Kelly R Richardson's Online Review Report Card

CHI has been one of the best places for many people I know. They may be busy because they are good but it's worth a little wait.

It has been seven months since my open-heart surgery. I have nothing but great things to say about Dr. Zellner, Dr. Marcum, Mike Loga, cardio rehab, and the entire team at CHI. Absolutely fantastic job in every way!

Always treated like I'm the only patient in the the office. Friendly, concern, and professional

Here is one medical institute to steer well clear of and who graphically demonstrates the state of healthcare provisions today. I was specifically told that I could obtain an immediate appointment for a needed 2nd opinion with Dr. Stephen Monroe, Jr. as a new patient but first needed a referral from my general practitioner. I spent the time necessary to obtain that referral and had it forwarded. I then had to spend time necessary to jump through all the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance hoops to ensure coverage that went on for what seemed like hours between time with the provider and BCBS.When all of the business end of the matter was concluded, I contacted appointments to confirm my ability to see Dr. Monroe Jr. and was subsequently told that he doesn't have any appointments available and that while that circumstance may have been true during all the preliminary information and tasks that I had to perform prior to making the appointment, that it was now not the case.This is what patients face under the healthcare system. There is a total lack of common sense in holding my appointment slot for me until information was complete, instead merely having me spend 2 full days obtaining their prerequisites only to find that I no longer had an appointment slot available. This kind of scenario is all too common and leaves patients delving deep into the complexity of the insurance/provider struggle to first and foremost make absolutely certain that the provider has all their costs pre-approved and covered, stamped and codified before ever adding the patient into the equation. Our need for care and the matter of addressing our concerns unswervingly comes secondary to provider reimbursement and the host of staff at these clinics are well-disciplined to focus entirely upon guarantee of payment by your insurance above anything else.Yet, when you read their website, every single clinic has a company motto and claim that they focus first and foremost upon their patients in a friendly and caring environment, with attention to your medical needs and assurance that you as a patient represent their primary reason for existence. Not a word of that often long-winded and emotional diatribe even comes close to accurate because there are more actually only two issues that all the staff and providers ensure. They make certain that your insurance covers the visit and procedures and that their reimbursement has already been pre-approved. Beyond that, you will find your role as a patient seeking evaluation and treatment to become nearly non-existent until those primary objectives have been satisfied.Chattanooga Heart Institute would get zero stars if such a rating were available. And to add insult to injury, offered me an appointment with an alternative physician but yet not within the timeframe necessary to meet my needs as did the original appointment. They wanted to ensure their payment first, then simply offer whatever was subsequently available.Take your healthcare concerns to a center that establishes you as a patient first, then let them ensure their payment coverage after your appointment is assured. Otherwise, you're wasting your time.

Insurance mill.....can't even remember your name but know your insurance coverage by heart! Every appointment began with "good news we want to run test "ZXC" and your insurance covers it"! Had fights with Blue Cross all the time for the constant unneeded tests. Needed bypasses redone for years and CHI refused making me live on nitroglycerin because they had no Surgeon qualified to do what was needed! Gave up, got new Doctor who referred me to new Surgeon at Erlanger who did surgery, now nitro free and feel better than all the years with CHI! BTW, their Cardiac rehab is great! Do your research, heart surgery has a higher success rate at Erlanger than at Memorial. RUN Forest, RUN!

Waiting on a call from Memorial scheduling for 6 days. The office ask what number was a good number to call during the day. I gave them mine as my husband can't answer his phone during his work hours. The testing my husband needs is urgent as he has had episodes of hand numbness and face, chest tightness, dizziness, high blood pressure. He called Friday talk to a lady who was rude said, she called him, but he didn't answer. Well not my number. They have yet to call back with a date or time as she told him they would. Very concerned. Looking for a new specialist today.

Always exceptional care and quality doctors!

Just a follow up to my last review I’m now over 4 months and still getting random bills popping up. This place is beyond sorry I honestly feel like I’ll still be sitting here a year from now and they will still be sending me random bills for stuff that they supposedly did. Be very careful here ask for a copy of what was done so you can cross reference with your bill. I didn’t and I am paying the price for it. The crazy thing I was just getting a routine check up I can’t imagine how much they screw you if you actually NEED something done. You have been warned find a different spot

Both me and my husband have been patients here for over a year. They obviously have too many patients and not enough Drs. They can never get you in when you are having issues. My Dr needed me to see someone asap and got told the soonest they could get me in was January. On another account my husband has been having problems since birth with his heart and kept ending up in the er over it. Thankfully we went to a different hospital and they referred him for a second opinion with another cardiologist. That other cardiologist was able to do a simple surgery to fix his problem and his Dr at the heart institute wouldnt. This place is so overrated.

Anytime you visit a Cardiologist you usually think the worst. From the time I arrived the front desk attendant Jenny to the Clinical staff Ann Robin and Haley these ladies made my visit a lot more comfortable. Each one was Professional and Courteous.Dr. Lehman took the time to explain everything in detail. I would recommend anyone to use the Chattanooga Heart Institute.