Banner - University Medicine North

"This is an update to an original five star review. At my first visit, the receptionist, not a billing rep.,told me in no uncertain terms that money upfront would be required (I am fully insured and in no way in arrears to Banner), instead of just billing insurance directly. I took her at her word because I wanted to see the doctor, so I paid. Now having had multiple visits subsequently and having dealt with different check-in staff, I see that it's not an across-the-board policy of Banner to demand money upfront. I dealt with this particular receptionist again less than a week ago and it was more of the same, but luckily there was a supervisor looking right over her shoulder and she had no choice but to relent. As stated in the feedback that was requested post appointment, going to see a cardiologist is stressful enough without being hassled by a controlling receptionist. The doctor and medical staff were wonderful, but I just don't appreciate having to deal with this overbearing woman."

"Ob's are good but every other department in this network is a nightmare! Trauma ward is negligent, pediatricians are weird, residents are typically worthless, schedulers are a crayon short of a box, sports medicine is a circus. Just horrible all around if you're insurance will let you go anywhere else do!"

"I tried to get a primary care provider at Banner in August 2023. I was told that almost no one at Banner is taking new patients, so I have to wait 8 months to see one, in April of 2024. I have a thyroid disease, so I called endocrinology and was able to get an appt with them only 2 months out! A nice person from the endocrinology office called and left me a voicemail asking for my prior endocrinologist's contact info. When I called back, they couldn't connect me to that person. They said there was no record of that call, and that my endocrinology appointment was cancelled because even though I have a diagnosis, I would first need a referral from the PCP who I can't see until April of 2024 - oh, and, by the way, they told me, my PCP appointment has been canceled! So I had to sit through another phone call and wait to see a different doctor, now in May of 2024 (9 months out from my original call). What a hot mess. But everyone I talked to was kind and did their best to help me. I'm sure it's demoralizing for them to work within this system and I wouldn't blame them for going to work somewhere else. Stop overpaying your executives, Banner, and invest in your staff and capacity building. This is not just dysfunctional, it's dangerous. Why should I have to wait for a referral when I have a documented disease? How many people will have adverse health outcomes, or die, because they have to wait 8-9 months to see a PCP and get a specialist referral, and then wait 2+ months to see that specialist? UPDATE: after multiple phone calls (maybe 7 or 8?) talking to different people, I did get a referral and was able to have my endocrinologist visit covered. She was ok. She was caring, in her way, and spent a decent amount of time with me. She insisted that there is "no need" to address the autoimmune root of my condition, or see an autoimmune specialist, and that we should just cover it up with meds. Sadly, a pretty typical perspective for today's average arrogant/ignorant, compartmentalized, individualistic, Covid-mongering Western doc. (She said that she's seeing a ton of Covid-caused thyroid disease, but that masking is unnecessary because the CDC told her so)."

"Getting a referreal to Banner is currenly similar to practically not getting a referral at all. No one will ever call you back and scheduling is a test for your nerves. Simple questions on the line make scheduling people annoyed. I called in August and I was able to schedule an appointment for OB/GYN for January only. Then they called me back in November to reschedule even further out, because the doctor "would not be seeing annual exams any more" and were annoyed that now my calendar was full and I wasn't able to accept the first appointment they offered to me. Horrible!"

"Banner suffers from maddening bureaucracy. And a structure that is terrible at detecting and tending to ruptures in the chain of events that is supposed to lead to care. So patients are either well served or handled terribly. I've read almost all reviews and that explains why they are so remarkably bimodal. This agrees with the results of my own several visits to Banner doctors. Every time you schedule an appointment, you are rolling the dice. Unless Banner offers a crucial service unavailable elsewhere, I will no longer use them. It pains me to say that because I am an adopted Tucsonan of 64 years and was a biology professor at the U for 42 of them. Our crown jewel of medicine is no more."