Dr. Frank Lee:
I have used your telemedicine service for the past two and a half years with mixed results. However, over the past year, your fees have skyrocketed—from originally $42 to $79, and now to $99—an increase of over 100%. Despite this dramatic price hike, there has been no discernible improvement in service quality. In fact, based on my recent experience, the standard of care has sharply declined while the cost has more than doubled.
For example, after your office sent a prescription to my local pharmacy, the pharmacist required a simple clarification before filling it. They attempted to reach your office for four consecutive days via the contact number provided, sending four faxes and making multiple phone calls. After receiving no response, they ultimately gave up, unable to obtain the necessary clarification.
I was then left with no choice but to follow up with your office every day for five consecutive days, attempting to facilitate this straightforward request. Each time, I was told that the matter was “awaiting approval from the medical team” while being thanked for my patience. But patience should not be required for something that should have been handled immediately. If this had been an in-person visit, and the pharmacy had a question about my prescription, would it be reasonable for the provider to ignore those inquiries for an entire week? More importantly, how would the state medical board view such negligence in fulfilling a fundamental duty to the patient?
Due to your office’s failure—whether from neglecting to check faxes, not refilling the fax machine, or simply failing to relay messages—the pharmacy is now closed for the weekend. What could have been resolved in minutes last Friday instead dragged on for an entire workweek with no resolution. Your staff has failed to complete even the most basic clerical task, leaving me, the patient, to chase down a solution while enduring unnecessary delays in receiving my medication. And now, because of your staffs inaction whether intentional or otherwise I’ll be forced to restart this entire process on Monday for a second week.
Even the pharmacy—an establishment that handles hundreds of prescriptions daily with efficiency—is baffled by your office’s inability to provide such a simple follow-up service. Somehow they manage to process, compound, package, and ship medications overnight, ensuring patients receive what they need in a timely manner. Meanwhile, you charge $100 for a service that remains incomplete unless the patient personally intervenes to ensure it gets done. This level of disregard for patient care is wild.
I have also reminded your office of its legal obligations under Texas Occupations Code Sec. 111.007, which mandates that telemedicine providers adhere to the same standard of care as in-person visits. Furthermore, the Texas Medical Board’s Chapter 180, Rule §180.1(G) explicitly states that failing to timely respond to patient communications constitutes a violation of the Medical Practice Act.
A respectable business, upon recognizing such an error, would take immediate steps to rectify the situation—expediting the resolution and issuing a refund for a service that was not provided in a timely or professional manner. That would be an ethical and professional response. The fact that a medical provider, bound by a code of conduct and a legal standard of care, has failed to do so is disappointing as well as concerning.
I hope your office takes full responsibility for this failure and reassesses its approach to patient care. No one should have to work this hard to for a basic medical service they’ve already paid a provider and their office to handle.
M H. | Feb 01, 2025
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