There’s a provision called anti-kickback statute. They just broke that. Write to them to let them know.

That place is trash (the 2 I have been to) the first my daughter was 18 months and her heart was racing. The told me she was fine and even though did not do anything they made me fight to ask for a rescue inhaler as she was wheezing. I am in the medical field. Next time I went I was having an allergic reaction to something blooming last spring. Lived in my house for years and it happens every year. New job sent me because of what I looked like (20 pounds of swelling). I finally got seen after 1.5 hours. They kept bringing people into the room freaking out over the rash and swelling. Refused to give me prednisone and only offered a ambulance ride 1 mile away. I had to sign a release form to leave saying I wasn’t following their recommendations. My daughter was there 30 minutes and I was there 2 hours. Each visit was 250 dollars with insurance. After they saw me swollen they kept apologizing for not getting me sooner. Company treats people like it’s a McDonald’s drive thru. If you need care and are close mercy has a clinic in windham.

This is why I would much prefer going to the hospital over going to urgent care places. Even in a triple-whammy-disease crisis.

If you have a hospital near you, go there instead. You'll get treated better, albeit with a longer wait.

Yeah, that’s not what that law is about. Maybe just start with a complaint in their normal procedure and, if that doesn’t work, accept that sometimes people do things that are unfair and it sucks.

When will we learn why you have been there multiple times?

A longer wait and bigger bill. That doesn't sound very convenient.

if you’re referencing Stark this doesn’t violate that.

Beats being checked out by half-baked doctors and then, half the time, referred to the hospital anyway.

It's just going to the hospital with an extra step. No thank you.

Have to stand up for them. The two times that we have used them in Bangor have been perfect. A few things to keep in mind.

They are privately owned so they can cap off the number of people they see. This lowers wait times in comparison to a hospital. This also makes them overall faster and more efficient.

They are walkin care. Not an ER. Any kind of emergency should not try to use them.

Also you can make virtual appointments. At the beginning of the month my husband has a horrible cough and started to cough a small amount of blood. He called them, had an appointment, was diagnosed and had three prescriptions filled in less them three hours. Including driving to the pharmacy and he never had to set foot in a waiting room. If he had to get blood work they would have made an appointment so that he wouldn’t have to spend time on the waiting room. I’m not doubting that OP saw favoritism (there are unfair people even in the medical field) but it’s possible for it to look like someone was jumped in front of the line.

I’m a big fan of them and hope that people who have had bad experiences would give them another try.

We had them down in Mass. They are a business and they will maximize profits over patients. Turn around time and follow up appointments along with hiring new PAs and NPs fresh from school where “for profit” medicine is pushed… Corporate healthcare. I had to deal with them for workers comp/covid 19 stuff. We need more local nonprofit medical clinics instead of these things.

When my daughter had an ear infection this summer and there was a 2 hour wait, the receptionist gave really good advice. She said "come first thing in the morning, we're almost always slow". We went back the next morning and were in and out in less than 1/2 hour. You can't beat the price either.

you can make appts online it's pretty easy but yes long wait time if not northern lights isn't much better

All of my experiences with convenientMD have been great. Just went there two weeks ago and the folks there were able to get me an urgent referral to a specialist who called me the next morning to schedule a visit for the following day. (Shout-out to Joe & Josh over at Northern Light GI)

I go to their webpage, I check in online, and go when I'm scheduled. Although, I have also just called the front desk and asked and they've told me "we have one person in the lobby so you can stop by now" or have told me to schedule as they were quite busy.

But those are my experiences.

Respiratory infection followed by pneumonia followed by an ear infection. Is that enough?

That’s just in the past month. My experience. Not asking for sympathy

The one in Bangor has been fantastic and has helped us out a few times in a jam - with zero wait at all.

Are you going to back up your reasoning here? Because we aren't seeing it.

The patient they whispered about could potentially have had something very contagious- lice, scabies, COVID, chicken pox, shingles, etc. Instead of announcing “hey, scabies is in da house!” She could have been referring to them in a different way, pssst, Tom’s friend is here wink wink. Typically, they don’t play favorites.

Yeah this isn’t an outpatient clinic. It’s urgent care. One word. Triage.

Spoken like someone who’s never used one before…

Lol. That statute has nothing to do with this situation. Try again.

That person could have something serious that gets priority. Maybe they just gave themselves an epi-pen. You don't really know what's going on.

Sorry, I'm not willing to have my body be touched and altered by doctors who 1) don't cater to my very particular needs and disabilities and 2) don't know what they're doing half the time.

Either my own PCP, the hospital, or bust. Thought logic. Smart way to go. I'm not running the risk of going to any urgent care places unless the hospitals close down and I'm desperate for medical care.

Already had one panic attack from medical professionals who didn't know what they were doing. Not doin' it again. But if you wanna fuck around and find out...by all means.

After hearing that an event I went to had a small Covid outbreak, I went to my local Convenient MD. There were a few people in the waiting area, but I walked in, carefully explained why I was there, so as not to worry everyone, and they didn't even tell me to take a seat. It was "come with us, set me into a room and got me tested, in and out.

I was positive, masked and kept my hands in my pockets when I could.

While I was quarantined, I developed pneumonia. I didn't know, was masked at work and was having a hard time breathing. They remembered who I was, brought me out back, and checked me out. Pneumonia sucks, but it was all very discreet so as not to cause a panic in the clinic.

This is more than like what you experienced from the side of the waiting room.

Sorry to hear that!

This sounds like it belongs in a Facebook rant. Typically when it comes to emergency rooms and clinics there’s this thing called triage. You take whoever is the most serious first and least last so if you come in with the sniffles you’re obviously at the back of the line behind the guy who got stabbed. It’s not about you everything is very numerical when it comes to healthcare. You’re not a person you’re a patient with a problem and you’re stuck in line accordingly I wouldn’t take it personally

The wait times can be long, but I especially do not like how that front desk people are NOT discreet. They shout, “Why are you here?? OHHHH you say you have a massive YEAST INFECTION? You need to be seen for this YEAST INFECTION!!!???” This of course is an example. My first and last trip there, I heard them loudly reiterate what every patient was suffering from. There is no privacy, it’s gross.

... urgent care is generally NOT first come first served.

Urgent care is most urgent issue in the house at the moment.

When I stopped in with chest pain and shooting pains down my arm... they took me ahead of the kid with the earache.

I think it's BS that we are reduced to using Urgent care instead of being able to see our doctors. But that's the way things are right now.

Having done some time as an MA in an urgent care office... not Convenient MD... I can tell you that generally they do the best that they can with what they have. They aren't trying to ruin your day.

I've had some really weird experiences at Convenient MD that has caused me to stop going. My daughter split open her little toddler chin one time and we got it glued, then went back to check for infection and the doctor was grossed out because there was drool on her chin. She was like 18 months at the time. He later offered her a lollipop - like bro, she can't safely eat that. You're a doctor. Why don't you know that? And one time we were waiting so long in the exam room that I thought they forgot us. I went in search of a doctor and they basically had.

The doctor at the hospital urgent care said they hear a ton of complaints about Convenient MD.

I love this about Convenient MD, an urgent care I can easily schedule. I've used that twice for my daughter so I know we won't be there for hours and I can plan the day around getting her seen instead of it wrecking my day. They also code their billing as urgent care, not ED, unlike Brighton First Care which I will never go back to as my bills there are always in the hundreds of dollars after insurance because they code as an ED.