Allergy Asthma & Immunology of East Alabama

"I mean the staff is nice but I guess they have to be to make up for the 78 minute wait times."

"Dr. Rddy was phenomenal. The care we received at her clinic was unmatched. She made us feel like she was genuinely concerned and that she listened to every word we said. We never felt rushed- she spent an hour just to answer every question that my sister had and made sure she fully understood each answer before moving on to the next one. I cannot speak highly enough about the care that we received from dr reddy today!!"

"It's practices like this that give me a healthy skepticism of doctors. There are two primary reasons I am giving this practice one star. 1) The care and communication from the doctor and his PA. I was almost immediately pushed towards allergy shots and was told by the physician's assistant that I should start seeing results by my follow-up in four months. When I saw no results in this time, she said we needed to wait a year, and close to the one year mark it was once again pushed up to two years. I now understand it can take up to two to three years to experience relief from allergy shots, but this is not what the physician's assistant told me, and it felt like she was backpeddling every time one of her predictions didn't come true. At one point, she looked me in the eye and said she guarantees me it will work, and that was the moment I decided I didn't want to see this practice anymore because I knew that they cannot make that sort of a promise. If she had, at any point, said, "I'm sorry that was your understanding. It could take two to three years if we are to see any results," I might have forgiven them. But it was just broken prediction after broken prediction. Throughout it all, the only thing I was offered to help with symptoms was a prescription for azelastine hydrochloride nasal spray. Every time I complained, I was told that I had a deviated septum and a septoplasty was my only other option. Eventually, I complained enough that they referred me to an ENT. At the ENT, I found out not only that my septum was not severe enough to have caused the symptoms, but I was offered additional treatment options that the PA never even brought up, such as a turbinate reduction, which has assisted my breathing tremendously. They have also worked with me with three additional nasal sprays that I wasn't offered at the allergist. I was retested for allergies at the ENT and thirteen additional allergies were detected that the allergist missed, which probably had something to do with why treatment wasn't effective. And yes, they were all things like pet dander and ragweed that the allergist should have caught. 2) The insurance and billing department. I was promised that my insurance would pay for allergy shots 100% predeductible, so imagine my surprise six months later when I got a surprise $1,300 bill. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield through my work. The insurance department was full of excuses about miscommunication and why it happened and there was a period it seemed like they had a different excuse every day about the coverage. She did admit that I was told in the beginning that it was 100% covered predeductible. In the end, my insurance company confirmed that the 100% coverage was postdeductible. Since the doctor likes to respond to reviews blaming the insurance, I put it to the test and asked another practice to run my insurance and tell me how much allergy shots would be. They gave me a completely accurate quote based on my current understanding of my insurance on the first try without knowing about the debacle at the first practice. I now believe it was 100% the insurance department at East Alabama Allergy's fault, and I've yet to receive any acknowledgement or apology. Needless to say, my allergies are currently well-controlled through other means no thanks to this practice and I've decided not to pursue shots at this time because of the high out-of-pocket costs. But it was nice to feel like I wasn't being bait and switched to get me on shots. As a side note, the PA at one point told me that she makes no money off these shots to try to push blame off on the insurance company. That was the other moment I decided I didn't want to deal with this practice anymore, and my family and I will be driving out of our way so we don't have to. EDIT: You've got to love when the practice responds to you in such a condescending and dismissive manner that they don't actually address the complaint: what I was told by the PA. And, no, I was never contacted about a refund."

"Went today with my youngest for the immunologist department. I was very pleased with the office and the staff from the moment we walked in the door. Olivia was very friendly and greeted us warmly. The office was setup very efficiently. They had a shot clinic and then several seating and waiting areas for the wait time after the shot. Dr. Tole was great with us. He included my youngest in the conversation and didn't just talk to me. He spoke to us like people and if he used medical terms he would immediately break that down into layman's terms. His staff was really caring as well. I completely recommend this office and Dr. Tole."

"I very rarely write reviews, but I wanted to take the time to do so in this case. The medical staff is fantastic - they are knowledgeable and take the time to talk to patients and explain treatment plans and how they work. The administrative staff is pretty amazing too - I had some long term insurance issues with medication that they resolved within a few hours. They were also always on the ball for appointments and billing. No surprises. The combination of good medical care, good administrative staff, and friendly people in general is rare. Ultimately, medical care in a small town is hit or miss. I had some issues finding adequate care in Auburn (which is ultimately why I left the area) - but I have zero complaints about this place."