The front desk representatives, including the office manager, are illegally demanding people's social security number over an un-secure phone just to set up an appointment. They are also forcing people with PPO plans to obtain referrals even though the insurance doesn't require it. With bad security policies like that, it makes you wonder how they could even protect anyone's private information.
I currently see 5 different medical specialists, one of which is is located here. Neurology center of Fairfax is one of the most professional, well run offices I've worked with. Also, my Dr is great. Yeah, they are expensive, but they're worth it in my experience.
I've been a patient at this practice for a couple of years now, and their practitioners are wonderful! Dr. Dietz is a physician and scholar in her field who never lets me down.
That being said, this review is exclusively about the office's administrative staff and management, specifically the Practice Manager Donna Goins. I don't understand why the the practice's doctors tolerate her employment. Not only is her homemade phone system the single most convoluted and endless circular experience, but it will take you 5 minutes to get through the pre-recorded messages she leaves in her caustic secretary's tone. On a good day, it will take you 45 minutes to get a human on the appointment line. Unfortuantely, their system disconnects people after about 10-12 minutes of waiting. The system doesn't allow you to get an opeator or leave messages for a callback. During my most recent call I was caller #21 for 10 minutes before becomgin caller #19.
After my 3rd day of trying to get through the switchboard nightmare, I left a phone message on her (Goins's) voicemail explaining the difficulty and asking for a call back. She never called back (despite a 2nd attempt on my part). So, I went in for my appointment several days later and asked my intake nurse to let Goins know I wanted to see her in person ... she ignored the request. It's apparently beneath her to speak with the customers who pay her salary.
I'll be sharing this information with my insurance company so they can remove the practice from their preferred provider list.
I m pretty shocked about these negative reviews. I ve been seeing Dr. Bryan for almost 5 years and Dr. Stone for about 3 and I honestly don t know if I d be employed or living a normal life without them. I went to several neurologists before Dr. Bryan (at different practices) and they were all rude and I never felt that they were interested in actually helping me solve the problem. Dr. Bryan has been a lifesaver. She spends 45 minutes with me for each visit and truly cares. She talks me through every decision and is always completely up to date with her knowledge of new treatments.
With regards to the office, I ve never experienced a rude front desk person. All of my information from each visit is uploaded to my portal and I message my doctors there and get prompt responses. The only ding is the turn around time on FMLA forms and the cost to have them filled out by the doctors but other than that no bad experiences. I highly recommend Dr. Bryan and Dr. Stone.
too long a wait to just talk to them over the phone, very rude disrespectful culture (from top down) toward patients, they also ask for ss# , race.
supervisor tells me all this is legal , then they asked for referal (not required by plan )
it seems they are full of themselves over there, so as a matter of factly.
, she said we only take GOLD plans, a lie.
they are listed under many insurance companies and take most plans.
odd balls, just strange bunch of rude staff members, not sure maybe doctors are the same culture too
they were too selective to let me see a doctor of theirs....;)
too tiring to deal with these people, probably the culture is same with
fairfax neurology doctors who allow all this nonesense...
The front staff and Dr. Kurtzke are very nice and helpful but that is where it ends.
The nurse for Dr. Kurtzke is extremely rude and condescending.
I had a cup of coffee and while there are no signs saying you can not have drinks/food she wouldn't allow me to bring my coffee into the test room. I see a ton of Drs and this is the most rude place I have dealt with.
If you call this office, the greeting is soooooooo long with sooooooo many instructions. I just want to get connected with the operator quickly.
Have been going here for about 4 years... they consistently nickel and dime you... care about $$ more than a patient's well being. Whats even scarier... they mess up records, doctors and appointments too! Charge $15 fee to change where your prescription goes.
Worst front office. I guess if you have appointments it might work for you, but if you need to call I have my doubts. They say they answer the phone up to 5 PM, but while trying to get through their menu starting at 425 multiple times I noticed at 445 they put on the "on call doctor number". The menus often end up putting you in a loop or simply hang up. If it says press 0 or just hold on for the next available person - you get a hang up. I have interfaced with this office several times on behalf of someone with dementia. Worst front office. Perhaps the doctors just don't care. I see all the one's in the reviews. Well deserved. In frustration after wasting my time just trying to get in a queue I gave up after 20 minutes when they dump me into the on call doctor number at 445 PM. I do expect a doctor's office to have a phone system that can sort through emergency calls during the day - they don't. Be warned.
Genuinely one of the worst doctor's I have ever had. My Doctor ignored my complaints, he had my issue pidgeon holed before I ever even went in, and tried to treat me for something I didn't have, I had to loudly demand he give the test my referring doctor referred me to them for. The test brought up an anomaly and only then did he ask me questions that threw up a dozen red flags, he prescribed me another test, a three day test that I'd need to take off work for and after that. They canceled on me twice, and didn't work with me at all, I told them I couldn't take anymore time off work and when I had to cancel my THIRD attempt at taking the test due to work, they charged me 75 dollars. When I told the secretary that wasn't in the least bit fair, she said completely unprofessional and condescendingly rude things to me. This office is money focused, unprofessional, lazy, and have no care for patient well being.
Saw Dr. Monti. Dude never asked me one question, dismissed my questions, sent me on my way without any real assistance. Waited three weeks for an appointment with a doctor who acted like he knew everything. Waste. Of. Time.
I had to see Dr. Stone for a nerve test prior to having possible back surgery. I was referred to her by Dr. Hughes and I absolutely pleased. When she had completed the testing, she gave me a candid and frank assessment of my medical condition. I recommend her highly.
I was referred here by my doctor, when I called The Neurology Center to schedule ONE SIMPLE TEST, first thing they ask me was for my SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. I am a Medical Biller and the HIPAA LAW protects those right. It's a choice to provide your SS# not a must. With that being said, they denied me an appointment because I denied to provide my SS#. That right there tells you they care more about money than your care. Keep looking.
Everything that is WRONG with healthcare AVOID GOING HERE! Rude staff, doctors and billing office. Entire experience awful.
Not a good experience. Find someone else to help you.
Requiring a social security number over the phone for just for an appointment. Not a HIPA requirement. Shady practice.
I have a patient of the Neurology Center of Fairfax for about 10 years now and I am very happy with my Doctors. I see Dr. Cho for sleep medicine and Dr. Churchill for neurologic issues and both are outstanding physicians. They both take the time to explain everything and have a great bed side manner, they also take the research I've performed on my issue and talk things through with me. Yes, it is challenging to get or change an appointment as the phone tree is lengthy and hold times are long but once you get an office staff member on the phone, I always receive the best care and support!
The doctors here are excellent. I see Dr. Brian and she is fantastic and personable. I see Dr. Stone for botox for migraines and she is great. It is a busy office, which might be why some reviewers say they are rude. The front desk is super busy, but no one is rude.
Have been seeing Dr. Stone since very early 2000. Very thorough, knowledgeable and always very professional, to include the staff. The only difficulty/negative, I find, is the length and different aspects/prompts of the voice message in trying to get a live voice.
I went here in 2012 with a sciatic nerve issue, the first doctor was nice and did a bunch of tests, and had me go get MRI's. He then handed me off to another doctor, who saw my MRI results, did a few minor tests (metal tuning fork and strength tests) in one office visit and then said, "I see something on your MRI right here. I don't know what it is and I can't do anything for you." It's now 2015 and I still don't have any answers.
I have had great experience with the Neurology Center of Fairfax. Both of my neurologists - Dr. Churchill and Dr. Amy Stone are extremely professional and excellent. The staff is helpful and responsive.
They were extremely helpful and cooperative and helped me out in seeing my son under a difficult circumstance in time and distance and worked with me every step of the way. Thanks so much to the staff there!
I requested a transfer of my ailing wife's current Neurologist's Care from another state to this Neurology Center of FairFax, VA simply due to ease of her commute. I had therefore arranged all her health records and relevant insurance details transferred to this Neurology Center. I called prior to the appointment to confirm her insurance plan details, They put me on hold for about an hour, after checking with her insurance company and obtaining approval , the official then confirmed that all things settled and set for her to be brought in on the appointed date. When we arrived to her appointment, we sadly discovered the staff at the front office and in the care center were utterly rude, very unprofessional in training by any standard of a health care facility. Firstly they refused her insurance and later demanded total bill to be settled in cash or with credit card payment. While in the waiting area, we also found another two very disappointed patients with the unethical behavior of the management and staff at this practice. Every one working for this health practice is apparently instructed and trained to be only focused on how to ensure inflow of the money from suffering patients without any care to patient's mental and physical health needs. I ask the health care regulators and professional to please regulate this Neurology Center of FairFax, VA.
I have been seen in this office for over 14 years and have received excellent care. They are always ready to fit me in when the need arises (even when my Dr. was out of the office). Yes, it is a very busy office with lots of patients but I have never been treated disrespectfully at all.
It honestly disheartens me to have to write this review because I absolutely adore my neurologist, Dr. Simsarian, however, the staff in this office are the absolute worse. As of today, I am more than a month behind on my treatment due to their negligence. Lilian in the billing department told me that I would not be seen for my scheduled infusion until she approved it. My appointment was cancelled 10mins prior to my scheduled infusion this morning due to the staff's lack of care, initiative, or reasonable action. They requested approval for my medication on Friday the 4th after being provided with my active insurance information on the 31st, failed to request that it be expedited so that I could receive my medication at my scheduled appointment this morning, and then cancelled my appointment while I was in route to their office. The staff fails to take responsibility, and actually became annoyed with me for attempting to hold them accountable.
There's absolutely no way I can trust the treatment from anyone in the infusion center at this point, but the reality is I must receive my medication so that I can manage my illness. This is really an unfortunate situation.
The worst representatives in the country all gather here. Beside the nice nurse that helped me and Dr. Nicole Dietz, this place is very unprofessional. I tried my best leaving the house at 7:45am to make it there at 8:30am, mind that it takes 25 mins in regular traffic for me to get there..just really unfortunate incident on the road leading me to be 15 mins late..The front desk lady didn't even bother to look at my face even when I apologized. After talking to the dr, I needed to schedule another appointment. Another front desk lady who helped was very cold and unfriendly. The place gives me a very miserable and depressing feeling. Mostly elderly people were in there and they're even more energetic than the people who work there. So then, I called back to cancel my appointment since I couldn't make it that day. Waiting for my turn for around 15 mins, then had someone picked up and kept talking for a while until I had to ask if am I on hold or am I being helped? So then she said "Hold on". I wouldn't mind waiting a little longer, but letting me be on the phone not knowing what's going on? Then when I told her I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to make it to my appointment and I would like to cancel it and I will call back when I'm sure when I can come in.. and not even let me finish my sentence. She told me if I want to cancel it? As soon as I said yes, she rapidly told me ok, it's canceled, bye and hung up. Omg, what a customer service. I would like to see Dr. Dietz again but surely not. I'm not gonna go and deal with rude people there like I owe them something. I'd never ever recommend this place to anyone I know.
After writing the date of my appt as Nov 20 in 5 different places so I didn t forget, I go and the woman was so rude taking my name because apparently it s the 21st. I swear the voice message I confirmed for the 20th. When I asked about it she arrogantly stated we call up to 48 hours ahead . Seeing me very upset by my mistake she just sat there like I was stupid and bothering her, especially when I said I couldn t come tomorrow. I will never refer them to anyone lost my service I would rather live with my pain than deal with rude uncaring people
I've been coming to Neurology Center of Fairfax since the early 90's, and I've never had anything close to the negative experiences mentioned here by others. Nor have I ever witnessed one. My doctor is excellent and professional, and had he not been I would have left many years ago. Same goes for the staff in the office. I've never had a problem, and when I have a question, they respond. In fact, I sent in a message this morning via the patient portal, and I received a call back in short order because more information on my issue was required. My doctor also messaged back via the patient portal. My experiences here have been top notch, and I recommend them without reservation.
1 star for not being able to schedule an appointment by email. It says all over their website that they (quote) "DO NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PATIENTS BY EMAIL", and only provide a phone number for scheduling. Unfortunately the hours of this phone number are only 9-5. I, like most people, am at work the entirety of that time, and cannot make phone calls during the business day. It's 2017, all business can be conducted electronically these days. Would love to schedule an appointment, I have a referral and have heard good things about this practice... I guess I will just have to drop them a letter in the mail! :'( #SadFace
Edit - looking at the other reviews, maybe it's good that I can't schedule an appointment. Wow! :-(
We drive from MD to see the neurologist twice per year. We have had excellent results and have been taken very seriously here. It is a very busy office, yes! Up to now everything has gone smoothly and we are super-pleased!
I have been seen at Fairfax Neurology by Dr. Stone since 2011. I have received excellent care under her. She has a great bedside manner, listens to concerns, and orders appropriate tests.
I have had no problems with the front desk nor the wait time to be seen from the waiting room. The office staff is quick to phone in prescriptions or tests ordered before you even leave the office. Getting an appointment has not been difficult, although the list of choices on the phone can be very confusing.
Scheduled an appointment via referral by my spinal surgeon and then was given a location closer to my house and cancelled. Their automated system keeps asking me to confirm or cancel and won't stop. HORRIBLE. I reconfirmed that my appointment was cancelled and they said they couldn't stop the texts. If I get charged for a missed appointment I will add that to this review.
Q: I need an appointment to see neurologist.
A: What is your Social Security?
Q:Why do you need my SS, I am not applying for a loan. I have Insurance I can provide you that info.
A: We are sorry we cannot schedule an appointment without SS.
Q: I do not feel comfortable providing my SS as previously this information was compromised from a medical clinic. Its been 2 years and I am still fighting uphill battle. What assurance do you have that my SS will NOT be compromised.?
A: There is no guarantee we are as secure as any one else.
Once you do get an appointment, their doctor have no concern for patient. Their goal is to see as many patients in a day as possible.
The patients they do see will end up enormous bills. It is just a business to make money and they do that job very well.
My husband is a patient of Dr. Churchill, so am I. He is an excellent Doctor, tenacious about helping his patients. We have reccomended him to several of our friends. The staff is friendly, courteous, and efficient. We are grateful to have found this excellent group of professionals.
THE WORST CENTER EVER
My husband came to see Dr. Seestedt due to his horrible headache that was accompanied with a multiple other symptoms. In the emergency department, we were advised to see a neurologist immediately and this is how my husband got into this office. We were originally referred to Dr. Marco, however due to availability and time constrains we went to see Dr. Seestedt. To be honest, I have no idea if Dr. Seestedt is a good or a bad doctor, because he did nothing. He looked at my husband, did very basic examination (what they do in urgent care) and then said that he HAD A MORE IMPORTANT PATIENTS WAITING. He was absolutely rude and impolite. When I was trying to ask questions he just ignored! After the Dr. was done, he said to leave!!!! Only after I started asking for treatment for my husband (my husband couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't open his eyes from a sharp unknown pain in his head), he asked the nurse to give him infusions to cease the symptoms. Nurses confirmed that they have never seen anyone with the same symptoms and agreed that condition of my husband was severe. I also asked the Dr. for the MRI - and a note for work. Dr. Seestedt gave the following note: "I saw Mr. X on the day X. And he is under my observation.." This note was good for nothing. Moreover, they did not precertify the MRI order and at the day of the MRI, we had to go through a bureaucratic hell. This is the WORST experience with the doctor I have ever had. He did nothing! Even a simple precertification was too much of a hassle for the office. We will NEVER go back to that office, and I will make sure that NO ONE of my family and friends end up at that facility.
Nurses and Dr. Stone are very nice. They are great. The cashier though... so rude. Maybe the cashier needs a vacation, or some help(?), or maybe I just caught her on a bad day... but wow. Dr. Stone is great though
I ve been at this center multiple times due to Multiple Sclerosis. Such a smart bunch of professionals! Love it here. I really feel like they know what I m talking about. M S is so complicated! They get it! Went from greatest docs in Pittsburgh to here! Both got it! Girls are so nice in the office. Very pleasant n always cheerful. No question went unanswered! Wonderful advice from docs. All testing needed is recommended right away. Dr. Simsarian and Megan are my favorites!! They are always in the loop. Studying and researching all new advances in MS and I m sure other neuro diseases and cures on the horizon! Highly recommend this group! They are the greatest!!
The doc I saw was nice enough - but I was literally there for 10 minutes, she asked me a few questions, then I received a $472 bill! Yikes! I thought I had headaches before ... looking at this bill has made them worse :-o
I've been a patient for 6 years and have had the best care under Dr. Simsarian. The office can be brisk in their responses, but the level of care makes that a non-issue for me. They also see a HUGE number of people and I'm sure some of the patients are rude too. I like that a lot of the tests can be done in house.
I'm in the middle of the road with this office. I agree with all of the billing comments already made as the front office staff is all about properly billing for the care. But then again, this is where government has driven the industry so I can't really blame them for wanting to get paid. Not everything in life can be free. You need to have your referral authorization before they will make your appointment and you need to complete about nine pages of info before your first appointment and then you're good. My doctor provided great care and at the end of the day that is what I was after. Bottom line, the front office staff could have better bed-side manner and be more patient focused. They should all read "If Disney Ran Your Hospital" for better perspective on how to handle patients.
Very disappointing experience! While my experience with the doctor was OK. The front office is really horrible. They are experts in how to make your visit a truly miserable experience. For starters they literally force you to pay your copay before you see the doctor! How nice of them, money first and service later! And if you will try to refuse this upfront payment, they will threatened you that there will be a fine for not paying a copay on time. FINE! Really?! How about this!?
And when they talk to you they don't talk to you as with the patient in need of a medical help. They talk to you as you are some kind of offender and all what they need is your money. The best association that comes to mind in a bottom feeder collector agency.
Lovely place. I saw other reviews on them and I should not have gone there. But I did. Had two visits and I can say that I'm done with them. At no circumstance I will return back.
To finish the story, I've asked them for a receipt for my co-payment so I can submit it to FSA and was told that I need to request it after the claim for my visit is submitted to my insurance. Really! Fast to charge but no receipt the way I need id, and the way it should be provided from the get go.
OK, I requested the receipt via their self-service portal. And got one that does not have a specific line that it was my co-payment. I asked them to correct it twice and was ignored both times.
I got somebody calling me after my third email where I directly asked them why I was ignored. But did they resolve my request? Oh no. They instead told me that that I need to speak with my insurance company or my HR??? What? How they are connected. Good they did not send me directly to the United Nations!
And when I asked them why they cannot do it for me. The answer was surprisingly flat - our system does not do this.
Finally, the person whom I was speaking with (some kind of supervisor from accounts payable who conveniently did not introduce herself) made an attempt to threatened me that she will make a record in my file. Well she can do all what she wants with it. I'm not going back to this office. Hope my experience will help others. Stay away from people who does not know what customer service is!
Worthless patient care by on call doctor. Between 11 am and 1:45 pm, their answering service team took my details, document patient symptoms, sent urgent message to on call doctor thrice. Every time they told me that doctor will call soon; no one called. Hard to rely on such a healthcare provider!
I sought out care with the Neurology Center of Fairfax for seven years. The bedside manner in this practice is great but that's as far as it goes. The locations' office staffs are very difficult to get in touch with via the call center and once you explain your problem to someone in the call center, they keep you on the phone until they type an email to the doctor paraphrasing what you told them -- so be prepared to repeat your problem or even have it explained incorrectly to your doctor. Separately, I was constantly seeing doubles every morning for the first few hours of work because of the side effects from my medications. I would have to walk against the wall in order to not stumble on my way to get breakfast in the cafeteria. Sometimes it was so bad that I would have to grasp a door frame to get to my desk and then grasp my desk to get to my chair without falling. One day at home I was crawling around on all fours because I felt so unsteady. I expressed my deteriorating quality of life to my neurologist at every visit and it wasn't until I cried at one visit when he shrugged and said, "I guess you could just spread out your meds throughout the day". A shrug followed by "I guess"....yeah, comforting. One of my following appointments he walked in and said, "Oh. I didn't recognize your name"...after seven years. To his credit, I did get married but I was married for 3 years before I had that appointment and he didn't remember who I was? I was misprescribed by him and had to call my pharmacy, his practice, and my insurance company spending a total of 24 hours on the phone in one month with all three vendors trying to sort out his mistake having to prove that he made the error so that I could get reimbursed for the wrong prescription. And even after I broke it down for the practice in a letter, they still sent me a reimbursement check in the wrong amount. So people in the back office staff appear to not be able to paraphrase, read, or add accurately. My mother, who went to this neurologist as well, said that when she asked about me having my own biological kids, he nonchalantly said, "No but she can always adopt". This is coming from a man who has biological children (and might I add that telling any woman that kind of news in that manner is beyond egregious). In December 2013 I found out I was pregnant when I had a Grand Mal seizure and was taken to the ER. The ER doctor on staff said that my neurologist told her that I wasn't supposed to get pregnant. A fact that I was completely unaware of. So he tells both my mother and an ER doctor that I shouldn't get pregnant but neglects to tell me. A few months after I called him out on misprescribing me, I receive a letter from the practice telling me that they are terminating care for me due to violations that I broke according to their doctor/patient obligations agreement. In the letter, they conveniently left out the infraction or infractions I committed, which makes me wonder if I actually did commit any infractions and that maybe they just wanted to get me off their books since I already called them out once for misprescribing me. Fortunately I already had an appointment with another neurologist in another practice who has since solved my double vision problem and doesn't treat me like my secondary problems are of no concern to him. With his help I was able to see my pregnancy through till the end and now have a healthy newborn and I, too, am healthy. I'd think that after my seven years of loyalty to NCF that I'd get treated with more respect. The back office staff is horrendous and it's internal communication is severely flawed. My suggestion is to limit your time with this practice to about 4 years since that's right around the time they started getting sloppy with me. My neurologist got lazy and stopped caring. It was obvious in every visit, yet every time I would have to drop another $30 in his bucket after he checked my reflexes and had me follow his finger up and down and from side to side.
This office is basically taking advantage of sick people. I am still waiting on a $412 payment from them from an appt that they charged me for but didn t owe. My insurance sent them the check but they ve yet to send it back to me. Isn t this insurance fraud?? Not to mention, chronically ill or elderly people aren t capable of these fights. It s wrong to treat patients this way. Doctors are supposed to help and heal. Their billing and management staff is definitely not helping to accomplish this!!
neurologycenteroffairfax.com
