The Polyclinic Downtown

I have been a patient at the Polyclinic for YEARS. My doctor left and so I have been trying to find a new one. Today I was running late for my physical and I called TWICE to give notice. I finally arrived 20 minutes after my appointment time to see if there was anyway I could be seen. While checking, I was approached by the doctors MA her name was Danielle. As I sat in my chair at the check in desk, Danielle SCOLDED ME in front of all of the other patients in line about being late. She said «If this happens again you will be charged for your appointment and if it happens again you will be limited to same day only appointments.» Along with some other things that I can’t remember because I was so flabbergasted that she was even speaking to me that way. She said it for everyone to hear however. I was not only a little embarrassed because, hey I don’t need everyone to know my business, but I was furious that she thought that was an appropriate way to handle the situation. So I talked to her boss and he said that not only was the way she acted INAPPROPRIATE but also the information she gave me was NOT TRUE. I’m just really disappointed. That’s no way to treat patients or talk to people, period. I hope Danielle and the Polyclinic see this review so that they may enlighten her on what the appropriate way to handle situations like this are. As for me Polyclinic has lost a patient.

In 20 years of going to health professionals, I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH HORRIFIC encounter. Being the clinic is downtown Seattle and parking challenges, I arrived exactly 8 minutes late, my fault. Then the treatment started: The check in receptionist with 0% professionalism, made sure everyone in the wait area was well aware of this awful mistake loud voice. She stated doctor’s nurse has announced I would NOT BE SEEN for a full physical however a short visit was an option! This was my first visit to the PolyClinic, could not figure out what a short visit (I waited 6 weeks for today’s appt) would do so I opted for another visit (honestly, I was concerned of telling her I was not coming back and her creating another announcement to all present).
Of course she proceeded with her rude manners and obtained all types of information and signatures from me, presumably to send billing to the insurance company for a «no show».
Reading other comments below, seems like others have had similar experience as mine. Human Resource should be proud of their ignorance!
I would NOT recommend ANYONE to experience what I went through, sorry!

I love my doctor! Every time I’ve needed to come in when she happens to be booked, I’m called back shortly after scheduling with another doctor to learn she’s cleared time to see me, often same day. Never before have I had an office or Doctor go to these lengths, let alone without even asking! Her personal interest in my wellbeing is truly appreciated.
Having a delicious café and also a pharmacy just next door that offers various prescription discounts is quite convenient as well. I really like this location. A lot!

I’m absolutely in love with pediatricians on Polyclinic! Jessica Ivars — best pediatrician in the world! Very kind, friendly atmosphere. I’ll recommend this pediatrician to everyone who want the best care for their childrens!

A friend recommended Polyclinic to me. I am new to the American Healthcare as I am a foreigner living in Seattle.
TLDR version:
A doctor visit (I was in and out within 30 mins) costs $ 267.00. My insurance covered only $ 29.14 and was billed $ 237.86. I called to get a lower price and only could only get 10% off totaling $ 214.07. I would’ve been happier if it was under $ 200 (which I should’ve told them but didn’t).
I would like to continue with Polyclinic however I torn about the high costs and will be looking for another doctor as I am relatively healthy and don’t feel the need to get a higher insurance to cover their costs.
GENERAL EXPERIENCE
My first appointment was for a general health exam, blood tests, pap, pregnancy and STD tests. Everyone was great except the nurses could be a bit more professional. There wasn’t many people and she was very rushy with me and didn’t take my measurements properly.
Everything was done at their facilities. I’ve had no problem with waiting time. It’s always been quick for me an making an appointment isn’t very hard.
Second appointment I was experiencing constant minor chest pains and they were able to get me an appointment on the day after speaking to a nurse. I was in and out 30 mins and was given a prescription (it wasn’t major). I was billed $ 267.00 (before insurance) for that appointment.
GENERAL ADVICE
If you want to go to Polyclinic, I do recommend them however be mindful about how much your visits costs. I’ve learnt my lesson and from now on I’m gonna be asking how much everything costs so I won’t be surprised next time!
There are many resources on the internet that can educate you about medical costs and what you can do about them (such as negotiate, finding medical errors etc). I recommend you educate yourselves and save yourself a lot of money.

This is what I feel like modern medicine should look like: Tech meets a human approach to medicine. I used to live on the East Coast where it was impossible to have a doctor even call you back. The doctors took notes secretively on paper which no one would discuss with you (other than to give a diagnosis) and the office would promptly lose (haha what is this, the 1980s?!)… and frequently did things that didn’t make you feel confident in their skills (like not listen to you). This place is such a far cry from that, it is frankly a relief for something as important as your physical health. The doctors really ask you (the right) questions and try to get to know you as a person. They’re collaborative when they need to be an authoritative when they need to be… It really makes me feel like they know what their doing and also that they give a damn. I can’t say enough good things about this place and recommend it to friends whenever I can.
Pros:
— Compassionate, thorough, and calm doctors who take the time to listen and work with you on your long and short term health goals. I don’t’ know what style of doctor-​ing this is but I like it.
— Solid downtown location
— Takes most insurance (they can tell you over the phone)
— Typically they can see you same-​day for an emergency or within 1 – 2 weeks for a physical
— They have a thing called mychart where you can sign in and see your exact test results or communicate with your doctor. Dr Pilagi (now gone from Polyclinic) was very responsive on this tool
— For girls, this is your one stop shop for girl health
— There’s a Bartell’s pretty much in the downstairs so prescriptions are filled quickly and conveniently
— Integrated into a wider network of doctors and specialists which should also work with your insurance… If you’re looking for holistic care, this place links everything together
Cons:
— Long waiting room times… Typically you’ll be seen 15 – 30 minutes after your appointment was supposed to start
— Just thought you should know, every time you go in for a physical, they do blood work. This is a double edged sword: this office is thorough and of course I would like confirmation that I am not about to die of cancer… but needles to me are a whole lot of NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

This place is horrible. I have been with them for about three years, in that time frame they have double charged me or lost a payment at least 4 times. The latest has me fed up as I told them no I will not provide documentation yet AGAIN for co pays I have paid. They responded by not letting me see my doctor and pretty much every person I spoke to in the billing department either was super rude or sounded like it was their first day and had no idea what they were doing.
After 4 months of this back and forth I broke down and once again provided all the screen shots from my credit card of the payments I made. They told me I would have to come in and show them in person which does not work since I work full time. I chose to fax it in and their response was «well this will take some time, you are still not able to see your doctor until this is cleared up sorry»
Absolutely ridiculous, the fact that they care more about money than they do for their patience well being is absurd. Whats worse is they already go their money from me, but either cant keep track of it or are trying to squeeze out more.
Not to mention the fact that quite a few of their doctors seem like they went to internet school. I had one tell me that «i had a fat gene» and that if I wanted to loose weight just to cut my daily intake down to 600 cals. (PS I have a totally normal BMI)
I would skip this place you can find a better quality place just about anywhere else.

I posted this to the Madison Center page in November 2014, but since the fiasco started here and I’m still paying for it, people should probably be warned of this clinic as well.
«I started going to Polyclinic just over a year ago, at the downtown location. My doctor was amazing, and unfortunately had to refer me to another doctor for the condition I was diagnosed with. This next doctor was in the Madison clinic, which is closer to my office and seemed really convenient. I had such a wonderful experience with my first doctor that I was very confident in my treatment going forward at the Madison clinic.
Boy was I wrong to get my hopes up. While the doctor was nice enough as a person, as a doctor she was rushed and didn’t seem to think I knew anything about my condition – the treatment I was interested in pursuing, she essentially wrote off right away, advising me to continue with the treatment plan I’d already been on that was not having any results. Then I was pressured into scheduling some ultrasounds that I’d been told previously were expensive and next to unnecessary for my diagnosis.
Months later, I’m still on the same treatment that hasn’t helped, and I’m over $ 1000 in debt to the clinic because of the pointless tests and visits I was basically forced into. The last straw was when trying to set up a payment plan for my bills. I was told in no uncertain terms what they wanted for a payment, which was far more than I could afford. When I informed the lady of this fact, she responded with a very condescending, „Well, don’t you WORK?“ Uh, yes, I do, but I also have other bills, like every other adult human being. She then told me that the payment amount I offered was „not enough“, that my case would be directed to a collection agency, and the clinic can opt to „discontinue my care“. Fine, discontinue my care. I’ll find a clinic that cares about the patient.»
— — Fast forward to August 2015, and I’m still dealing with this nightmare! Oh, and immediately after posting my initial review, I received a letter stating they had terminated my care… But nobody wanted to even attempt to rectify the awful experience I’d endured. — — -
Thanks to the Polyclinic’s rude, condescending, inflexible billing staff, I am still fighting this battle through a collections agency who are just as rude, condescending, and inflexible. Now my credit is being threatened because I had several unforeseen emergencies and cannot manage the already unrealistic payment this month (after 8 months of faithfully made payments!).
Throughout this debacle, I’ve been humiliated, insulted, and bullied, and basically told it doesn’t matter if my family ends up on the street as long as they get their payment. I’m so grateful to the Polyclinic and their friends in collections for educating me about what kind of monthly payment I can totally afford– It’s so nice to know complete strangers know more about my financial situation than I do!
Tough lesson to learn, so heed my warning: NEVER let a doctor pressure you into scans or testing that are not required. If they do, they are scamming you, and you should seek another opinion. Be your own advocate so you don’t end up where I am.

The doctors are fine here – it’s the billing department that will make your life a living hell. After 5 hours of talking to my insurance company (Premera), the billing department at Polyclinic Downtown, and Cellnetix Pathology & Laboratories, I’m still paying for the lab work done on a PREVENTATIVE CARE appointment –which was supposed to be free and which I was told I should not be paying for (they even charged me a $ 20 copay!). Bottom line-​Downtown Polyclinic is about making a buck and they contract labs that are the same. They’re all about milking the system. It’s not healthcare– it’s «NO CARE» —It’s a shame because the doctors there are good. DON’T GO UNLESS YOU HAVE TOP OF THE LINE INSURANCE or are very wealthy. They also charged me $ 300 for removing a blemish on my leg (wasn’t cancerous).

I contracted a bad reaction to bed bugs in a hotel on the east coast and called in and got an appointment the same day, medicine immediately sent down to Bartell Drugs on 5^th for pick up and everything was quick and efficient.
Friendly nursing and receptionist staff were there.
Doctor answers questions about the two medicine options that I was being given. And made sure to ask for allergies (I have many so this is always important not to constantly pester them).
I was called back about ten minutes late, so make sure you aren’t on a super tight schedule and had about 5 minutes before the doctor saw me. It was a short ten minute appointment. But I was just so happy that they fit me in and I could get the medicine to get the swelling down so quickly.
I called back twice so far to get paperwork to get refunded/​rebated by the hotel and they were very responsive. Transcript took about 1 hour to pick it up, and the insurance claim was printed instantly and ready for pick up on Broadway. They offered to mail them to me but I wanted to contact the hotel immediately and decided to pick it up on my own. Email was not an option.
Very convenient to downtown and the S.L.U.T. Line and various buses plus the monorail if you are coming from in Seattle. I just walked.

Dr. Meredith Broderick has no compassion therefore is not a effective tool for healing. Health Greed!
The receptionist was incompetent and unprofessional as well!

First time I attempted to get in to see Dr. McCabe, I was told I was over 20 minutes late for my appointment, I had it written down and in my phone as being on time. I had called a week before to verify time and the time I had was correct. Never received a call the day before. I asked the rude secretary if she could call back and see if they could fit me in anyway, she did and then proceeded to sit there not making eye contact. After a couple minutes, I asked «Can I get in to see the Dr. or not», she said, «Oh no, you need to reschedule». Ok, you couldn’t just tell me after you hung up the phone?! I did reschedule, went to see Dr. McCabe and was not impressed with office staff nor the Dr. I don’t need to be treated like a second class citizen. I called twice to verify my appointment, the second time I called the time had been changed, just like the first time. I asked how and why this is happening and was told that they move people up when others cancel. I said that this has to cause a lot of problems if they are not contacting people to verify time of appointment, the secretary stated that it is the patient responsiblity for making sure their time is correct and to show up on time. Ok, I agree, but if the time has been changed without contacting the patient… I think logically this is a system of failure on their part. Rather than deal with that ridiculous method of practice, I will go elsewhere.
Another note, their billing department is awful. They have messed up billing for myself, my son, and my husband. We will not be back again.

There is usually a wait: at this location you have to expect it a little bit. But I hate to wait — a lot — and I STILL drive a looooong way to see Dr Gary Spector. Just a great provider, an awesome bedside manner and a patient advocate like no other. I really appreciate how they always (ALWAYS) fit my child in when he has an issue.
Dr Spector always stays late to take care of his kids — and in this day and age of big health care and big business — his careful approach to Pediatrics is always appreciated. As are his (largely undeserved) compliments of me :)
If you happen to be having an infant and he happens to have an opening — grab it. If not — Dr Sheridan is my other favorite.

ive had hits and misses here, but mostly positive ones.
My doctor is Dr Hatfield, ive had him as a doctor since 2008, he really is kind and nice, he doesnt seem to rush you out the door. him and his staff Marlene, always smile, and greet you, and they litterally go out of their way to help you, and call you back.

I have been going to the Polyclinic for several years now. I have several medical issues that require monitoring. I have had nothing but the best experiences since I have been there. There have been a few times when I had to wait, but I hope that when I need my doctor to spend a few more minutes with me that she/​he is able and willing to do that.
I have received the best medical care through the Polyclinic. All my questions have promptly been answered. Anything that I need such as prescription refills are done within a timely manner.
I praise and commend the Polyclinic!

Update for billing department.
Horrible, awful, super unprofessional.
Call put into executive offices regarding issues.
Double check and save all your billing documents.

I went to get a mole removed from a dermatologist there. The visit felt somewhat rushed, but the mole was removed just fine, so five stars from that perspective. There was a very long wait — a couple months, if I remember — which was quite frustrating.
But the part that ensures I’m not going back: their billing. I paid my $ 50 copay when I was there. A few weeks later, I got a bill for $ 194.38, and I paid it in full immediately. Then three months later, mid-​December, I got a statement in the mail saying that I owed another $ 25, memo «previous balance,» and that it was greater than 90 days overdue. I pulled the old bill and compared it to what I paid — I definitely had paid it in full. I called and left a message with the number on the bill, but didn’t hear back. I just called up and spoke with a rep, and all she could say was that it was legit, not a mistake. Not that my insurance decided to pay for a different amount than they initially thought, or that I was billed for the wrong amount, or anything — just that it was different now.
So best case scenario, they billed me for the wrong amount but didn’t bother telling me. Or my crummy insurance decided to pay for a different amount than they said they would, and Polyclinic didn’t bother sending me a revised bill. Both of which are pretty perplexing and frustrating. How am I supposed to trust a healthcare provider that bills for seemingly random amounts?
So, whatever, I’m paying you the extra $ 25 just to make you go away, Polyclinic, but that was the last time I’m coming in.

Wait time & Doctors:
These people are so dishonest and could not care less about their patients! I spend more time waiting to see the doctors than I do actually with the doctors. I would go in for a physical and wait 20 – 30 minutes to see the doctor because they ask you to come in early. Wait another 10 minutes for the doctor to come into the room only to have him spend 10 minutes checking for problems. I really feel like they just want to get you in and out as soon as possible so they can make more money off other patients.
Customer Service:
If you have questions or issues about your bill forget about customers service giving a ****. They could not be disinterested in helping you out with any issues or questions. Why do you even have a customer service line if you dont care?!
Estimates & Charges:
I would always call and ask for an estimate on how much I should expect to pay to just see a doctor. For example I called to see Dr. Sara Heilig and was given an estimate of about 120 $ to see her. They will tell you that the final charges is based on what number the doctor puts down. She saw me for 10 minutes said there was no problem. But a few days later you get a bill in the mail saying you owe 180 $ even with insurance!
I also called to get an estimate on how much it would cost to get std testing done since I was getting a physical anyways and was quoted $ 90. They ended up charging me 150 $!!! I HATE these low estimates that are no where near how much they actually charge you! Do not come here to get any std testing… unless you have met your deductible for the year. These tests only cost about 70 $ at the king country clinic without insurance.
General Advice:
DO NOT COME HERE! They could not care less about you!

The place the makes it all better if your not well. The Polyclinic is a fantastic group of physicians based in Seattle.
I’ve the found the doctors I’ve come in contact with have treated me well and I’ve really appreciated there bed side manor and treatments. I feel if you need doctor you should consider The Polyclinic.

Still have yet to have a bad experience. Never a long wait, never a rude doctor, never any issues at all. So glad to be a patient. I still always recommend the Polyclinic and their doctors to friends who need some kind of medical advice or help. Doesn’t hurt that the various campuses all have easy, quick access to street or garage parking either.