The Polyclinic Madison Center

I’ve been very happy with the Polyclinic. My primary care doc as well as all my specialists are here and I don’t have any complaints. I’ve been through the wringer with other facilities and doctors (see some of my other reviews) and have to say I’m very pleasantly surprised that I’ve never had a truly negative experience in the past two years I’ve been using Polyclinic. I think all my doctors are great and I like that they can (and do) all communicate with each other and have easy access to records and notes. Makes coordinating care very easy when you have multiple conditions to deal with like I do. It’s usually pretty easy to get an appointment as well as refills and all of their front desk people and medical assistants have been friendly and helpful. I also love that I can email my doctors through their MyChart system and THEY ACTUALLY RESPOND TO ME. It’s like a miracle. Recommended!

I don’t have many medical issues — but for ease of use, and being able to get lab work etc done all on premise — nothing has been as nice as Polyclinic.
I suspect if I had more complicated medical needs, and was in front of specialists a lot more often, this level of care wouldn’t work for me.
Currently this place is perfect for my needs. Communication, booking and billing are all as simple as it gets in my experience.

Dr. John and his nurse Gloria are wonderful. Very professional and friendly. They really listen and care. My husband and I have been patients for over 20 years. They strive for that old-​time customer service that is often lost in healthcare.

The Polyclinic charged my wife $ 394 for an eye exam she did not receive. They made no indication to her about this charge, and told her that she would only be billed $ 94 for the visit. Her insurance did not cover either charges (despite assurance that it would be covered). I suspect that the Polyclinic have committed insurance fraud. I have already contacted the Washington Department of Health, the NHCAA, and the insurance company involved. I highly suggest your representatives contact me asap.

I am a medical school professor and clinician with no ties to Polyclinic other than as a patient. Without exception, the care has been as good or better than anything that i have seen all over the world, and I have a primary care doc, as well as an endocrinologist, a dermatologist, a gastroenterologist, and a cardiologist there. They have made some brilliant diagnoses and also do routine checkups thoroughly and efficiently. Yes, their billing system can be problematic tho by Oct 2015 things are smooth. The coordination of care is excellent as is the care itself. Research shows that coordination improves quality.
My philosophy is that I would prefer to see somebody who is friendly and outgoing, *but the really important thing is that the diagnoses, tests, and treatments/​outcomes are by far more important*. I would prefer to see a cooler surgeon who is superb in the OR and follow up than a friendly surgeon who is less competent. I care about whether the results are as good as can be expected, while realizing that not all treatments will necessarily result in a good outcome. Health care must be driven by outcome and not the same things as restaurants or

Very stunned to see poor reviews for this place. Sounds like it’s almost always a billing issue…
I just had yet another positive experience here today– went from derm, to internal med, to the flu clinic, to the lab… all in one fell swoop! Took me less than 2 hours. Everything was smooth, on time, efficient, and professional. What more can you ask for in the healthcare realm?
No one collected a co pay or anything, but I usually receive the bill for those within 2 weeks or so. I just hop on the Polyclinic website and pay– easy breezy! Highly recommend the Polyclinic. They have served me well!

I have to say The Poly Clinic has it All from well you know to well you know. Lol I call it the Target of the medical field because it’s your one stop shop for All your medical care. I will say they take good care of their patients.

Worst experience in years. Took my father to an ultrasound appt and it took them 25 minutes to check him in. He is a senior citizen and they kept him standing there while they work through their new system issues. He wasn’t the only one. Patients standing at the check in counter when we got there were still standing there 20 minutes later! What mess!

Thought I would post an update.
Fast forward to August 2015, and I’m still dealing with this nightmare! Oh, and immediately after posting my initial review, I received a letter stating they had terminated my care… But nobody wanted to even attempt to rectify the awful experience I’d endured.
Thanks to the Polyclinic’s rude, condescending, inflexible billing staff, I am still fighting this battle through a collections agency who are just as rude, condescending, and inflexible. Now my credit is being threatened because I had several unforeseen emergencies and cannot manage the already unrealistic payment this month (after 8 months of faithfully made payments!).
Throughout this debacle, I’ve been humiliated, insulted, and bullied, and basically told it doesn’t matter if my family ends up on the street as long as they get their payment. I’m so grateful to the Polyclinic and their friends in collections for educating me about what kind of monthly payment I can totally afford– It’s so nice to know complete strangers know more about my financial situation than I do!
Tough lesson to learn, so heed my warning: NEVER let a doctor pressure you into scans or testing that are not required. If they do, they are scamming you, and you should seek another opinion. Be your own advocate so you don’t end up where I am.

After three years of being a good, albeit difficult patient due to a chronic, rare, undiagnosed, hereditary disease, I have to say, that if you decide to go to the Polyclinic downtown: 1) Don’t be late or miss appointments, and if you do, you must call no less than 24 hours in advance — so if you discover that you have a really, really bad, contagious flu 23 hours before your appointment, you’d still better go; 2) Don’t be more than five or ten minutes late or you will have to reschedule; 3) If you have problems making it to your appointment on time due to an unexpected, unfortunate series of events, and you call and talk to someone on the phone to explain your circumstances and that you are on your way there, be sure to DOCUMENT everything — their name, the date and time you talked to them, as well as exactly what you talked about; 4) Give yourself an extra hour or two to find parking; 5) Due to an unusual increase in traffic in the Seattle area, if necessary, rent a hotel room downtown — perhaps The Radisson Hotel (515 Madison St, Seattle, 206−583−0300) because it’s almost right across the street from the Polyclinic downtown (at 904 7^th Avenue), and; 6) have the hotel’s front desk give you a wake-​up call to make sure that you get up on time to be EARLY for your appointment at the Polyclinic downtown.
About three months ago, I had the nerve to get really, really sick for about two months. During that time, when I tried to make appointments to save my own life (Thyroid disease can be cruel and unpredictable and it has a most unusual sense of humor, sneaking up on you unexpectedly at the most inopportune times.), I would be getting ready when I would start fainting in the shower or when I was trying to get dressed in something other than a bathrobe and slippers. I thought that it might possibly be ruder to show up at the doctor’s office on time but in definite need of a shower and improperly dressed, than being a little late because I didn’t want smell bad or be wearing something that came out of the dirty laundry pile (It’s hard to do household chores when you’re sleeping 15 – 20 hours a day, feeling nauseated and in pain because your kidneys are starting to shut down.), but I was wrong. I don’t know what would have happened if I would have shown up like that; they possibly would have fired me for not living up to their dress code… for all I know, they may even have one of those that I don’t know about.
Or, if you want to avoid being blacklisted and insulted by them, never being allowed to make any other appointments at any of their facilities, then it might be a good idea to just go somewhere else where people respect you for the fact that you’re human.

Normally, I’ve had great experiences at the Polyclinic until recently. I’ve tried to get my prescription refilled a few times in the last month, and have heard nothing. Fast forward to now, out of my supply and trying to reach someone who will help. Turns out, my doctor left without any word to his patients! The email replies I got from his staff were unsympathetic to my needs and seemed almost mean, though the staff there do have great phone etiquette.
All on all, the lack of communication paired with the curt and unsympathetic email etiquette is motivating me to find a smaller clinic with better customer service.

I want to add here, because personally I have had good experiences whereas I have had some pretty obscenely bad ones for the past 2.5 with medical care before moving to washington/​for the length of time ihave independently managed or dedicated any thought to my medical care;
my brother recommended the polyclinic, when i was actually looking for a certain type of specialist to continue a script iad been regularly prescribed for years. i was dealing with the obscene ordeal of finding such a dr, after which I would have had to undergo a massive and unnecessarily extensive process of ‘establishing care’ as a new patient’, which I have already done 3 times in the last four years due to relocating, and 90%ish of the reason for its practice involves lucrativity. .i called a department of the speciality, and they told me it required a referral; but then, a dozen or so other calls later, i revisted a prior desire for a gp to continue the script without the massively expensive and undeniably unnecsseary routine visits and costs; i have considered this route before but never attempted it, thinking that if I hadn’t been an established patient of a gp priorly, they were far more likely than not to reject it – so when i called back, it was simply because i was tired of trying to find a specialist, especially consiering my overall thoughts and opinions about the situation, but out of desperation and with no actual hope casually inquired about a physician to take this place. frankly, I as shocked when this wasnt met with, at the ABSOLUTE least, a tentative denial, much less when i was given an apt.
i cannot express how uch easier this/​they made my life, and how much anxiety they detracted. furthermore, I have seen 3 different drs. altogether here of different departments, who, among other positive features and for the first time for me with medical proffesionals, don’t sound like they are patronizing or talking down to me – as the ones id seen in texas do, despite also seemingly blatantly unknowledgeable (I dont think any of them ever realized i had a relevant education/​knew what i was talking about, and really, the blondness doesnt help).in general, they are so obliging when things come up outside ofa ppointments [generally referring to paperwork type stuff], gp appointments are easy to et last moment, and everyone is super friendly – coming from someone who isnt particularly sensitive/​partial o such things. the ONLY negative i can think of is that for one of the drs ive seen a few times, i often have to wait a while – but frankly, this is only because he is ironically (/​thus unsurprisingly) the only one i seem to arrive at on time, much less the 10 minutes early i always aim for, but with virtual unheard of success. [frankly i rarely mind waiting because i rarely dont have a book with me]
finally, all the desk people here and other staff ive encountered have been almost inhumanly nice, plus ive even observed some entertaining experiences in the elevator.
i now would like to add further commentary (the odd part is that this concerns the dr. whos appointments i as ut referring to as having always been early to and waited far beyond the scheduled time for); i have just gotten my car to seattl and am thus only now coming to learn that googles ‘in traffic’ estimates re yet within about 30% of the actual transit time; thus i once arrived one hour early, left (not wanting to pay $ 10 to park for a couple hours) got slightly loss and excessively stuck in traffic for the .5miles back, was 20 minutes late, and not able to procure my usually 5 minute (and on this day, s eemingly uneccessary) appointment. the dr. wrote me a 2 week script for the medication i have een consistently taking at this dose for over 5 months as the next appoint available was in exactly 2 weeks, on m birthday, and also coincidently the day my insurance expired.
in the meantime, i moved from my brothers in belltown to university district. i left my house at 3:20 for a 4pm apt that google estimated would take 19 minutes in current traffic; it took an hour. i was then unable to procure an apt, even if i were to wait to 5 – i was told the dr had to leave exactly then (and i can understand how beyond within reason that is), was refused any further prescription and told the next apointment was in another 2 wees; thus i was then faced with the immediate severe obstacle of withdrawal from my regular medication.
lets get this straight; i am the easiest patient a psychiatrist has (my last one told me as much.) up utnil now my insurance has paid around $ 200 for the dr to say «is this working for you? okay i will writeyou another prescription’ for the last gazillion apts, excluding the single one where my dosage was increased.
admittently, i have major time management issues, easily my least favorite thinga bout myself, but that hasnt even been an issue with this dr. before.

This is honestly a «one star» establishment. If you are new to town, especially from CA, Chicago or the Northeast, this is a major disappointment. @Lauren K. described part of a larger issue – how you get billed for things that can be quite a five figure surprise. Been there.
The physicians with whom I’ve had various interactions, all seemed inconsistent in depth of knowledge and in communication skills that can impact medical decisions.
Frankly, UW’s Medical School has been ranked number one in internal medicine for decades by U.S. News & World Report. If your last «local hospital» was Massachusetts General, I would wager you would not be disappointed with UW, assuming you have the right team.
Polyclinic and Swedish are both distinguished by their inability to provide a consistent positive outcome. UW again, merits the attention of all of those new to Seattle to check them out first. I would try for a doc on main campus.
Update: Notwithstanding attempts to polish up their image by linking to my review, my review is a comparison of all three of the above medical institutions over a two decade period. UW is the one to trust, and has the doctors to provide the best care in the PNW.
Educate yourself, and skip the marketing noise:

Beware of parking. The employees of this place take up the street parking (metered), but these multiple employees are using disabled parking permits. I understand being disabled, but these folks are parking, then walking, in their scrubs, sometimes several blocks, tying up disabled spots for the entire day! I even come early for my infusions, at 6:30AM I sit in my car, watching these «disabled» employees, able themselves with their work bags and lunch boxes, walking to their place of employ. In the meantime, their disabled patients have no where to park.

My obgyn here is great. She is very competent, It’s unfortunate I will never, ever go here again because their billing department is a nightmare.
I have a balance after a surgery, which i called on to be sure i could set up a payment plan. They took my information and set up the plan. Then I got a statement in the mail, which worried me, so i called to check and they said nope, everything is fine, you will just get statements. The payment will be coming out the middle of the month.
Then a pretty volatile woman from the collections department named Raquel called me and insinuated I had never set a plan up, was completely rude to me, said there were no notes and basically talked to me like I was trying to screw the polyclinic out of their money. I told her I’d already signed up for the payment plan and even called to confirm because I was worried. The phone cut out and I called back and got someone else and they tried to transfer me back to this person and I refused. I am now waiting to speak to someone else in their credit department.
I feel like there is no recourse for me, I just get to look like some insane woman that doesn’t want to pay my medical bill, but I DO! I tried to set it up! I asked to speak to a manager and nobody was available. This is a complete nightmare of a place to do business with. Never, ever again.

I can not find where to email a complaint I have, and so I am writing here.
I am writing on behalf of my father who utilizes the Polyclinic.
My father was born 1931.
He went to the emergency room around April 13^th with severe back pain. My father arrived 15 minutes early for his appointment and sat for an hour and a half. My father tells me no one could tell him why the delay, that the secretary was sympathetic but she could not say why. After and hour and a half my father left.
My father is in a great deal of pain in his back and legs. Walking is a struggle. He is an old man.
I find is unconscionable that he would sit in a clinic for an hour and a half past his appointment time and no one would talk to him, reassure him or other wise help him. This is terrible treatment.

Had an appointment with Dr. Basamania scheduled for 8:30 yesterday. We were coming from Lake Stevens and had carpool — so we left 90 minutes early which should have got us there on time easily. Well, there was an accident just south of Everett, so I called the Polyclinic immediately to tell them we would land late, to see if that would be a problem, or if we should reschedule. The receptionist told us there was nothing she could do — there was NO WAY FOR HER to speak with Dr. Basamania’s team to help us decide what to do.
So we pressed on — we made up a bunch of time, but our NAV looped us around the city, and we were 16 (SIXTEEN) minutes late for our appointment.
Reception was totally rude. We apologized, tried to explain that we called, he just cut us off, asked for our film. He took our films to the back while we stood at the desk. He never said I’ll do what I can, please have a seat .10 minutes later —yes we’re still standing there — he comes back and says. We’ll have to reschedule. (There was only one other person in the waiting room…)
Well we didn’t reschedule, and Dr. Basamania might be the best shoulder surgeon around, but the Polyclinic staff sucks.

I am so happy with this place!
I was sad when I moved to Seattle because I was going to have to get a new endocrinologist, and I had really liked the one I had in New York. I got an appointment with Dr. Lori Cooper, and she has been wonderful. Incredibly responsive, honest but reassuring. It really felt like she had taken time to familiarize herself with my situation and medical records before the appointment, and was really patient about answering my endless questions. I feel like I’m in really good hands.
I only deduct a star because of some paperwork weirdness. Apparently when they copied my insurance card, it wasn’t readable, but instead of following up with me, I was entered into the system as not having any insurance. So when I called my insurance company the day before an MRI to double-​check that they had a prior auth on file for me (have had issues with this in the past so now I don’t take chances and nor should you!), they obviously had no idea what I was talking about. To Polyclinic’s credit, when I called them, a bit frustrated, the staff were super apologetic and immediately took care of it, putting a rush on my prior authorization to ensure that I could keep my scheduled MRI time the next day.
Dr. Cooper’s nurse, the woman at the desk who I checked out with and who scheduled my MRI, and Rhonda, who helped with the insurance issue – all super nice.
I had the MRI done at the Broadway location, and the MRI tech was run ragged because his coworker had called in sick that day, so things were running behind and he was having to handle everything single-​handedly. Despite that, he never let on any stress or irritation and when I admitted that MRI’s made me anxious, he was very understanding and kept me updated the whole time I was in the machine about the progress, how long each cycle would be and checking in to make sure all was well with me. It was seriously the least nerve-​wracking MRI experience I’ve had yet, and felt really fast. (Admittedly, some of that may have been thanks to the Ativan. You guys, Ativan. I can’t recommend it enough.)

Walmart meets United: Healthcare edition. Unprofessional, sloppy and crippling incompetence. Opaque billing policies.
1. Minimal physician time: Went in for a physical that lasted less than 7 minutes. My coworker knows my health better than my physician. Wish I was joking.
2. Minimal instruction: Dropped off a urine sample at the lab as instructed. On my way back to work, physician’s assistant calls my cell frantically informing me I need to get blood work done. I inform her I am en route returning to the office, she asks if I want to schedule a follow-​up appointment. Book a follow-​up appointment for physician incompetence? A-​rate service, folks.
3. Minimal care: Went in to check on a toe injury (fractured). Physician debates results with the x-​ray technician, so I am forced to wait another 10 minutes for deliberations, after 30 minutes for x-​ray results. Physician ends up siding with x-​ray tech. Physician asks me if I want a boot (no explanation of benefits offered), which I decline. I am subsequently sent out with my fractured toe taped to a healthy toe. No guidance provided on healing timeline or what I should look for.
4. Non-​responsiveness: I call in to request cast quote, physician’s office directs me to speak to cast office. I voicemail cast office, never received a response.
5. No follow-​up: I come in for my cast appointment, and the cast technician is surprised to discover I have zero follow-​up instructions in my physician notes. He calls my physician, is put on hold for 5 minutes, is told my physician is unavailable but could I please go up to the office.
6. No follow-​up (really): I receive a voicemail from my physician’s office stating no follow-​up is necessary. Again, no communication on what I should expect for signs of healing.

This facility has been in visual sight of my office for quite some time. Until recently, I never had occasion to visit. After switching providers, I visited Polyclinic for the first time a few weeks ago.
The building is beautiful with a few commercial storefronts, notably Specialty’s that serves up coffee, snacks, and lunch. The lobby is spacious and took me a bit by surprise. There were a number of people in the lobby when I arrived as well as security guards interacting with them. I zoomed past because after running up the hill (and I use the term «running» loosely) I was close to being late. Prior to my appointment, I was told how early I should be.
I interacted with about 4 staff members from making the appointment through leaving that day. All of them were professional and highly capable. One staff member seemed a bit forced in her interactions. My appointment went like clockwork. I appreciated the personal touches in my provider’s office such as painting on the wall and various pieces of art that I thought brought a little humanity to it all.
Overall, it’s a nice facility to visit and I’m glad it’s close to my office.