Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates, P.C.

While I was waiting to be seen, three people complained about waiting too long – over an hour. They seem to think their time is more important than the patient. Dr. Caldron had too many appointments booked and had to cancel my appointment that I have been waiting on for over a month. It is sad that they have hired so many doctors and are teaching them how not to treat patients.

You will find a running theme from people at the various offices they have, about how they are treated when it comes down to money issues-​very poor. Sadly, this overshadows their work. The business office I would liken to a Nazi culture. Totally unprofessional IMO.
Medically, they do a very good job and I was a patient for 10+ years. Kathy who is in charge in the back and Scott Brown, a P.A., are great at this office. I rarely got to see Dr. Tesser –maybe twice a year, but Scott kept me mmostly out of pain from my RA and him and I had a great rapport, always talking about sports or motorcycles. I hate doctors and did not mind going to see these folks.
Then things changed, on one visit they administered an Infusion to me without getting the prior authorization. They sent me a bill after the insurance did not pay for it because of their mistake. It is not my job to get the prior authorization, it is theirs. And, I was flabbergasted to get a bill and a demand for payment of $ 200.I discovered all of this after the incident below:
For the next 18 months I visited them every 60 days or so and then one day I tried to make an appointment and was told by staff I could no longer make appointments. They referred me to the Head of Billing and gave me her direct line. I called the person from my car and had Billing on speakerphone so my friend who is also a patient could be a witness.
I went through another back and forth with billing about what was billed, when it was for etc. Ms. Head of Billing acknowledged she received my certified letter back undelivered (the one discharging me as a patient) but proceeded to tell me that the «Practice» had decided to discharge me as a patient. Her explanation was that I was too much trouble as a patient and that it was a group decision to «discharge» me. I was floored and got emotionally upset and was not happy at all to hear this. Especially after 10 years and thousands of dollars of business they got from me.
Being discharged after 10 years for a $ 200 billing disagreement was and still is shocking to me. Granted, it was unresolved but that is because the charges could never be validated. They still cannot tell me what it is for though i figured it out myself.
I tried to speak to someone else and she refused to transfer me to anyone. I asked for her supervisor’s name and she said she was the only person I could talk to and that the decision was final and I had no recourse and no, there was no one else to talk to. «Surely you have a supervisor» I asked. She avoided a direct answer and repeated herself that there was no one else to talk to. I asked her if she knew that my RA is pretty aggressive, that I had just had my 10^th anniversary as a patient and did she realize I would be without medication etc. and she did not care-​100% cold-​hearted about the situation. I offered to pay the bill blindly even though she could not tell me clearly what the bill was for «might be your deductible» she said. My friend witnessed the entire call (since it was on speakerphone) and can attest to the content of the call, her rude demeanor and her inability to tell me what the bill was for. Essentially, I was fired as a patient and there was nothing to be done about it.
So, the morale of the story is, if you get on the radar of the ‘Billing Nazi’ for ANY REASON i.e. cancelling appointments, disagree about over billing or anything financial, you should find another doctor because they are going to «discharge» you the first chance they get.
When Dr. Gluck was alive and they were on 19^th Avenue (before the name change) this was a friendly and helpful office. His sudden passing must have affected them financially because shortly thereafter, they became part of Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates, P.C. They have never been the same since!
Good Luck.