Michael Riesberg, MD

"Let me start off by mentioning that Dr. Riesberg is very kind and his office is very clean and nice. I went to Dr. Riesberg due to prolonged fluid in my ears for multiple months. I had an initial consult with him and he told me I would most likely need tubes in my ears, and that I should get an audiogram first. I had a second appointment and got the audiogram done. I was then told to come back for a third appointment to confirm and schedule the ear tubes. On my arrival to the third visit the lady checking me in greeted me and said "you must be Erica." I was the only one in the office at that point. I arrived at 1:45pm for my 2:00pm appointment. I said yes and she proceeded to check me in. She asked if I still had the same PCP and proceeded to name the doctor. I do not have a PCP nor have I ever in Pensacola, so I told her I did not know who that was or why they were listed on my chart, and that I didn't have a PCP. She charged me a $60 co-pay (I have never had a copay on my insurance previously) and then called me back to the room. When Dr. Riesberg entered the room, he immediately began discussing thrush, an oral yeast infection and the treatment for that. I stopped him and told him that I was here for fluid in my ears and ear tube placement. He looked at the chart with a confused look and asked me to verify my birthday. The birthday on the chart was incorrect and I had been signed in under the wrong patient. Dr. Riesberg was kind but clearly did not remember me from previous visits (which I do not expect him to). The visit lasted less than 2 minutes and he said "let's just schedule the ear tubes." He then took me to the front desk and told them they had the wrong name/bday. The front desk person proceeded to reveal the full name, birthday, and appointment time of the other patient that they had checked me in under. They had to refund the copay to me that they charged under someone else's insurance. I did not say anything but was shocked to see such a blatant HIPAA violation. I scheduled the ear tube surgery and was told they would contact my insurance for cost. Dr. Riesberg told me that they placed the ear tubes with anesthesia/conscious sedation through an IV. After some research I found that it is much more common for ENT's to perform this on adult's with just numbing ear drops and the patient is awake for the procedure. It takes about 10 minutes and is commonly done in a doctor's office, not an OR. I spoke with the office to see if Dr. Riesberg would do the procedure with just numbing drops, they refused to ask him and told me he won't do it that way. My insurance doesn't cover outpatient surgeries so they told me the cost would be "extremely expensive, probably thousands" because of the cost of anesthesia. I now have to find a new ENT who will do the procedure without anesthesia to afford it. Not to mention, as an ER nurse who administers conscious sedation medications frequently, there are many adverse reactions and risks associated with those medications and most patients including myself don't feel good afterwards for days. It is unfortunate to see a doctor that doesn't take into consideration what is most beneficial for the patient and has the best outcome."

"I called on 8/17/22 to make an appointment and was told I was scheduled for 8/29/22. I had new insurance so I gave that and was told I would get a call verifying that my insurance was taken. I went all week without a call and so on Friday 8/26 I called to verify and was told I didn't have an appointment scheduled for 8/29. I was understandably upset because I really needed the appointment due to issues I've been having. The office manager who I was speaking to offered Tuesday, but I was upset and wanting to verify if the person I had first spoke with had even put in my new insurance. Instead of verifying the office manager kept trying to talk over me and asking me about Tuesday (then later saying she had told me 3 times about the insurance and if she did she did it while I was talking but honestly i never heard her say anything or i would have stopped asking). Not for a moment did she let me speak and instead kept trying to talk over me, basically doing everything they tell you not to do so you can avoid escalating a call (I work in insurance and deal with escalated calls from providers and members all the time). She then threatened to not let me be seen at all which led to me crying because I have been a patient at this provider for a while (been a bit since I was last seen due to insurance issues) and have always had pleasant interactions with the staff which is why I decided to continue here even though my insurance said the copay would be a bit more than other places. I shouldn't have had to cry to finally be kind of listened to. I repeatedly asked multiple times if she could let me speak and she would not stop talking over me and not listening. I'm severely upset I was treated like this over an issue that was their fault. I never got an apology for the error that led me to not having an appointment. Actually I apologized because I was scared I wouldn't be allowed to get an appointment with a doctor who's actually helped me even though I was never abusive just upset because the appointment I was looking forward to was never even entered into the schedule. The staff needs training on proper customer service. If I wasn't absolutely desperate I wouldn't come back to this office because of the office manager specifically. Dr. Riesberg is a good doctor, but may need to reevaluate his staff. ***Update The office manager, Barbara, reached out via email about my experience. I emailed back about my concerns going to an office where the staff would treat you like that. The office manager never addressed my concerns and ignored my email twice. Then they tried charging me $800 for the visit so I had to cancel. I asked for a cost breakdown via email so I could look into it with my insurance and the office manager Barbara said sure and then I saw nothing else. Turns out they mailed my personal information to my old address they had on file from 2018. I never verified the correct address with them because they hadn't asked before sending out my private personal information (HIPAA violation). I'm not sure what happened since I was last at the office because I had had good experiences and little issue, but it seems like they have gone downhill and are in desperate need to train their staff properly in multiple areas."

"Great visit for my husband. We had needed answers for a while as to what is going on with his sinuses and we finally found the perfect doctor to give us those answers and more in great detail with the perfect solution to helping with his issues. Thank you so very much to Dr Riesberg and his amazing ladies for all your help! We are definitely looking forward to our next visit!"

"Dr Riesberg took time to evaluate, discuss and make recommendations. Personable and thorough - also you could tell the staff enjoyed working there. Very pleasant experience, Better than most other doctor visits I have had in Pensacola."

"Dr. Riesberg initally greeted us with an authentic introduction and took time to hear the background of symptoms that led us to make the appointment. He was thorough in his examination and also in his explanation of diagnosis. He was positive but also realistic. Leaving his office, we felt a sense of relief and encouragement after months of doctor and ER trips. So thankful to him!"