I've been a patient of Dr. Kevin Stephens for several years, I don't know exactly when I first saw him. I've been very happy with Dr. Stephens in general. He is a great doctor and really takes his time with patients. I believe he is generally very interested in their health and well being.\r
\r
However, I have had a couple of issues with his office and staff in general. Very recently there was an incident which has lead to the decision to find a new primary care/family practice physician unfortunately.\r
\r
My partner, who was also a patient of Dr. Stephens for the past few years, had a physical scheduled for a Monday at 3pm. Over the weekend he received notice that a court case associated with his job that he had been subpoenaed for had been rescheduled again. He was required to appear at 9am that Monday, same as his appointment with Dr. Stephens. He hoped he could still make his 3pm appointment but was told when he arrived at court that jury selection wouldn't even start until 1pm. He immediately called the office and informed the receptionist (Cindy) that he needed to reschedule due to the situation beyond his control and was told he would be charged a $75 missed appointment fee. He requested that she consult with Dr. Stephens as it seemed unreasonable to charge for a missed appointment when he called as soon as possible for something he had no control over.\r
\r
My partner called and told me what had happened. I immediately wrote an email to Dr. Stephens and sent it. I made a copy and hand delivered it to his office. In the letter I explained the situation and informed him that if he had indeed been consulted and agreed that the $75 fee was appropriate that we would have no choice but to leave his practice\r
\r
Later the next day Dr. Stephens called my partner and confirmed he had been consulted and said he didn't feel he could make exceptions simply because someone threatened to leave his practice. We were both astounded and furious. We couldn't believe with the long history and relationship we had with him that he would take such a stance and was somewhat arrogant about it as well. We completely understand the reason for the fee and that some people need to be encouraged not to constantly change or miss appointments. But there are exceptions and situations beyond our control which always should be a consideration. Neither of us has ever missed a scheduled appointment with him without 24hr notice and have rarely ever changed an appointment either.\r
\r
I truly believe the circumstances warranted without question the waiving of that fee. To be fair Dr. Stephens did finally tell my partner he would waive the fee, but the damage was already done. We are both changing primary care doctors for this reason and if you care about this type of thing being happening to you, I strongly suggest you NOT consider becoming a patient of Dr. Stephens. If you already are a patient, I hope you take notice and consider changing doctors.
more