Spaulding Outpatient Center Wellesley

"I heard this doctor could provide a certain type of treatment that I had researched. So this visit was to explain my problem and here how they proposed to handle it. What they proposed didn't have anything to do with why I wanted to use them in the first place. I spoke with the doctor for about 45 minutes. I did not receive a prescription or treatment plan, we just had a conversation. They set me up for an x-ray, which I didn't do. That's it. I decided that I wasn't going to use this doctor any further. Before I set up the appointment, I consulted with my insurance (I use an HSA) to make sure I would be covered there and I am. The doctor is in-network. This bill is for a first time virtual (over Zoom) consultation. Once I received the bill for this visit, I was in complete shock, confusion, and quite honestly rage at how much I was being charged! $528! Really? for a 45 min zoom call that resulted in nothing? I didn't even visit the office! How in the world is this acceptable? Does the hospital think they can charge this much because the insurance company would just pay for it anyway? The hospital/doctor should have directed me to their cost estimate system before my appointment (which they apparently have but didn't bother telling me about until after my appointment when I called them about this outlandish bill!) After speaking with them, no one really took responsibility or knew how to handle this dispute. I kept getting referred from one person to another. I disputed my bill with the hospital and all they were willing to do was check that the billing code used was correct (which it was!). I also appealed the bill through my insurance as well. No one is claiming accountability! Mass Brigham (who I guess owns this hospital) in my opinion very unethical in there billing practices and needs to be held accountable!"

"The staff is terrible. They cancel on me multiple times for no reason and don’t bother to leave a message on a device that I can reach. Scheduling online is terrible and when they put you on the waitlist they don’t call you to inform of available appointments. They did not even inform me that my old PT was going to leave. They are rude and unhelpful. Beyond that, I have been in this PT place for a year with no change in my symptoms. I even had a relapse this year. I would not recommed this place and I will not be coming back."

"My PT (vestibular) is great, but communicating with the scheduling staff is unusually difficult. There is no call queuing system, as with most doctor's offices. Roughly nine out of every ten calls go unanswered (during their office hours). I've also never had a voicemail returned. It took multiple months of calling and leaving messages before I got to speak with someone to schedule my first appointment. If you have the time and patience, though, the physical therapy can be great."

"I would not recommend Spaulding Wellesley, especially their cycling program. Especially if you have a back injury. Especially if you are a woman. They will not listen to you, take you seriously, or come up with a plan to treat you. I went there with high hopes for recovering from a mild disc herniation. The doctor and physical therapist of the program gave me a one hour assessment but then never gave me progressive physical therapy exercises or created any sort of recovery plan whatsoever. Rather, they said I should get back on the bike, which lead to a worsening of the mild injury I have. When I told them how much pain I was in, they dismissed it as muscular pain and did no assessment whatsoever. The physical therapist there would notice things like that I have tight hip flexors and remark on this every week but never actually give me a plan for resolving that. I felt completely not listened to and I felt like the physician and PT (who both make more money than I do as an educator) did not actually perform their jobs. In fact, they lead me to do things that made my injury worse. Now, a year and a half later - and lots of dollars spent on useless treatments - I am still recovering from this injury. It would be one thing if they admitted they didn't know what they were doing with back injuries and directed me to someone who did. It's another thing to be under the care of a physical therapist and physician who tell you to do things that end up hurting you in life altering ways. I don't know how Spauldling is rated the number 2 best rehab hospital in the United States. And, even worse, the doctor is a cyclist who is on a cycling listserv hosting rides that I get emails about but cannot participate in because thanks to her lack of care I am still injured. The team at Spaulding failed to take my injury seriously and come up with a thorough plan of care. I cannot warn enough against the Cycling Clinic at Spaulding. Unless you are a male coming there with a minor injury , they don't seem to care to do anything but constantly adjust your bike fit."

"Really disappointed with Spaulding. I am a returning patient called left a message as I was trying to schedule a evaluation following a second knee surgery. Never received a return call. Finally got through to someone and was informed by receptionist Sara that they would not book an appointment without my surgeon's office faxing over order. I inquired as to why that was and she said they were just to busy to schedule appointments without an order. I then asked how long it would take to get an appointment she said it would be 6 weeks . I replied even though I'm being discharged from home PT next week and I am required to do PT 3 times a week you are telling me as a former patient you can't see me till April? She stated yes they were just to busy . I asked if there was another Rehab facility they would recommend. Her answer I really don't know of any other???? I get that they are busy when I was there 1year ago it was always tough to book appointments but this is ridiculous. It's to bad as I loved my Physical Therapist but I'll never return to them now based on this encounter with the front desk ."