Bascom Palmer Eye Institute

traveler friendly and patient ratio is good. excellent management

traffic and cost of living

BILLING: I went to the Bascom Palmer Emergency Room for a detached retnia emergency, to save my eyesight. Violating Florida Law ‘no surprise act’ BP is balance billing me for emergency services $16k. BP not responding to requests for help by web portal, email, and phone. All the services I’ve received are ‘emergency services’ for detached retnia, however BP billing department keeps submitting billing codes to my insurance company as 'out-of-network'. BP illegally wouldn't perform emergency surgery unless I paid $15k upfront. Now I am still fighting with the billing department for 2 months. Christina L 5/21 confirmed everything is being balanced bill as ‘self pay’ and should have been submitted as emergency services with the maximum co-pay of $220. Contacted Carolina Y 4/23, 5/11, 5/14, 5/29. Contacted Rebecca R 4/25, 5/14, 5/29. Contacted Marlea & Barbie 5/29 by phone. NEGLIGENT NONDISCLOSURE: a couple nurses took their time, explained who and what was going to happen. However, BP bullied and pushed me through as quickly as possible. Namely, Dr. Smith. Especially surgeon Dr. Smiddy who can't be bothered to spend more then 4 minutes tops. Smiddy visits were negligent and severely lacked the appropriate testing, instructions, expectations, prognosis, details, how to compensate. When I try to ask Dr Smiddy anything, either it's an arrogant god complex, or he wont answer. Any detached retnia info came from looking it up online myself. Seeing Dr. Smiddy, pre or postoperative, he looks at my chart, looks at my eye and 4 minutes without answers, information or advice. No prognosis, risks, or recovery. Why did he operate twice for the same issue? There's high risk with oil tamponade for 6 months, why is that ordered? Why transient positional blackouts? Why no testing prior to my next apointment eg: OCT, FAF which is 3x more accurate then a human. A dereliction of duty. COERCION: on intake at the ER I was coerced under duress to sign documents and denied permission to read them. Asked to sign a healthcare directive, if they kill me. While everyone has my health history on the screen, nobody looks at it. Dr Smiddys scheduler called to illegally demand payment for 4/16 emergency surgery before they would perform it. Same as with my first emergency surgery 4/2 they illegally demanded $15,000 payment up front before they would admit me. What could I do, because I was faced with losing my eyesight from a detached retina, now I'm fighting with them to submit it to my insurance. MEDICAL FRAUD: Nurse Margie Blum used the pre-operative consult 1. She's adamantly against the COVID vaccine. She told me she refused to get it until her medical director yelled at her. she claims that the vaccine causes more harm than good and it harmed her. 2. I was wearing an n95 mask. She said my mask will give me lung cancer, and it gave her lung cancer. 3. claimed the hand sanitizer on her desk and hospital wide only kills bacteria but not viruses. 4. Immediately after discussing my narcotics allergy. She recommended that I try a deadly mix of marijuana, magic mushrooms and anti-parasitic drugs for my long COVID. INATTENTION: Prior to the operation a nurse removed my mask and put it on upside down smacking me in the operative eye. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask because there was a man in the ER prep room 4/2 who appeared to have the flu.

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Very long wait 3 hours plus. Very bad for elderly