Oral Surgeon - Seattle, WA

"What happened today was absolutely horrendous. Dr. Dhaliwal seemed very nice and knowledgeable, but the ethics of their staff are questionable. Apart from repeated attempts to get my prior authorization started, causing delays in getting my braces in, I was given absolutely false information today. I called today and was told that my prior authorization "had gone directly to the board when submitted", I said that I thought it was strange considering I had received immediate approval from a different doctor, and was told "that happens". I then asked plainly, "So you have submitted it?", and was told yes without hesitation. I then called my insurance, who couldn't see anything submitted, then while we were talking the insurance representative said, "Wait, it looks like it was just freshly submitted, like within the last minute".  Whether that was negligence or willful misconduct I decided to call and give them one more chance. After telling their office manager the story I was met with the response, "Well she would never do that", followed by defensiveness and excuses. The fact that the first words were not an apology or even a neutral response makes me question this entire practice. This should have never happened in any sort of medical office when dealing with anyone, but to have two negative experiences makes me think this is a cultural problem."