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Review of portneuf medical center

I came into the ER last year after a severe mounta...

I came into the ER last year after a severe mountain bike crash near Wolverine Creek. I am from Utah so I was concerned about the out of state insurance costs, however my aunt (an RN) told me to stop in Pocatello and get into the ER right away after I described my symptoms to her. She was worried the swelling in my thigh could be pinching my femoral artery. I got checked in and went back to a room where a nurse's assistant gave me a hospital gown and told me a doctor would be in shortly. About 30 minutes later the door opened but it wasnt a doctor is the ER billing representative. She asked me how I was paying and I told her I'd pay my co-pay with my credit card, which I did. Her attitude when I asked her several questions was very poor, borderline agitated. I could tell she was making the answers up in order to get out of the room sooner. Probably needed to go check her facebook or something.

Another 20-30 minutes passed and finally a "Doctor" comes in. He actually turned out to just be an RN. I told him my symptoms (which by this point were getting unbearable) and he simply laid me on the table, massaged my thigh for 30 SECONDS, then prescribed me 800 mg of Ibuprofen. I said, "are you sure the swelling is not pinching my artery? I have a 2 hour drive home to Ogden and I cant be passing out on the freeway and crashing." His answer was simply, "The Ibuprofen and icepack will help. Let's get you out of here."

I made it home with no incident, thank God, and after two weeks I was back on my bike. However 4 weeks later I got two separate bills. One was from the hospital for the ER visit and was $735. Understandable for an out of state ER visit. Fine. The other bill, however, was for another $400 to be paid directly to the "doctor" who wasn't actually a doctor at all. He touched my leg for 30 seconds and gave me 4 pills and then walked out of the room. That was worth $400? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I have medical personnel in my family and I know without a doubt he didnt even care about my injury. Nothing he did was even close enough to determine whether or not I had a pinched femoral. NOTHING. He just wanted to get me out of his ER so he could continue enjoying his lazy Saturday shift! The entire 2 hour drive home I was wondering if I was gonna pass out and crash my car and die.

Bottom line is this: this hospital, its ER, the "doctors", the staff (excluding the friendly blonde receptionist), and the services rendered were NOWHERE NEAR WORTH A $1200 MEDICAL BILL! After months of disputes with Rocky Mountain Physicians, the company that actually employs the "doctors", they refused to give me any sort of assistance in paying for this ridiculous waste of my time. They eventually sent the bill to collections, ruining my perfect credit. F**k this hospital.

-Cameron, Harrisville, UT