USMD

See update beneath this original message.

(updates at the end of post)
I'm seeing a young doctor who unfortunately is part of a group that shows ineptitude at every juncture, but specifically with the Nextgen portal that their office uses. The staff has been non-responsive to my open tickets meant to highlight correspondences not going through and as such not making it to the doctor. Their 'call center' does not patch through calls upon request and I have had nothing but problems when trying to reach the office. So, I cannot contact the office via the electronic portal nor can I contact the office as their call center is acting as interference to a patient with legitimate communication issues. Med requests are dropped, help requests are dropped, and ultimately I hope I can get my doctor to ditch USMD before they tank his young practice for which he worked so hard to obtain. Staffing is important on so many levels and 'training opportunities' are the answer I've been given on not just this occasion but another as well.

The task boxes must be opened by staff in order for communications to be received and routed. They are dropping the ball repeatedly and their team leads and/or managers are not catching these problems and imposing remedies. The problem(s) that the patient is experiencing is left to the patient to resolve. I've just been given the option of emailing the office manager directly when all else fails, thus giving, again, the onus to the patient to chase down the glaring issues. USMD is a business model that is broken and from what I have experienced over the course of a year they offer excuses instead of fixes.

Update: The office seems to be running more smoothly now, though not without hiccups. Hiccups I can understand. More importantly there seems to be a genuine effort in managing and running this office with a patient-centric mindset. I have modified my original 1 star review to a 3 star and will continue to assess as time progresses.

Update II: The office and staff seem to be genuinely interested in sustaining the improvements noted above. This has elicited my upgrade from three stars to four stars. Incidentally, working with people and actually giving them feedback that is honest, not filled with emotion but instead facts, and being interested in giving them the benefit of the doubt actually works. This office started out with 1 star and is now 4 stars and they are serious about their work. Bravo.