Complaint Review: A.t. Still Universary Dental Care West - Glendale Arizona

I contacted A.T. Still Universary Dental West Clinic in 9-22-08, and had a scheduled appointment for screening 10-16-08 I had to cancel due to severe bleeding from internal organ. I was seen on 3-17-09 by another dental clinic, and referred with full mouth x-rays. I called, and Dental West made an emergency appointment for the following day, at 3-18-09 8:30 a.m. had to cancel due to inability to drive to severe dental accesses. I called, later and was offered an appointment for 3-25-09, I asked if they had another appointment, as I had a medical appointment to be seen for dental infections.

Lady, checked, and said she'd try March 31, but then came back and said that it was full to. She then made an appointment for me on 5-5-09 and told me to be there at 8:30 to do the paper work. I arrived at my appointed time, and signed in, and was given a clipboard with the clinic forms. I filled them out, and then I was told I didn't have an appointment. The lady said she would try to work me in, I wasn't insisting on being seen then, but just to have an idea if I could have an appointment explained all of the appointment history, cancellations, and office manager wanted to know what kind of bleeding, and was I being heard by four other patients, two were men. I was told that I broke an appointment on 3-25-09, and that I never cancelled. Office manager then told me not to address her staff, that she was talking to me now. She was accusatory, short, and condescending. She refused to give me a printout, of said appointments, because she said it violated Hippaa Law, as I wasn't a patient. I asked her, about the forms I filled out, and she said she gave them to a Dr. Doug Hill. I was not offered an appointment. Office manager said she had other patients to help, and that she had to start her day. I asked for her name, and she wrote down only her first name one, Janice, then Susan, then Dr. Hill. I apologized, if she felt that I disrupted her office, but she ignored me. I called Dr. Dillenberg's office, and spoke to Jennifer Anderson his assistant, she said Dr.Dillenberg was with students, and that he would be in touch. I called to try to make an appointment waited until Thursday afternoon, and she said I must have misunderstood because He is an administrator, and doesn't talk about clinical matters. I then was called by a Dr. Bell who informed me that Dr. Hill was supposed to call me since Tuesday. He had a meeting, and said he would get back to me. I was then called by Dr. Doug Hill, and he asked what I wanted. I repeated all the prior information, and he said it didn't happen, that he heard everything. I told him he wasn't there, and if he had been there he should have, told me what he had just relayed about my cancelled appointments. I tried to explain that I had serious medical conditions, which prevented my coming in. I told him, if they were choosing not to see me because of that, he should have told me then, and at least referred me to another dental clinic where they could help me, instead of just letting me suffer in pain, without any response for two days. The clinic, and universary's mission statement - Good oral health is everyone's right. Our Special Needs Unit, the only such facility in Arizona, provides dental care to special needs patients and their families. Our dental teams are trained, equipped, and capable of providing dental services to the special needs or disabled patient. In addition, our clinic can manage referrals from private practice-based dentists in the Phoenix metro area. I am a senior with disabilities, and special needs, and I was treated inappropriately by their Dr.Doug Hill dental team and trained, and capable staff. Dr Hill's response was that they are primarily a dental universary, and their students come first. I acknowledged

that, and asked why I wasn't offered another dental clinic, as a solution instead of having me suffer, and waste his time, and mine. I told him they have my medical information, and office manager made a judgement on that basis. He said it was my opinion, and he had his own. I said, I needed help, and a resolution, but he didn't offer a list of clinic until this point, and he said that after all of this, he couldn't, wouldn't want to see me at the clinic. I told him, that he was acting in an unprofessional, and negative manner, and he repeated that, it was my opinion. I was in pain, and I felt humiliated, abused and that a dog should never be treated that way.

Justice

Phoenix, Arizona

U.S.A.