Epic Imaging

Today I had an appointment at Epic that was anything but. I had to come in because they forgot to take one of the xrays my doctor had asked for, the front view of my spine for a scoliosis study. (Seems that would be a logical one to request) So yesterday I call and am scheduling my visit and checking on billing as last I heard I was paying anywhere from $ 47-​$ 84 (They didn’t know, said they would bill the ins and then I would find out in the mail!) so the lady asks me on the phone to hold while she makes sure if they had that xray and had just forgot to send it by chance. She gets back on the line and says no, they never did the full view so I had to come in. I came in today to my appt. and after 30 mins and having put on the scrubs as asked I was taken into a room by a doctor and told he was confused! He said he didn’t understand what xray I needed. I explained to him what had been sent to my doctor (I saw them myself) and how an xray was missing. He then tells me they have it and he can print it off! He prints it off and sends me with it to the doctor to deliver myself. Upon getting to the dr. I am told that Epic had called the day before and didn’t understand the request and had to have everything explained. If you can at all help it, don’t deal with these people. They won’t know how much you will have to pay, will forget to send ALL the xrays to the doc, and will have you making appointments for things they have already done!

I hope i don’t have to go back to this place. definitely shopping around, maybe siker is better… next year, before i make an appointment, i am going to drive to a couple of these imaging centers and check out their waiting rooms, and ask people how long they have been waiting for their appointment.
when i made my appointment, i asked medical records at epic, to get past imaging and reports so the radiologist could have them to compare. this was when i made the appointment, two to three weeks before i was scheduled. the day before i was scheduled, i called and they still had not gotten my previous mri… today i received the report from the procedure from last week… no mention of comparing the old 2007 report i had asked them to get… so, i called again today, and spoke with the medical records dept, for probably the 5^th or 6^th time… the very sweet phone person said they had called the other medical provider and been told there were no previous, which is total bs as i had called the same people when i first scheduled with epic, and they told me the dates of the previous reports, and also stated they had not received a request from Epic… i spent so much time, trying to get records and then these folks are disingenuous and don’t do their job… they also neglected to cc one of the docs i had asked them to send the info to… i don’t want a part time job keeping track of these people!
their waiting room was full by 11 a.m. they definitely overbook. this is a medical establishment… the first clue the schedulers are being told to overbook… i sat there waiting for an hour… and if it would not have been a high anxiety provoking test that i was having sleepless nights over, i would have left. it’s heinous treatment to be so inconsiderate of people.
a good note was that after my procedure, the radiologist did come in to discuss the results with me. this saved another night or two of having to wait for the results and i really do appreciate that person. the technicians and everyone i spoke to seemed to be, tender and caring, but it does not negate the unorganized, and inefficient handling of my requests for records for that radiologist to have for comparison, or the willingness to take peoples time and make them sit and wait. you can see the other reviews that talk about wait times and we can all be smart shoppers about who we want to support.

My appt was for today — I’ve had to reschedule this appt four times in four months because it’s timed.
Showed up early for my 9am appt to find out scheduling doubled booked that time for that test. I was pushed back to 10am and told this at 9:20am. I live in Vancouver and the drive is not friendly.
They asked me to wait till 10am with no guarantee that I’d still get in soon. Nope.
I have a life and things to do — I don’t have time to sit and wait for a professional imaging place to get their crap together.
The staff was nice and frustrated also. This place needs new management.

Well… I’m at this place as I write this; sitting in the lobby over 30 minutes past my appoint the time. Apparently appointment times are more of a stretch goal here. Well, at least they have coffee… Oh wait, they’re out.

First off they have closed the woman’s clinic for mammograms and failed to even mention it when an appointment was made
The vibe is not the same as it was in the woman’s clinic and the holding room they place you in is a joke-​limited seating and odorous –not in a good way
I am currently 30 minutes past my appointment time and 45 minutes past my check in time –with no acknowledgment of the delay
I have been an annual visitor for six years but this will be my last visit here
What a joke

My advice is be pro-​active with these folks. I’ve been to this office twice and both times they were super busy out front. Be sure you have an appointment and get there on time or a bit early. Their check-​in process is cumbersome considering the level of technology available for medical facilities in this 21^st century.
Also be certain that what your doctor orders is what the scheduler actually enters in their system. My recent scheduler added a few x-​rays to my chart that were not ordered by my doc; I wouldn’t have known about this if it wasn’t questioned, then corrected, by the check-​in person at the clinic.
Check your insurance coverage before you arrive in person (and again while you’re there). I was told mine would cover what was ordered, then when I arrived I was told it might not. The final verdict was, «we’ll submit the claim and see what happens. If they don’t pay we’ll just bill you later.» Not cool, Epic.
When I called this morning to find out when my x-​rays would arrive at my doc’s office I waited on hold for 10 minutes then got dumped into a voice mailbox for the medical records department – not what I asked for, Epic.
Staff on-​site were polite for the most part but Epic really needs to train their schedulers to pay attention, and train their phone staff how to properly route calls.

Oh epic imaging, where they ask you to show up fifteen minutes early, so they can have you wait until 15 minutes after your appointment.

Not here for a my own appointment, but waiting in the lobby where the receptionist was taking long personal calls. Then she was constantly scratching her dry skin. Gross! Get some lotion, please, and take your personal calls elsewhere. How unprofessional.

Extremely slow and rude people. Horrible experiences… Make sure you have an appointment, show up on time.

The Women’s Center is part of Epic next door. They are WONDERFUL! Tech Stacy is amazing and makes you as comfortable as you can be. The radiologists come in and sit with you after to talk to you about your results that are read right there on the spot. If there are any issues, they will do an ultrasound right then and not make you come back and wait. For someone with anxiety problems, this is a lifesaver! They are amazing, don’t go anywhere else, they take pretty much any insurance!

I went there a while back to get an ultrasound. Aside from the fact that the business is in a horrible neighborhood, I found that the receptionists and technicians were really nice.

I’ve been to EPIC Imaging West, on Nimbus in Beaverton, about a half dozen times over the years. Until this past weekend they have been professional, very reasonably priced, and a good quality diagnostic service.
This past Friday, January 11, 2013, I had an MRI done. The technician appeared in a hurry, rushed me through things, and behaved in a way that showed little regard for my comfort during the procedure. In a previous MRI at another facility, the technician had informed me of how long each portion of the procedure would last so I would not have to lay there with the anxiety of «how long does this go on?» After the first long rounds of testing (extremely noisy and disturbing as an MRI is), I asked the technician if he would inform me how long future portions of the test would take. He said he could but it would slow things up a bit as he’d have to take a break between each section of the test. I said I’d prefer he informed me even if it slowed things up. He seemed to behave as if his time was more important than my comfort. Not good.
The second incident happened today, Monday January 14^th. I was scheduled to go into the Nimbus facility again, this time for a completely unrelated CT scan which coincidentally I needed for a different condition. When I went to check in I was asked for my social security number, which I politely declined to give as I want to take any steps I can to prevent identity theft. I never give my social security number unless absolutely required to. In previous visits to EPIC, I had always declined and it presented no problem. Only three days earlier I had declined and went ahead with the MRI described above. But today I was somewhat nastily informed (by a woman who appeared to be the office manager) that if I would not provide my social security number, I would have to pay the full bill myself if I wanted the CT scan. I asked if they would then bill my insurance and was told they would not. In other words, if I did not provide a social security number to get their service, I would have to pay the entire cost myself and they would not bill the insurance EVEN THOUGH THEY DID EXACTLY THAT THREE DAYS EARLIER!
It should be noted that in preparation for this particular CT scan I had avoided any food or water for 3 hours before and I had drunk 2 quarts of water 1 hour before the scheduled test. In spite of that they still refused the service without a social security number or full payment. I then left in protest.
Following up I spoke with the EPIC billing department. They informed me that the policy is to request a social security number, BUT THAT THE CLIENT IS FREE TO DECLINE AND THE CLIENT WILL STILL RECEIVE SERVICES. In no way are they supposed to refuse services because one declines to provide a social security number.
In summary, EPIC is still a good service technically but has some staff problems. I would advise any customer to be very careful about EPIC’s procedures, financial or medical. If you are uncomfortable giving out your social security number, be prepared. Remember, they will not refuse you services and don’t let them tell you otherwise. Also, with technicians, ask lots of questions ahead of time and don’t let their schedule determine your comfort level.

I’ve been to Epic Imaging a couple times and have never had to wait beyond my appointment time. The staff members are warm and friendly and the experience was absolutely as good as can be expected (given that the circumstances under which one visits most often aren’t good).
They lost one star due to a billing error that worked out to have been a clerical error on their part. They maintained the other 4 stars, though, because they were extremely helpful when I brought the error to their attention. The issue was resolved quickly and painlessly, without any attitude and with minimal time spent on the phone.

This place is a 5-​star place for sure. The staff members are caring and compassionate, waiting time is minimal, and patients are treated with courtesy and respect.
Special thanks to Debbie, the tech at the Women’s Center, who took special care of me today. She was awesome!