Orthopedic ONE

This business is a combination of The Cardinal Orthopaedic Institute and the Ohio Orthopedic Institute of Excellence. I am not sure when they combined into Orthopedic ONE.
I broke my foot on December 15, 2013 and went to the emergency room. They referred me to Orthopedic ONE for a follow-​up appointment with an orthopedist. The first appointment I had was on Monday, December 16^th and I was pleased that they were able to get me in so quickly. I waited for at least 45 minutes after my appointment time to be seen though. I was ready to get up and crutch away, but I knew that I needed to see the doctor to confirm my broken foot. Dr. Westerheide was friendly enough but spent very little time in the exam room. I had indeed broken a small bone on the side of my foot and needed to be on crutches for a week and a boot for a month. I was scheduled for follow-​up x-​rays on Monday, January 13, 2014. I was given a reminder card that had my appointment time down for 3:10 pm. I showed up on January 13^th a little prior to 3 pm and was told that my appointment was actually at 3:40 pm. I showed the receptionists my reminder card to indicate that there must be a mistake. They told me it was «okay» and that «they would come get me soon.» I then proceeded to wait until 4:10 pm in the reception lobby. I got up to ask the receptionists when I would be seen. It was now an hour past my appointment time and 30 minutes past the incorrect appointment time. I feel that this is ridiculous – if there is an emergency, please let people in the reception lobby know why they are waiting so far past their appointment time! The receptionist stared at me blankly and informed me that I was the next patient to be seen. She clearly did not understand why I would be annoyed and I informed her that I did not appreciate my time being disrespected and that I found it unacceptable. Just a blank stare back. I work with the public every single day; this is horrible customer service. Obviously the squeaky wheel gets the grease because I was called back immediately and waited very little time to see the doctor. Unfortunately, I could hear his staff talking about me in the exam room before the doctor came to see me. I know that I was, understandably, curt with the staff, but talking about me is incredibly unprofessional; this is a business not high school. Dr. Westerheide then came in and indicated that there was a computer mix-​up about my appointment time and also seemed perplexed as to why a person would be annoyed for waiting over an hour past an appointment time. I honestly don’t even know why this place makes appointments with patients because both times I have been there I have waited well past my appointment. Doctors are notoriously late, but I found this well beyond my normal expectations. The doctor saw me for literally two minutes. If I didn’t have insurance and had to pay out-​of-​pocket I would have been livid.
A few changes in behavior would have prevented this from being a horrible experience: 1) apologize and make sure to get me in as quickly as possible as this was a mix-​up on their end, 2) please explain the long wait time to people in the reception lobby as a courtesy, 3) when I got up to ask when I would be seen please do not stare at me blankly – customer service is really, really important, 4) do not talk about patients behind their back, especially if they can hear you, and 5) please make patients feel welcome in the exam room – I feel like two minutes with the doctor is crazy.
An earlier toe issue had me seeing a doctor affiliated with OSU. I will be returning there instead.