gave me antibiotics which was exactly what I needed. I was in and out right under an hour.

Dr. Jackson, Dr. Rosenman, and Dr. Downing are great! I saw Dr. Nguyen one time and she was rude and unprofessional. If you want a doctor who cares and treats you with respect, request one of the 3 doctors mentioned above and avoid Dr. Nguyen.

This Patient First has gotten so much better over the past two years! I would’ve rated it 1 star the first few times I went, but on my most recent visit on a Sunday afternoon I was in and out within 30 minutes. YES! An unbelievable 30 minutes for a strep test, time with the doctor, and discharge instructions. While 30 minutes is a new record, I typically can get in and out within an hour, even if the waiting room is full. The quality of the nurses and doctors has gone up noticeably over my past couple visits. This is closer than my primary care doctor and an awesome bet for a quick check-​over (for range-I’ve been for strep, tonsilitis, bronchitis, and an allergic reaction).

I sprained my knee recently and decided to go to Patient First instead of the dreaded Laurel Hospital Emergency room. I went on a Sunday 6÷28÷15 @ 8pm. There was literally no wait, every person that helped me during my visit were welcoming, extremely upbeat and nice. I do mean everyone, the receptionist that checked me in, the doctor, the xray tech, even the girl that put my knee brace on were all great. I was able to get great customer service, helpful treatment, xrays and my medication at one place which was great when it’s hard to walk.

So Far so Good… we walked in and were immediately chked in Thank God!!! Then we were immediately called to the back for the initial intake procedure. Placed in A Room and The Dr Immediately came in to do his Assessment. Immediately Came to his Conclusion and We are almost Done… Shout Out to the Staff From the Front to the Back end of this Operation for being So Prompt Courteous and Professional. It is no one in here so they could’ve easily taken their time getting around to Us But they didn’t. And that seemed to be the selling points of these «Fast Track» Medical Centers and I am glad this location did not Disappoint.

The staff here are very professional. I am very happy with my care. I was seen in a reasonable amount of time. They addressed all my concerns. I would recommend this place to my family and friends.

Great staff, clean office and overall good visit. I have been there twice in the past few months, and while the wait has been a little long both times, the staff makes up for it. I love the fact that I can get blood work, chest x-​ray a breathing test and a Dr. visit all in one place by nice people. I understand people get annoyed with the wait time, by the way I was in and out in less than a 1 ½ and I had a lot done, but this is not a normal doctors office, so yes there is going to be a wait.
But like I said if you need a few test done all at once, this is the way to go. If I went to my PCP I would have been charged $ 20 co-​pay, then sent for blood work and charged $ 20 co-​pay, then sent for chest x-​rays and another $ 20 co-​pay… plus I would have spent hours being sick and running around. Patient first is the way to go. Plus I dealt with at least 6 – 7 people and they were all super sweet, cheerful and nice. I even had my 2 kids with me and the staff was joking with them, getting them stickers and making sure they were ok while I was busy getting tested.
I will be going back when we get sick and need a quick Dr visit. I have been there and I have taken my children there.

Went here the other day and they were incredibly efficient and friendly. The whole team worked together great and they did a good job of making me feel comfortable and putting me at ease. I will most definitely be back.

I use this place as my primary doctor and I’m quite satisfied. I really enjoy the walk-​in model for a primary doc. I find the medical advice to be as good as any other doctor I’ve had.
I think the key to avoiding long wait times is not to go during the after school /​after work rush. I go later at night or during the day and have not had a wait. My husband recently switched too and has not had a problem.

I have been here far too often for everything from a dislocated ankle to the flu. I usually get sound competent medical care.
The problem I have is they are slow!!! I mean glacially slow, sloth slow, dead turtle slow. And their customer service and billing departments are dreadful to the point that sometimes it is easier to just suck it up and not be seen by a medical professional.
Case in point I went in for a fairly minor injury and after giving them my id, insurance card, prescription card, letter from the Pope, copayment, etc. I was seen by the nurse, the dr, the x-​ray tech, and some random people who might have an opinion. I was given my walking papers. All is good right?
No, somehow, they managed to transpose 2 numbers on my insurance card and of course the insurance rejects it and then I get a bill. Ok, I see what happened so I figure a quick phone call and this will be fixed. No (see the part about slow above), I am also informed that they have done their part and submitted the bill which was rejected because someone made a boo-​boo, and now I have to pay it because they will not resubmit it. Three friggin’ months later I finally get it straight and then my wife has a very similar problem.
So, if you are bad off and your primary is not available, and you don’t need the ER, and you are feel lucky… roll the dice… what’s the worse that could happen?

Staff misplaced my specimen. When I called in to ask for my results there was not even a record of the doctor requesting a urine analysis. Unacceptable. What kind of standard operating procedures are they working off of??? Had to go back to provide another specimen. They essentially delayed my results. Hopefully i dont have anything life threatening. If i do then they did not help the situation. Any malpractice lawyers out there???
Update: Someone from corporate called me shortly after i made my initial post above to reimburse me for the 2^nd office visit which should not have happened. I really appreciated them doing that for me. She made me feel appreciated. Thanks

I’m currently waiting to be seen by a doctor, I’ve been here for over an hour and been waiting in a room by myself for over 30 minutes. I asked if I could come back to get my results and one of the nurses was very rude and short and didn’t even apologize for the wait. They could at least acknowledge that o have been waiting or say «someone will be with you shortly.» Or «we apologize for your wait.» I’ll drive all the way to Columbia next time. The could have me in and out in less time even with the drive time.

12 whole months later, my bill with Patient First was finally settled. After much prodding (and asking to speak to a manager), Patient First FINALLY agreed to 3-​way call with my insurance (at first they were unwilling to and kept telling me to just call my insurance company myself). They agreed to fax over the paperwork to my insurance company, which is what eventually resolved the issue.
However, between that 3-​way call and the eventual settlement of the whole thing, I got a letter telling me that my bill was overdue and that if I didn’t pay, they’d turn me over to a bill collector. Not very nice after I had called numerous times to settle things with them. They get ½ more of a star only because eventually they did figuring things out with my insurance company and the woman who I talked to at Patient First when I was furious about getting the letter threatening to turn our account over to the bill collector was actually nice.
I stand by my recommendation to stay away from this place though. It is not worth a year of having an urgent care bill hanging over your head, getting threatened about having your bill turned over to a bill collector, talking to unhelpful people on the phone after a very mediocre visit.

If it’s an emergency and emergency only, this place ROCKS; in my opinion. The wait to be seen was about an hour. I was experiencing horrific lower back and abdominal pain. I’ve experienced this pain in the past, but it wasn’t nearly as excruciating as it was the other day. I didn’t think I could withstand the ER wait at a hospital nor the accompanying hospital fees.
After completing the initial sign-​in process, I met with a medical technician who took my vitals, listened to my medical complaints and then, showed me to a room.
The doctor arrived about 20 minutes later, Dr. Z. We went over my current medications and what brought me to Patient First. He tried to figure out what was going on, by the limited information I provided to him. He ordered blood work and asked for a urine sample. The end result — the blood work showed an infection, as did the urinalysis. He informed me that I should seek out a urologist, and before leaving — sent me home with some very good pain medicine. I followed up with my doctor the next day and did exactly what Dr. Z had recommended. I had x-​rays done of my abdomen, then met up with a urologist. Turns out, I have two very painful kidney stones.
Had I not gone to Patient First, at least this one, I would not have known about the stones and urinary infection. PF prescribed accurate urinary infection meds, pain meds, suggested I get an x-​ray of my abdomen and see a urologist ASAP.
Even someone from the office, followed up with me, to see how I was doing.

Let me say this… I rather go to the ER than to come to this place again. I went there this past week, right when they opened up and got out of there almost 3 hours later. That’s just crazy. I was there for a physical y’all.
But this is what really pissed me off. I went in there, got all my test done to see how I am doing. And I had some concerns. So the doctor was going through the check list for a physical and I said, hey I have some concerns regarding my health that I would like to talk about (especially something I had noticed and wanted to get treatment for).
She said, this is a physical and if I wanted to talk about «concerns,» that is a different kind of appointment. I’m there speaking to a doctor, but I cannot discuss my concerns. What the _​_​_​_​. That makes no sense. So if I’m noticing that I’m having trouble breathing when I do work around the house (this is an example) and I bring that up during my physical, she basically said make another appointment.
Child please. PLEASE Y’ALL don’t do it… I rather go to Laurel Hospital. I know that sad to say but its the truth.

This location is full of friendly faces and that is what would bring me back even though they are super slow.

This place is really only a substitute for going to the ER, but truthfully you might be better off just going there first. I don’t use is as my PCP (I’ll get to that later), and really only go when I can’t get in to my doctor’s.
PROS:
— location is easy to find.
— easy to sign in.
— helpful staff for check-​in process.
— takes all insurance (even Medicare).
— all-​in-​one visit if you need medication.
— clean lobby.
— smells relatively good.
CONS:
— long wait times (I was there for over 3 hours for a doctor to tell me «I can only treat your symptoms and refer you to a specialist», ended up being gastroenteritis…)
— assembly-​line medicine. I didn’t feel very acknowledged or important. Both the nurse and the doctor talked with me for less than 10 minutes before scurrying away for another hour of waiting.
— got a bad bruise on my upper arm from the nurse tying the rubber band so damn tight.
— the facility was pretty gross. I wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t have 3 hours to look at the floors. Not recently mopped, there was a glove and some ripped paper on the tile… made me uncomfortable but I had already waited so long I just wanted to get it over with.
All-​in-​all, I probably wouldn’t recommend this location. But, if you have to go, just save yourself the trouble and go to the ER. I wouldn’t want to use this place as my PCP because I overheard them telling a lady with an appointment for regular care that the wait would be over an hour…

I was so ill for the New Year’s, so I finally dragged myself her. When I arrived there were so many people. It was literally standing room only. I was too sick to drive any where else, so I stayed. After I registered, it took 2 hours before I was seen by the doctor. Although she was nice, all she did was check my throat, and told me to take some Robitussin DM. Seriously?! I waited two hours only to be seen for ten minutes.
If you are truly ill, I would suggest going to your primary physician because this place a waste of my time. Yes, the staff was extremely nice (especially with the crowd), it took forever.