Providence Medical Group – Gateway Internal Medicine

Came here for urgent care visit. Waited 30 minutes in lobby, then 45 in exam room before seeing a doctor. This is normal except for the lobby was empty except for one person when I arrived. PA (physicians assistant) sent me home with two prescriptions which I couldn’t get when I arrived at the pharmacy due to them not being covered by my insurance. I then tried to call Providence but they were already closed. The next morning at 9am I called and told them and they apologized and said they’d get the medical team to get me a new prescription. I called multiple times during the day and finally at 6pm, 9 hours later, received word that I had a new prescription but I’d have to come all the way back to the office to pick up a hard copy. It was too late at night so I went the next day at 9am. Upon arriving at Providence they told me they had lost my hard copy of the prescription and they’d have to print a new one and have it signed by the doctor. This prescriptions is for a controlled substance so I can’t believe they misplaced the hard copy which is basically printed on official certificate paper like checks with anti fraud protections built in. Waited hours for the new prescription. Seriously, the worst experience ever. Get your act together.

Just moved here from Missouri and needed to see a dr but don’t have a regular one yet. The wait wasn’t bad in the lobby but I sat in the examine room for 25 mins by myself in a gown on so also cold.
I liked it because it was cheap-​ish and the dr seemed to listen and give the best advise and diagnosis she could (what I thought was an ulcer was just a very bad week long stomach ache)

Ever go to a flea market and gamble $ 1 on a surprise grab bag? Maybe there’d be something really cool inside, and sometimes there was, but usually it was paper clips and old crayons.
Been here twice. First time, last week, was okay. My expectations of a reasonable wait, a hurried but competent doctor, and a satisfactory outcome (i.e. a correct diagnosis and treatment) were met. Fine.
But oh boy howdy, last night. My surprise grab bag was full of dried crap and dead bugs.
When she wasn’t being incredibly rude, the check-​in receptionist was too busy flirting with the security guard to get anything done. While nice and friendly, the assessment nurse couldn’t spell most of my medical allergies, even with the help of the software’s built-​in medical spellcheck. «Bactrim» became «bacterium» for example. This is kind of important. And why isn’t it already in the computer? I was here last week.
And then the surprise at the bottom of the grab bag, the man who wandered in blinking and stumbling as if he’d just woken from a nap. He introduced himself by his first name only, in an odd sing-​song voice, and plopped in a chair with a heavy sigh, «Sooooo, what’s goin onnnn? Why ya heeerrrreeee?»
For a moment I considered that he might be some random lunatic who had donned scrubs and was sneaking into examination rooms during the long wait. He never explained his role or why he was there. Apparently he’s a PA-​C, standing in for a doctor. Or, so I gathered from his name tag.
I stated the facts, succinctly. Diagnosed with an upper sinus infection last week, given an anti-​biotic, had a bad reaction, called, and was told to come in for a different anti-​biotic.
He opened with, «Well, you seem very confused.» Hunh? Maybe that was supposed to be a joke?
He launched into a rambling speech, punctuated both with gross medical inaccuracies and odd philosophical statements («It’s all so fuzzy, y’know, you just can never really *know* anything, can you really? I don’t know. Do you know, really? *Know*?»), and then he tried to prescribe a medication I’m allergic to. The one that was actually spelled right in my record.
I cut through the bullshit, told him I was confident in last week’s doctor’s diagnosis, that I only needed a different anti-​biotic because I’d reacted to the first. I told him how to write the prescription and for what, since he for a second time suggested a medication I’m allergic to.
I have the blessing and benefit of intelligence and an excellent education. I’m a professional researcher and problem-​solver. I have some small medical knowledge accumulated from living for 40 years so far. How do other people do it? What if I’m wrong?

Real doctors are the bomb diggity. It sure would be nice to have a real one and not a temporary medical physician, but if you’re a cheap bastard like myself, then Providence Gateway is the place for you.
These guys are there for you when you’re feeling like a huge, wet blanket. I usually go in screaming profanities and asking for my mother and a bottle of warm milk. No matter who you get, they always shell out their teet for your every needy suckling.
I’ve gone in 3 times now with different ailments; from bronchitis to migraines to hang nails. No matter how busy they are (I’ve visited when people were standing cuz there weren’t enough chairs) it’s never taken longer than 2 hours to get in. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve camped out at doctor offices before and still have not been seen afterwards, so this was a miracle.
A visit is usually about $ 70, but the bills are mailed and you can opt to pay in incriments. The visit usually includes a mini-​checkup where you may or may not be molested (I prefer the first scenario), evaluation, diagnosis, and some pretty tasty prescriptions. When I went in for bronchitis last November, he gave me a bottle of some kind of magical-​cure syrup that basically put me into a drug-​induced coma for the whole month. I woke up 3 weeks later, 20 lbs lighter, and fully healed! Providence wins every time!