D

Dennis Green

Scheduled appointment three weeks ago, emails and text messages Friday prior to appointment confirming appointment time. I showed up door and was locked. Called and receptionist, she said your appointment was changed two days after you made the appointment. Did you receive notice? I didn’t receive any notice. Meanwhile, I am still receiving appointments via text that my appointment was for the same time and place. Outsourcing at its finest.

K

Kristin Stiner

Absolutely the best experience I've ever had with any medical procedure- Best anesthesiologist best Doctor best nurses and staff. In fact everyone was so sweet, and the whole process so painless I'd even go through another colonoscopy next week! Thanks y'all!

W

Woody Grantham

If you appreciate assembly line medicine then this is the place for you. It felt like the primary driving force in this facility was to get patients in and out as fast as possible. The reception area is sparsely decorated and emits no sense of welcome or warmth with several rows of tightly packed chairs reminiscent of the DMV. In the patient's preop area, there is one very basic chair to accommodate whomever is accompanying the patient. Heaven forbid if the patient were accompanied by more than one person or patient and family got too comfortable. We were required to be there an hour prior to the procedure for a check in procedure that took about 30 minutes. No doubt this is to minimize any chance that the patient will slow down the process. And yet we waited over 30 minutes until the anesthesiologist showed up and wheeled my wife back to the procedure 10 -15 minutes after start time. I guess the performing doctor didn't have time to visit us in the preop area despite the fact we were told on more than one occasion she would . In 15-20 minutes my wife was wheeled back in followed by the anesthesiologist. He gave a quick glance over my wife who appeared to be unconscious and declared she'll wake up in a few minutes. He then disappeared. Shortly thereafter the GI doc arrived and began explaining her findings to my wife, clearly still groggy. This pretty much consisted of: I found nothing significant, add fiber to your diet and call me if you need me. The conversation may have lasted 3 minutes. Neither the anesthesiologist nor gastroenterologist were seen again; presumably they had moved on to the next case. I ask the nurse what anesthetic was used and she reported propofol. She told me that it was a good one because of its rapid onset of action and also the patient's rapid recovery from its effects. Unfortunately its lower safety profile compared to other agents used similarly carries with it a strong recommendation to have an anesthesiologist administer it. I think it’s safe to say that propofol may be a less safe drug than other options that increases cost because of the need for an anesthesiologist. But it decreases patient turn around time. Imagine that. Certainly the anesthesiologist reaps the financial benefit of this arrangement and I wonder if Palmetto does as well. Further, my wife was told to take her time as far as feeling ready to leave. We were told to just open the curtain when she was ready. Yet, before we even peeped out once, we were asked 3 times if she were ready. We were in our car in less than 30 minutes after being wheeled out of the procedure. I must applaud the staff in their efficiency. They did their part to keep the line moving and the cash registers ringing. As a final red flag for this place, I asked who did their pathology. I was told it was internal. What does that mean? Is it done by a GI doc? A pathologist? Credentialed? Board certified? Does this provide additional revenue for Palmetto? All of these remain unknown but what is almost certain is that an “internal” pathologist is less likely to provide an unbiased diagnosis as compared to a pathologist independent from the organization. I did give this place 2 stars because some of the staff provided a measure of redemption. They were kind and friendly.

N

Nancy Peyser

First time procedure at Palmetto Digestive. Pre/op Nurse, Jennifer, was awesome! Wait time was totally acceptable. Dr Suarez and Dr Mullen were awesome. They both made me feel comfortable and respected. Awesome experience. Thank you!

L

Laura Johnson

I can’t say enough about Palmetto Digestive and Dr. Suarez… the place is run so beautifully, everyone there was so amazing. Wish all my doctors could be this thorough and have such a great staff !! Thank you for making an uncomfortable procedure so easy !!! would highly recommend and I do all the time.