Wheat Ridge Internal Medicine's Online Review Report Card

Deceptive patient intake. Got an appointment from this place when I was looking for a regular medical check up. Yearly medicals are covered by insurance companies at no cost. This place miss leads clients making you think you need a first intake appointment before you can be considered a patient. I went to the appointment and talked about health issues wit the PA. End result. A bill for $200 not covered by Cigna. I reached out to Cigna and their CS team reported this practice billed my appointment as a consultation not as annual physical check up. When I reached the practice billing department I was told appointment was billed as consultation because I talked about health issues with the PA.!

If you're looking for a standard internal medicine practice for basic care, this clinic might meet your needs. However, in my experience, and that of my husband, the providers here tend to have a more old-fashioned approach. The majority of their patients are elderly—typically in their 70s or older—and as someone in my 30s, I often felt like the youngest patient in the waiting room. One notable area for improvement is their use of technology. Despite having a patient portal, communication with my provider and care team was often challenging, and it didn't seem like the portal was used as effectively as it could be. This might be because the practice caters largely to an older demographic, but it resulted in a less streamlined experience for me. There were also significant communication issues. When my provider left the practice, I wasn't notified until I called to schedule an appointment. Additionally, I was billed for a visit without the bill being uploaded to the patient portal for payment. This oversight led to the bill being sent to a debt collector, which was an unpleasant surprise. When I contacted the practice to resolve the issue, I received conflicting information about their billing processes—despite having paid bills through the portal in the past. Overall, this practice could be suitable if you’re seeking general care from traditional providers. However, if you're looking for a more modern, integrated healthcare experience with streamlined communication and access to your medical records, you might want to consider a different practice or a larger health system. Personally, as I get older, I prefer a healthcare group where my medical records are easily accessible and shared among providers within the same network, which wasn't the case here.

They really care

I have yet to have a reasonable experience at Wheat Ridge Internal Medicine. About 8 years ago, I fell coming into my backyard and smashed my knee into the corner of my concrete sidewalk. I didn't have health insurance at the time so I never had my knee checked out or looked at because of the cost involved. I finally got a job that has great benefits and decided to have my knee checked again after I tripped over another concrete pad. I know, concrete and I don't get along. Crystal Culbert was my primary care physician and she recommend x-rays. The X-rays showed no injuries or damage and she insisted that my injury was psychological and that I should just do physical therapy. My pain began increasing when I had to start walking up stairs at my job. I talked to Crystal again and she said the x-rays were negative and I should have just done the PT. I went to my chiropractor and she did some actual diagnostics and she recommended me for MRI's. She stated that X-rays don't show a whole lot of problems because they cannot detect things like arthritis or tissue damage. Turns out, the fall I took 8 years ago had caused some major trauma and the scar tissue that formed was replaced by guess what, arthritis. Very severe arthritis that was causing my knee to make audible clicking noises and making stair climbing difficult. My chiropractor recommended PT, but also joint supplements, some weight loss, using a knee brace, and if the pain gets to be too much, look at pain management possibilities. Crystal was also all about the "you're overweight so you need to take all this medication" verbiage without doing any checking or actual testing. Crystal must be getting something out of every patient she gets to take medication. Decided recently that I will no longer be going back to Wheat Ridge and finding a doctor that will be better for my health in the long term. My advice, don't go to Wheat Ridge if you want to be crippled, treated poorly, or feel like dirt for the rest of your life.

Great doctors, always willing to listen to me and my needs as a patient, easy scheduling and access to doctors.

This place is amazing! EVERYONE here really cares and they treat you like family, So I'm extremely happy we have been a part of Wheat Ridge Internal Medicine for the past 30 years. They have cared for both of my parents and myself to a such a degree, I can't even begin to describe. Thank you so much, especially Melissa Fountain, for all of your excellent service! Take care!

Absolutely the best care I’ve had since moving here. Everyone from the front office staff to the referral department to the doctors and nurses and the PAs are absolutely top notch! They respect the patients privacy, are professional and yet personable! They have been compassionate and yet straight forward. I would recommend this practice to anyone needing excellent medical care.

Not good. They do no send text messages, emails or calls from the actual clinic as reminders. So if you miss the one reminder from the automated service, Oh well you're stuck with the missed appointment charge. I will be moving on to another facility that actually cares about it's patients.

I would have given 5 stars for Dr. Elzi and the front desk receptionist, because myself and my family have been going there for years and they are wonderful, however my one star is for the PA Emily. I saw her one time. She misdiagnosed and downplayed a problem I’m having in my neck. She told me she didn’t see anything that was “too bad” but when I saw the spine specialist, an expert, I was told I have a “terrible looking neck, that requires surgery.” She was not compassionate in any way for someone in pain with a genuine reason for that pain. Don’t see the PA. She is rude and not versed in her field. Follow up and change in review. I saw Sara, the NP this past Friday. She was amazing. Compassionate and caring and listened thoroughly. She had spoken with Dr. Elzi prior to my appointment, so she came in with knowledge of my particular situation and we came up with a plan that is working for me. I recommend Sara and Dr. Elzi!

If you're looking for a provider that holds YOU, YOUR health, and overall well-being in high regard, do NOT consider Wheat Ridge Internal Medicine as PCP. Run far far away and don't look back!