Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2020, Successful
He [Dr. Andrew Harper] managed my care through the nurses. I did not speak to or meet him until I was pregnant and my labs became concerning. Because information way relayed through a nurse, I was not able to get satisfactory answers to my questions or have a good understanding of our plan of care. Due to a significant miscommunication amongst the entire office staff, he also performed a vaginal ultrasound during which he was not supervised by a female staff member.
[Huntsville Reproductive Medicine has] Extremely limited scheduling and clinic capabilities. Abysmal communication at all levels. Communication methods are outdated. Lost paperwork. Doctor is not directly involved in care until there is a problem. They are not good at communicating with insurance companies and suggest you just pay out of pocket instead of doing their job to submit appropriate paperwork.
How was your experience with Andrew Harper at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine?
He managed my care through the nurses. I did not speak to or meet him until I was pregnant and my labs became concerning. Because information way relayed through a nurse, I was not able to get satisfactory answers to my questions or have a good understanding of our plan of care. Due to a significant miscommunication amongst the entire office staff, he also performed a vaginal ultrasound during which he was not supervised by a female staff member.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Andrew Harper at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine?
Go to another clinic.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Andrew Harper at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine?
I did not even meet Dr. Harper until they believed I was losing the pregnancy. When I did finally meet him, he thought I was someone else. I did not consistently see the same nurse.
Describe the protocols Andrew Harper used in your cycles at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine and their degree of success.
We did 3 medicated cycles with letrozole. The first cycle ended up being timed intercourse because the nurse practitioner and office staff did not submit the request to my insurance for the prior authorization that they knew was necessary for my IUI to be covered. They tried to convince me to pay for it out of pocket when they were the ones who had dropped the ball. The second 2 cycles we did IUI.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine.
I was assigned a nurse, but I did not consistently see her at my appointments. The nursing staff and physician were not on the same page regarding office policies and had poor communication. My care was negatively impacted by this.
Describe your experience with Huntsville Reproductive Medicine.
This clinic has very limited appointment times. They only have a phlebotomist available from 7am-9:45am. So if you need an appointment that includes bloodwork, that is a very small window of time. Semen samples must be dropped off no later than 12:30pm which again, can be restrictive due to schedules. They are also closed on all holidays and weekends. This made it difficult to schedule the cycle day 3 bloodwork that my insurance required since cycle day 3 kept falling on a weekend. Cycles don’t stop on the weekends so I would find a clinic that can accommodate weekend needs if I need a clinic in the future.
Communication was extremely poor across all levels. The front office staff and clinical providers had to be told multiple times to submit prior authorization for both IUI and trigger shot prescription, which resulted in a delay of care. The nursing staff lost paperwork.
The information that I was provided during the course of my care was very minimal. If I didn’t ask the right questions, I didn’t receive any information. And I didn’t always know what questions I needed to be asking. For example, when I wanted to begin considering IVF, I was told that they only do egg retrievals quarterly. This is something that should have been communicated at my initial consultation as it can result in a potential 3 month delay of beginning IVF when time is often of the essence when it comes to fertility. We discussed the possibility of IVF at my consultation, but the nurse practitioner failed to mention this crucial scheduling limitation. I didn’t know that I needed to ask if they did egg retrievals on a limited basis.
They do not have any electronic communication, such as email or portal. I had to wait by the phone in the afternoon for my lab results and instructions. I was not told any specific lab results unless I asked. Their website had also not been updated with their success rates since 2012. They recently updated their website, but it is now lacking any stats on success rates.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Andrew Harper at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine.
Insurance covered my costs with the exception of copays.
Describe Andrew Harper's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine.
I never had an communication regarding this topic.
What specific things went wrong at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Lost paperwork
- Lost appointments
- Failed to order appropriate test
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Canceled a cycle due to clinic error
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Huntsville Reproductive Medicine.
Extremely limited scheduling and clinic capabilities. Abysmal communication at all levels. Communication methods are outdated. Lost paperwork. Doctor is not directly involved in care until there is a problem. They are not good at communicating with insurance companies and suggest you just pay out of pocket instead of doing their job to submit appropriate paperwork.