Austin Regional Clinic: ARC Anderson Mill

"I want to start off by saying I have been a patient of this Anderson Mill ARC for nearly 2 decades. I have had some great doctors and some really awful doctors. I have struggled with doctors at other ARC clinics who have belittled my symptoms and in one scenario in 2021, had me wait three days for a covid test to come back negative for them to treat a double ear infection. I visited with Anderson Mill ARC's Dr. Albert Wong today. I have seen him in the past and although he had been short in appointments, he usually addressed my concerns. Today I came in after having flu like symptoms for the past two days, my boyfriend whom I live with just tested positive for Flu Type B yesterday. I decided I should jump on this and before it got worse. The staff at the desk were inattentive but kind, the nurse who called me back into a room and took my vitals was very kind and diligent with collecting why I was there and what symptoms I was having. Dr. Albert Wong came in and gave a short hello, looked at my chart and turned me to saying I just don't look like I have the flu. He continued by asking when the symptoms starting occurring and what they were- I tried to preface about my boyfriend testing positive to lead into my symptoms; but apparently Dr Wong had somewhere more pressing to be as he cut me off telling me he wasn't asking about my boyfriend. I continued by telling him my symptoms. After telling me he was not asking about my boyfriend he went on to ask questions like "But I bet your boyfriend had a higher fever, huh? and I bet he was coughing a lot more? I bet he looked pretty sick?" He then checked my lungs, looked at my throat from two feet away with a flash light and asked if I wanted to test the flu. I said yes of course. I saw him for a little over 2 minutes before he left. My entire interaction with Dr. Wong was short, belittling, condescending and extremely disrespectful. I brought up a concern about my ears throbbing as I have had frequent ear infections coinciding with getting sick that Dr. Wong neglected to even check. Two hours later Dr. Wong called to tell me I did in-fact test positive for Flu type B. I spoke with the manager of this clinic who apologized on behalf of Dr. Wong and said she would talk with him. Dr. Wong had nothing more to say to me over the phone when telling me about my results. He does not care about you, your time and will act as if he has much better things to be attending to while dismissing your concerns during your appointment. If you have doctor anxiety, are sick, KNOW you're sick and are seeking help or are just wanting to see a doctor to discuss concerns about your health, ARC IS THE PLACE YOU SHOULD AVOID AT ALL COSTS! I will no longer be visiting any ARC clinic."

"Dr Dominique Issac is unhelpful with general health questions and doesn’t ever seem to recall me nor my medical history although I’ve been seeing her for the past three years. Dr Alissa Brekken, on the other hand, is a fantastic person and professional although sadly (for me) a pediatrician. I hadn’t seen Dr Brekken in, again, three years yet she recognized me at work. It’s not about whether they can get the job done, but how they treat their patients."

"First off, my low rating is strictly for the doctor I was assigned to. I wish I could give more stars to the staff, and everyone I’ve interacted with thus far because they have all been wonderful. I plan to try for another doctor on their staff, but I wanted to share my experience with the doctor I was assigned to. To preface, I had the most incredible doctor for years until he, unfortunately, moved. He was just fired-up and optimistic about truly helping me from the get-go. All of the research and knowledge that I have now is because of him. I know the list is endless when it comes to medications for certain issues, and while I have tried MANY, I know I still have options. I struggle with mental health and have since I was very young. All of this said, I am extremely immaculate and detailed with my diagnoses, medical charts, daily symptoms, notes/journals, etc. I had my first “new patient” appointment with Dr. Truong this morning, and I was really looking forward to connecting with her. I have had rough doctor appointments in the past, but this has been my absolute worst. Within 10 minutes of “meeting” and trying to talk to Dr. Truong, it only crashed and burned from there. She barely acknowledged or looked at me, as she never moved from the computer. She was very hard to understand, which triggered my anxiety because “starting over” with a new doctor can be stressful when there’s lots of information to divulge and discuss, but I didn’t feel understood. At all. I expected to get, or discuss, bloodwork and labs, but nothing was ever mentioned. It was all just so quick and cold. Her questions and remarks regarding my current medications made me uncomfortable and confused. I seemed to know more about the medication and protocol than she did. I had to repeat things to her, many times. Most of the questions or comments that she made were unnecessary, because my medical history, charts, etc. are all updated and should have already been accessible to her. She was dismissive of my situation, struggles and symptoms, and basically told me verbatim that “she doesn’t know what else to do for me”, and that I should consider stopping my current medications and see a psychiatrist. In fact, she said she would only send in my prescription refills if I confirmed to her that I would seek a psychiatrist. Listen, I hate having to take and rely-on my medications, but I can’t NOT be on them. My struggles are chemical. I have already tried the therapy/psychological route to no avail. I am halfway through adjusting to one of my current medications, and I can neither “just stop taking them”, or continue on without a doctors guidance. Anyone with true mental health struggles, and anyone that truly dives into those struggles and makes and/or continues on with a game-plan, knows what is best for them due to the work that has already been done. I wasn’t heard, and there was no optimism or comfort. I was immediately written-off and told to have a good day. I didn’t even know if I was done or not until the nurses came in. It was difficult to not show and express my disappointment and confusion, but they were very compassionate, and I appreciated it! Upon checking out I was very blunt, but not nasty, when I was asked how I was and if I needed to schedule anything else. I just explained that the appointment was not good for me, and I will not see her again. I’m not sure what Dr. Truongs specialties and expertise are, but if you share my struggles, I would HIGHLY recommend seeing another ARC provider. It was just a shame having had her."

"Pore service! Only care about the copay and reoccurring copays. Same issue, but they wanted an office visit to say the same things. I have been hung up on multiple occasions with no callbacks. Lack of true patient care and / or competence in treating patients. I do not recommend them. All of this is not even for an adult. My 8 year old daughter is the one that sufferers from this."

"I started going to the Anderson Mill ARC over a year ago. Typically, I don't go to places with such low ratings, but it is very close and conveniently located, so I gave them a shot. It usually takes a long time to schedule an appointment and apparently the people on the phones have a more limited viewing of the availability than if you schedule online. That rubbed me the wrong way after I found out. The phone rep told me the first available appointment was weeks out, but I was able to schedule online for the same week. When I asked about it, she told me that they don't see availability after days are a certain percentage booked. I was part of the tech layoffs and had Medicaid for a couple of months. I noticed a difference right away in how I was treated using that insurance vs. private. But the straw that truly broke the camels back is that I sent a message in the online portal asking them to send a prescription over for Nicotine patches which are available without a prescription over-the-counter and they told me that I had to make an appointment... For Nicotine patches. A lot of people don't know that insurance will cover these if they are prescribed by a doctor, but I found out a couple years back and had no problem when I requested that my previous doctor send in a prescription for me. The obvious only reason that this ARC would require me to take time off of work and come into the office is for money. More and more, I felt like I wasn't valued as a patient or even a person at this ARC. It's all about the money for them and what's sad is I'm sure that there are good doctors that care here, but you'll have to interact with the support staff eventually and so I would not recommend coming to this location."