Steve Olvey

Review of Gwinnett Medical Center

Stay away from GWINNETT MEDICAL. Worst experience ...

Stay away from GWINNETT MEDICAL. Worst experience I have ever had with a hospital. I had heart problems and was referred to GWINNETT MEDICAL where they performed stress test and echo cardiogram. Received call days later stating I had no blockage and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, medicated and instructed to return to work. After several days of struggling to make it through the day I called and said there was something wrong. I was scheduled an appointment on April 16th. A friend of mine knew the administrator at St. Josephs and scheduled a second opinion appointment with a cardiologist on March 29th, my daughters birthday. I was instructed to bring my test results from GWINNETT MEDICAL. The doctor looked at the paperwork and said he was admitting me immediately. My daughter's birthday party is tonight and I have no personal items so I will return tomorrow. He said i cant let you go, I can't believe you walked in here. When was your next appointment at GWINNETT MEDICAL? April 16th to which he replied you never would have made it.
Today I paid a bill from 3 years ago that I had no idea existed. I have paid 5 surgeries off since this bill including 1 to GWINNETT MEDICAL. I only found out about this bill when GWINNETT MEDICAL filed a suit in Forsyth County. They had not attempted to contact me since Feb 2015 so nearly 2 1/2 years later they file a law suit. I contacted the attorney thinking they had made a mistake because I thought all my bills were current and this had been paid off before my second surgery. The attorney was accessing the hospital records but could not interpret them correctly and had to keep contacting the hospital. I suggested I contact the hospital directly to figure this out. I spoke to the Customer Service Manager GINGER BROCK and she agreed mistakes had been made and suggested I fill out paperwork to write the debt off. I turned the paperwork in a month ago and have been chasing my tail since. I would have preferred to just pay at the end of May instead of dealing with the run around for 5 weeks to end up in exactly the same spot I started. Every time I contacted them I spoke to someone different and the person I needed to speak to was not there. I spoke to 6 different people in customer service and got 6 different assessments of my case. I finally asked for someone in charge and was referred to Jamie Lloyd, Interim Director, Patient Financial Services, explained my situation and frustration with the process and how each time I called they always had to speak to someone else who was not available. The attorney has to speak to Ginger, Ginger has to speak to Mia , you have to speak to the attorney, I show Terri is handling your case, no Mia is handling your case but she and Ginger won t be back until Wednesday, I don t think Mia is back today but I will check, no she is in Dacula today. I was always passed around until I had to speak to someone who was not there today. I was so frustrated because no single person could make a decision and as hard as I tried to find the decision maker it always led to more excuses and diversions. I explained this to Jamie and asked if she was the last person I would have to talk to and she said yes. Of course the next morning I got a call from Ginger who replied I am the person you need to talk to. The handling of my case just reinforced what I already knew about GWINNETT MEDICAL after my heart surgery. They are the worst reviewed hospital in Gwinnett County for a reason. I should have learned my lesson when they nearly killed me only to be saved by seeking a second opinion from St. Joseph's hospital. I had 3 different procedures at GWINNETT MEDICAL and had problems with all 3. Of course Jamie told me that I just don t understand how a hospital works. I do have a very good idea of how customer service works and did not see any. I have since had 4 procedures at other hospitals without any problems. Avoid GWINNETT MEDICAL Center at all cost. Please don't insult me with your autoresponse, I require nothing further from you