Fairlawn Family Practice

"2/9/24: My recent experience with Fairlawn Family Practice is alarming and disappointing. My hope is that this review helps others make the smart decision and find a different health care provider. I was prescribed by Josephine Doughman Wegovy in early 2023 and have been dedicated to the medication since. Starting on January 1st, 2024 Wegovy was no longer carried under my insurance. I began messaging Josephine about the issue and calling the office. Josephine tried ONCE to submit a prior authorization while in 2023, she sent multiple to ensure I was prescribed some sort of weight loss medication. Something changed with this office and doctor, I can tell you I was yelled at and "kicked out" of the practice by Paula, the office manager. While on the phone I tried to speak and Paula said verbatim, "we do not need to hear from you". During this exchange I said "please ensure the medication is prescribed and I will pay out of pocket for a month while I find another doctor". Paula responded with "I dont know if Josephine will do that". In essence, this is medication withholding and abandoning a client which is major cause for a report. To be clear, there was no inappropriate behavior on my end to cause patient abandonment. While yes, Josephine responded to my messages, all 4 voicemails to their nurse line were not returned. In this case, a phone call was not only requested, it should have been required. While I understand being busy, we are talking about medication that I was told by Josephine to not stop "cold turkey" and to at the very least ween off the drug. Josephine had no interest in this once my insurance stopped covering the drug. In fact, she would not try Mounjaro or Ozempic because they are for "diabetes" but she forgets, she prescribed both to me last year for weight loss but was denied. To date, I have never once been diagnosed with diabetes... Seems to me that Josephine has taken on too many patients and in fact, the entire practice has. I share the same sentiment as others, this practice is not worth the time, energy or mental distress. I will be reporting the entire issue to the board as of today. UPDATE 2/11/24 : Dr. Doughman & Fairlawn Family Practice have deactivated my Healow account and no messages can be retrieved. I have noted this in my report. UPDATE 2/12/24: The office nurse called and let me know Wegovy is no longer covered by my plan. I explained that I was told I am no longer welcome at the practice and a complaint was submitted to the Medical Board of Ohio."

"I have had only pleasant experiences here since moving from the CLE area. Dr. Doughman is wonderful. She takes the time at every appointment to listen to my concerns and have a conversation with me about options. I never feel like she wants to rush the visit or just throw one option at me and call it a day. She respects my autonomy as a patient and we have discussions about treatment plans. The front office staff have always been helpful and I’ve been able to get in same day when something came up that needed to be dealt with quickly. Voicemails for the nurse line are returned promptly and front desk answers phone quick whenever I have called to make appointments."

"The receptionist's desk is a joke, and I will not return as a patient. I am the Director of Admissions for a health care facility and I fully understand how to bill and verify insurance. My new insurance through my employer quoted that Pioneer was out of network but HAS out-of-network benefits that pays HIGHER than the MediCARE rate. 120% of the Medicare rate to be exact. The doctor I saw read this message outloud to me from Pioneers biller, while in the exam room. Before even attempting to bill for the visit, I was charged 70 dollars for an office visit. The office visit didn't even need to happen in the first place. I was told over the phone by the front desk that I would need to come in for an appointment Oct 4th BEFORE the doctor could re-fill my required daily medications. Well, upon the visit, the Dr. told me this was not true. She said I didnt even need the appointment that day. I look forward to finding a provider who knows what they're doing. 1. The visit was unnecessary to re-fill my one medication. 2. Without even attempting to bill my insurance, they collected the full amount of the visit for which I had blood pressure and weights taken. I could have done both at home and saved the PTO. Also, while standing at the front desk I overheard an elderly woman ask the front desk if they knew the hours of operation for another building, she needed a referral to. One of the receptionist's yelled, "PATIENT RESPONSIBILITY!! SHE CAN GOOGLE THAT HERSELF" - I thought to myself, "How rude can you be? There's a better way to handle the situation than to yell your shorthand verbiage of a flawed customer service policy. They must be underpaid because they certainly ask like trash upfront."

"First - Dr Parisi is great. Unfortunately, since becoming part of Pioneer Physicians Network, the office has become complete garbage. I called to make an appointment, sat on hold, then when it was "my turn" to speak with someone, I was forwarded to a message service. I left a message and never received a call back. I did this two times before I realized it was time to find a new doctor. The last time I was in to see Dr Parisi, I sat in the waiting room for an hour, then another 15-20 minutes in the doctors office. I spoke with a man who was also waiting to see the same doctor as I was, and his appointment was scheduled 15 minutes before mine. They are over scheduling and understaffed. The desk / office staff are empty uniforms."

"This doctor’s office is amazing. The drs actually listen and take the time to get to the bottom of what’s wrong. The front desk staff, and the nurses are all very friendly and do their best to be accommodating. Just like everywhere else in life you have to wait your turn, and sometimes they are busy or backed up. Be patient, bring a book, look out the window. It will be your turn before you know it."