Academy Women's Healthcare Associates

The billing department is highly incompetent and uncooperative. My procedure was incorrectly coded, and this cost me significant time and money to try and appeal with my health insurance company. I recommend finding a different office since there are many to choose from. more

I'm new to the Colorado Springs area and needed to find a GYN doctor for my annual needs & anything in between. AWHA had an impressive web layout and the doctors had good credentials upon further research. I liked the idea that their location was close to home as well as conveniently located to the hospital & diagnostic testing. - I like my doctor however in less than 2 months I've become increasingly unhappy with ""customer service"" and follow up. I feel there are a couple of gals at the reception desk who don't belong there; as a new patient, I wasn't greeted in a pleasant manner but more like another inconvenience. - I had gone to the website & completed all new patient forms as requested to expedite the process upon arrival however when I got to the office, they couldn't find my paperwork and wanted me to complete everything again (my paperwork was in my patient file & with the MA). The waiting both times was ridiculous; patients are asked to arrive 15 minutes early but the first appointment ran an hour behind and the 2nd appointment ran 2-1/2 hours behind; sadly front desk staff didn't make it a point to notify patients and give the option to reschedule - - terribly inconvenient. - - Additionally, calls are not returned within 24 hours; options on recorded message do not offer adequate options for reaching the correct person/department & dialing ""0"" does not get the front desk/operator on the phone for further help. The final straw for me is waiting till the end of the 3rd business day with a weekend in between to learn that I had a tumor of undetermined nature requiring further follow up with a specialist; not to mention it didn't appear that results were carefully reviewed prior to the call nor was the radiologist report adequately understood. I no longer have confidence in this practice & plan to go elsewhere as soon as I find one that meets my expectations. - - In short, I have never felt that the patients who are the core of the practice are valued; I also believe the practice has too many patients and/or patient management is mismanaged; whatever the underlying cause, my experience hasn't been favorable. more

Great doc, horrible practice --- I absolutely love my doctor at AWHA: kind, professional, knowledgeable, fantastic. I have also had positive experiences with the nurses and MAs, who are really on top of things and have good people skills. The rest of the practice, however, leaves much to be desired. First off, they demand that patients -- not just first-timers, but returning patients as well -- arrive between 15 and 30 minutes early, depending upon the type of service being rendered. That would be absolutely fine, except for one little thing: I have yet to be escorted to an exam/procedure room within an hour of my appointment time. That's right. I have waited for a full hour or longer after my scheduled appointment time each and every visit, despite arriving early as instructed. Compare the wait time with the visit that typically lasts 10 minutes or so and I spend about 7.5 times as long waiting as I do actually being seen by the doctor. That is totally unacceptable, and a business in any other field would be out of business quickly operating like that. Additionally, I truly am a super nice patient, going out of my way to be understanding and friendly, yet the desk staff are terribly rude, rarely if ever making eye contact and giving curt responses to any type of attempted interaction. Who is running this place? It's ridiculous. I am going to see my doc once more to wrap up my current course of treatment and will then look for a new OB-Gyn office for future appointments, which is sad because I really love my doctor! more

I have delivered all 3 of my kids with Dr. Weary and just LOVE him. I am over 30 and have always loved that he has respected my choice to not do an amnio, there is never any pressure to take unnessary tests or bloodwork. \r \r Sometimes, the office is busy and yes, the doctors do run down the connecting hall to the hospital to deliver babies, but I've always found the NP to be wonderful and a great replacement. I always deliver VERY fast and so far, haven't yet had Dr. Weary actually deliver any of my kids. He almost made it to the birth of my son in July! But I won't hold it against him that he hasn't been there. I went from 5 centimeters to crowning in less than 2 min so he just couldn't make it! Even at a dead run own the skywalk.\r \r LOVE love LOVE love LOVE the new office builiding and the new hospital. My first two were born at Penrose Community, which was nice, but the new set up is AWESOME!\r \r Anyway, just love all of the doctors, except one who shall remain nameless, but have been seen by all of the doctors and only ever had a problem with the one. I think it was more of a personal issue than anything else. Which is why I won't name names!\r \r They are a very busy practice, so I always did my best to get a first in the morning appointment, or first in the afternoon appointment. That made the wait much shorter. \r \r Just a quick Thank you to Dr. Weary and the entire staff for the great job you do! You guys are the best! more

I am new to Colorado and did a bit of internet surfing looking for an OB-GYN practice in the area. I decided to try Academy Women's Healthcare. After waiting for 1 hour I approached the desk and it was obvious that this kind of wait was not unusual. After sitting in the waiting room for 1 hour and 25 minutes I approached the desk and informed them that I would seek out a more professionally run practice. The scheduling staff simply schedules as they are instructed by the doctors. It was obvious from the number of people stacked up in the waiting room that the doctors at this practice have absolutely no respect or regard for their patients. I will look elsewhere and would encourage others to do the same. more

I love this office!. The staff and doctors are great. My first experience with an OBGYN while pregnant did not go over well. I was told that having contractions at three months was no big deal and not to worry. Then when my child stopped moving they had no advice and not being a fan of memorial due to other experiences there I went to Penrose Community and met the greatest doctor I have ever had, Dr. O'Connell! He immediately took me as a patient and I was more than happy with him. I made it through my pregnancy on bedrest and under his care. He has been my doctor for my second pregnancy also. There is just a level of comfort I have with him and I know he will get me through it all. I now have two healthy girls thanks to him. I never had to fear the doctor's office and the nurses and staff are so friendly. They always seem to remember exactly who you are. Granted I'm there more for my doctor than the actual office I would not choose to go any where else unless Dr. O'connell left. Pros: love the staff and my doctor Cons: waits can be a little lengthy in the afternoons, mornings are easy more

Basically I find that this office so far is pretty well run, but the best part is our doctor. She is new there, Dr. Clauss. She has been great in answering all of my wife and I's questions, which we have had a lot. She also appears to be very into helping us achieve our birth plan, which is completely natural. We have not delivered yet (any day now) so I can't really talk to whether she actually will or not. Most of the nurses that we have come into contact with have been very nice or, at the least, courteous. No problems with billing yet, but again, the baby hasn't come and that is when we get our bill. There have been a couple times we have had to wait past our appointment time to get taken back to the exam room, but as many visits as we've made I have not been dissatisfied. Also, one of their RN's there, Stacey (sp?), was great for our first couple visits. Pros: Dr. Clauss has been great so far Cons: A little far away from where we live, but worth the drive more

I find it hard to believe that Dr. Baiza ment what he said in a rude manner. He is the funniest, coolest, and most comforting Dr. I have had. (and i have been through a lot of Docs!) He was the Doc for my second daughter and before i had Dr. Arnet, I told Dr. Baiza he had a lot to live up to because she was awsome. Well of course, he DID! I also have him as my reg and I was diagnosised with ovarian cysts. He explained everything to me untill i was understanding. He layed out my options, and he worked with me. Granted yes, i do have to wait a while when i go there but it is a very busy office and i have no problem waiting for a Dr. that is worth waiting for. The nurses there could be a little nicer, but when you work the job they do, you start to understand a little bit of their frustrations. The billing, they do alot there, peole dont seem to understand that. not only do the normal billing tha goes on in an offce, but they apply for medicaid for the patients right there in the office because they get a response much faster. THEY DO IT FOR US because if you have ever had toork with any government type health care you would know that its a B*TCH! Dont listen to the bad review! And if you do go to this office, try your hardest for Dr. Baiza! Pros: Dr. Baiza! Cons: He is only one man! more

I have many friends and family that go to this office. We have always found them to be professional and compassionate. There is no overbooking. I know because I work here. One of the reasons there are so many payients is because patients want to be seen at our office. I know that this pt Jenshine had an awful experience but as usual only the unhappy patients take time to complain. I know that If Dr Baiza meant no harm or disrespect and you are only getting half the story. As far as the delivery I cant comment but its safe to say as the busiest office in town they will have days where several women are in labor bur always being managed safely ad to the highest level of care. I have founf all the doctors to be great and the popularity of the office speaks to this. Ask your friends and youll see. jenshine plaese call Dr. Baiza Im sure he would love to talk to you about this. Pros: Great office and staff. more

OVER BOOKING APPOINTMENTS! Sometimes I would wait an hour or more past my scheduled appointment time to be seen. The staff wouldn't even apologize. HUMAN PIN CUSHION! The nurses poked me time and time again. Even the so called ""best nurse"" wasn't able to draw. She put me through pain by wiggling the needle around under my skin and also stretching it more then an inch above my arm. After asking if she had to do it that way she stormed out of the room upset. The doctor greeted me that day by saying, ""I hear your picking on my nurse?"" What a way to be greeted, especially since I was in a great deal of pain physically and emotionally already. (this was Dr. Biaza)\r When I arrived at the hospital to deliver my first born the doctor was also trying to deliver 2 other babies. So he was rushing around in and out of rooms. The doctor broke my water without asking me first! I was told not to push when I really needed to. I was ready to have the nurse deliver. When the doctor finally came back into the room to deliver my baby he rushed me causing me to tear badly and also my baby to almost land on the floor. (This was Dr. Catron, whom I believe may not be there any longer).\r Lets about the BILLING DEPARTMENT for a minute! DISORGANIZED, RUDE, AND DISHONEST! Whenever I came by their window to pay my bill or to discuss my account they had to dig through piles of paper to find my information, they were very disorganized, they weren't in to filing and being organized. They kept mixing up the insurance information, finally the billing manager (Brenda & Nancy) told me that I would have to bill the insurance companies on my own! So, if you go there you might be in for some work. Finally, after a zero balance we received a bill in the mail for an amount they were supposed to write off because of the contract they have with the insurance company. They tried tell me it was the law. My insurance. co. had to write them a letter stating that the doctors office had to write the amount off. Pros: Can't think of any! Cons: bad parking, bad delivering hospital, bad staff and doctors, can't do things right or keep things straight. more