Colonial Internal Medicine Associates, PC

"Love Dr. McDowell, but some of his office staff and their in-office billing practices leave much to be desired. Their billing company confirmed that they have many issues with the office staff not charging co-pays at the time of service and they will flat out tell you your account is fine and you don't owe anything when, in fact, you do. They also insist my daughters no showed to two appointments that I know we called them to cancel, and no showed to a vaccine appointment that they told us over the phone they didn't need an appointment for and could just come in whenever. They're now charging me $50 no show fees for all of those appointments. Unfortunately, as much as I like my doctor, my family will be leaving this practice."

"Several issues. First being the lafy at front desk was extremely rude (this was October 2023)and refused to allow me in for my appointment when zi arrived because I didn't have the physical insurance card. I had it on my insurance app. My insurance card hadn't been sent to me yet so I had a digital copy. I was never told I needed the actual card in order to be seen. All the insurance information and a digital card was provided but she refused and told me I would need to reschedule my appointment that I had waited 2 months for as a new patient. So I had to sit outside in the parking lot calling the office and asking for a manager to get someone from another location to actually help me and say I'm so sorry you shouldn't be refused to be seen when you have a digital card. They had to call them at the Stafford location and tell them to see me and how to process a digital card by just typing in the information. It was ridiculous and then zi was very late for my appointment. Once I seen my Doctor she was great. I was currently on a medication that was working very well for me but my use was off label use. People do all the time. I understood she might not want to prescribe it so I told her that I already hadva doctor for it but that z I'm going to continue with it because I'm seeing amazing results. She said she would consult another doctor and check as they understood it was coming down the pike soon to be FDA approved for the use I was currently prescribed. She called back and agrred to prescribe itvafter research and discussion with another doctor in the practice and my results. Then after several months of prescibing itvwith no issues and still incredible results on my end as the patient she just stopped prescribing it. No phone call. No conversation. Nothing. I had to keep reaching out for answers to eventually be told they will no longer be prescribing it until its FDA approved for my need. Which it is now btw. Anyhow it was just horrible practice and no individualized care plans. I personally wouldn't recommend."

"I had a friend who scheduled an appointment twice with Colonial Internal and the appointment got rescheduled then cancelled. She really needed care and ended up going to the ER and being hospitalized for a week over the New Year holiday. She had to have surgery and is still in recovery. Appointment availability is null and staff customer service is rude and not accommodating. When does the receptionist at the office scold you from being scheduled with a practitioner they completed on behalf of a patient? I just don’t get that! We pay a lot of money for healthcare; so services should be available and staff should be empathetic. I can just say choose wisely."

"I was a patient at Colonial internal medicine for 4+ years. Had three different doctors during that time. The last provider was a ditz, spent more time talking than attending to me. The first time I saw her she wasn't even aware I was new patient.The office is unclean and the time to wait on front desk calls are always unacceptable."