Patient First

I use Patient First Midlothian as my primary care facility. Dr. Greenfield, as well as the rest of the doctors are caring and thorough. Sometimes there can be a bit of a wait but I don’t mind because the care is excellent. I live in Providence Forge and drive 45 minutes to go to this facility.

Before i begin i will say i walked in at 9:30 am and left at 12:47 i didnt see a doctor until 11:30
I decided to come here because of an extreme allergic reaction. I broke out in giant hives all over … I noticed the sign– in procedure was a touch screen that each patient has to touch and answer brief questions… The effort is nice & «tech savvy» but a little unsanitary considering the unlimited possibilities of airborne bacteria and virus. I waited 25 – 30 minutes to to be seen by the front desk clerk for insurance/​co-​pay. After paying my co-​pay i waited 15 mins to be seen by a nurse just for weight/​height etc.
Mind you at this point i’m having an allergic reaction. I was brought to a room and waited 45mins for the doctor to come in. The actual Doctor Mrs. Shazia Samdani was wonderful and very knowledgeable. I had to have blood work done and the employee who took my blood (middle age Arabic woman with purple Hijab) was the most unprofessional person i have ever came across in the medical field ever.
–she entered the room as she was knocking before i gave the ok
–There was no introduction or explanation of how things were going to go she just told me to lay down and she grabbed my arm. Maybe i’m used to nicer nurses who make you feel at ease before taking blood.
–lightheartedly i said «wow, that wasn’t that bad» to break the ice and She didnt even crack a smile. Who wants to deal with a cold, grumpy person while getting their blood drawn… Certainly not me.
— after the blood draw she packed her things up and walked out leaving without saying a word, leaving the privacy curtain open.
Also she used some type of duct tape to cover my arm that was still bleeding instead of a band-​aid which the doctor Samdani immediately apologized for and patched me up properly
During the wait to hear my test results i overheard some of the employee’s personal home issues and even witnessed a nurse say «alright let me hurry up and get back to these people before they get mad and start rolling they eyes and stuff at me girl «super aggravating considering how long i waited throughout the entire visit.
As i was leaving i walked over to the front desk clerk to hand her my discharge papers and a different front desk clerk (brown skin with dreads and accent) started screaming at me «you cant come over here» and i simply replied that i was turning in my discharge paper as i was advised to and there were no signs to direct where exactly i should go. It would be literally impossible for me to give the clerk my papers… Without walking in that general area. Super rude and confusing smh.
Over-​all i rate the location 2 stars bc the medical attention i received was average so the unprofessional staff, and extreme wait time ruined the experience for me hands down.

Staff are loud and engage in personal and inappropriate conversations in the nurse’s station. Seen by Dr. Samdani who seemed very inexperienced, timid, and nervous– none of which were reassuring as a patient. Visit took over 3 hours. Do not visit this Patient First location!

TL;DR: Grossly incompetent staff across the board. Supposed to remove headaches not give you one. Unless you are desperate, go somewhere else. Seriously, seek medical attention elsewhere! You have been warned! Need a reason? Read this saga:
I moved to the RVA in the summer of 2008. In the fall my 2 y.o. daughter contracted RSV and its very contagious; so I got it too. RSV for adults presents as a really bad cold often turning into bronchitis. I knew I had bronchitis. I was in my third week of being sick and I was getting worse. I was concerned I was developing pneumonia.
I hadn’t found a GP doctor yet but this Patient First was close to my home. I saw a doctor in about 90 minutes which considering its a Doc in the box; not too bad. Got a chest x ray and yes I had pneumonia. The doctor prescribed z-​pack. Z-​pack is crap. I told the doctor I had had z-​pack before for strep and I almost became septic. I also let them know I have Crohn’s disease and my immune system is compromised. I was concerned z-​pack wouldn’t address the infection. If it didn’t, I would get really sick; very fast. I asked for Levaquin and she looked at me like I asked for a running script of Vicodin. I took the z-​pack for 3 days. Guess what happened on day 4? I had a fever of 101.
I immediately went back and complained to the Medical Director. I told him I had specifically asked for Levaquin and because I was pretty sure z-​pack would just stave off the infection and rebound which is *EXACTLY* what it did. The 2^nd visit and the Levaquin were free with the cost of wasting another 2 hours and nearly having to be admitted to the hospital. After this experience, I found a GP.
Fast forward now to November 2014. I work for a health insurance company. We have a good program that if you meet certain medical criteria (i.e. don’t smoke, good blood pressure and weight etc.) you get up to $ 1400 off your health insurance costs. I needed to basically get for myself and my wife a wellness visit where our blood pressure and weight are recorded on a company form. In the interest of (grossly mistaken) convenience, my wife and I went to this Patient First, at different times, on a weekend. I figured they can’t really screw up something this simple (i.e. weigh me, take my blood pressure, and sign a form with the information). Medically no, but billing has been an utter nightmare.
First they filed the claim incorrectly. The coded it as a sick visit so the claim was denied.
Jan 2015: I contacted the Patient First billing dept. told them the issue and the agent stated it would be refiled as a wellness visit.
Feb 2015, I get a statement for $ 140 (mind you I didn’t even see a freaking doctor — A LPN measured my BP and weight. A physicians assistant signed my form. A whole 5 minutes of «work»). I contact billing — told to ignore it as it is being refiled with insurance
March 2015: Get another statement with an added «late fee» — Contact billing and I am informed it was never refiled. Late fee removed and hold placed on account to get these issues corrected.
April 2015: Receive another statement. Now I email PF billing dept. with this history as well as a complaint.
July 2015: 90 days pass. I receive a statement out of the blue. This time it says «corrected info» on the bill and the amount is OH MY GOD $ 237 plus the original $ 2.10 «late fee» for a total of $ 239.10. Its simply amazing. What are the odds of me paying that? Never.Going.To.Happen.
Remember my wife went to them too on the same day. Yes, they mucked that up too… same issue with coding. Her balance is $ 86 for the exact same service. The kicker is to all of this… if their billing dept. could actually file a claim correctly, I should owe nothing because wellness visits are covered 100% on my plan. So they continue to code services incorrectly which gets denied by my company. Suffice to say I never go back there ever again.

15 minutes in the waiting area, Curt staff, classical on the speakers, dropped off to a room at 2:09, it’s now 2:30. I’m still waiting.
2:33, down one star, no indication of an end in sight. Woman walked in 3 people after me, now leaving.. .
2:35, Now hearing about nurse staff oil changes and requests to leave early because of boyfriends.
A doctor!
Christopher (last name forgotten), amazing doctor, actually listened to me, didn’t interrupt, warm, chatty, non-​dismissive. Up one star.
So happy to meet someone warm.
Visit took 10 – 15 minutes, now waiting for blood work.
3:05 blood taker lady comes in, leaves after 3 minutes, back to waiting
3:11 still no end in sight.
3:47 … Blood lady gone, most of my only day off gone … Still waiting. Freezing, and waiting.
Down 1 star.
3:55, tired and hungry, the situation is looking dismal, I fear I’m starting to hallucinate. Is that the doctor, coming toward my room? No, Alas it is a mirage.
So cold… So hungry… What day is it?
3:56 Listened to a Dr. describe to his patient how one would get e.coli. in their womanly parts.
3:58 Endlessly ringing phone.
3:59 Momma, is that you? I’m so cold!
Don’t go toward the light you say?!
4:00 doctor enters. Not. A mirage. He speaks. 95% over he says, then leaves again.
4:08 The trickling effect of exhaustion is upon me.
4:14 the end is drawing near. I can feel it. My head is pounding. Palms sweaty (not really. Just for effect)
4:18 he speaks, but the words … I’ve heard so little. My body, it’s giving out.. . A bright light shone.
4:19 Give this to the desk on your way out he says, be free my child he says, go in good peace and get some cook-​out he says! (Not really, just for effect)
4:20: Holy sweet baby Jesus. I’m free! The warm sun is now bathing my cold blue face, in its life giving rays.

In and Out a lot quicker than I expected.

I’ve been coming to this Patient First as my primary care for several years and have always been happy with the service and quality of care. There are some very friendly people here who are always professional. Occasionally, the wait is a bit long but that’s probably to be expected for certain days and times. I have noticed company efforts to streamline their check-​in processes, which I definitely appreciate.