Lowell Family Medical Services

"I saw one of the doctors there twice before for minor things, paid my bill, and thought I had a good relationship with them. I was always polite on the phone and in person. I was warned at a free Saturday leg and vein clinic to see my regular doctor right away Monday morning and get on some blood pressure medication. I tried to get in to Lowell Medical Center all week and they could not seem to fit me in. During that week I started having panic attacks, not being able to get an appointment scheduled and came in on my own to see if a doctor could see me, and they refused treatment and sent me across town to the ER instead. The ER doc told me that I could have been treated in Lowell at my regular doctor. She made it clear that one doesn’t have to go to the ER to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and get on medication for it. Being uninsured I was frustrated at getting an expensive ER bill and lack of care at Lowell Medical Center. Finally, still unseen at Lowell Medical, a prescription was called in for me and I was looking forward to getting on with my life. I had blogged about my experience online being careful not to mention any names of doctors or medical offices, just talking about my own health issues and my frustration with the health care system in general, being uninsured. At the end of the week I ready to move on and forgive Lowell Family Medical Center for their mistake. Then I got a call from Sheryl Tessmer, one of their office workers. She was very condescending to me and wanted me to drop everything and come in – not for an appointment, but to discuss my use of social networking. Apparently instead of seeing me as a patient, they were spending their time monitoring Facebook and social networking. My anxiety returned full force that day. She called me back to tell me I was no longer wanted as a patient and would be sent a dismissal form. My last words to her were, “You are dropping me as a patient because of my personal Facebook page? She said, “Yes.” I asked, “What about my right to free speech?” She said, “You can have your rights, just not as one of our patients.” I was stunned. Calling a patient and speaking to them this way, when they are having blood pressure and anxiety issues is unacceptable and I believe the outcome could have much different had THEY handled things in a much different way and apologized to me. This is how businesses get a bad rep – not taking ownership for their mistake and not making an effort to make an apology. This happened last October, 6 months ago. I gave it some time hoping I would get an apology, but since that hasn’t happened I thought it was time to write a review."