Grace Carlson, M.D.

Definitely do NOT recommend this doctor. She reinforced every reason I hate the healthcare system.
I reluctantly went in with a bunch of symptoms of what I suspected was a thyroid disorder because I’ve been dealing with it for so long and FINALLY have health insurance. (Side note: I love that I have to pre-​diagnose myself before office visits… I swear doctors don’t even try anymore. But whatever.).She was really not at all friendly and seemed annoyed that I was even taking up her time. She didn’t give one bit of feedback or input or advice about what I was saying. She basically told me to go to the lab and they’d a bunch of tests. Can we say… CHA CHING.
She never even followed up with me. Granted, doctors are busy, but she basically just had the receptionist or whoever leave me a message saying I should take a vitamin. Really? I don’t even get an explanation for the dozens of symptoms I am dealing with? A vitamin is the cure-​all? Is this what she went to medical school for??? What do I do now… make a follow up appointment and spend more money just so I can ask a question? Or weave my way through the medical field experimenting with doctor after doctor until I find a half way decent doctor who will address my concerns properly?
Anyway, I paid my co-​pay and then got a bill a few weeks later for a menial amount. I paid that. Then the real surprise came 2 months when I was billed nearly $ 300. What? Now I’ve spent nearly $ 350 to be told I need a vitamin. I don’t know if this is an insurance issue or an issue with this office ripping people off. Who can tell really?
Either way, as you can see from her reviews, this woman really isn’t helping the medical field’s reputation at all.

I was referred to Dr. Carlson by a 5-​star internist who stopped practicing in my area. The first office visit did not live up to my admittedly high expectations, based on the quality of the referral. I left the office visit with feelings similar to those that other reviewers expressed. I would not go back.

Want a doctor’s office that doesn’t extort money from you and can explain hiccups in their system with ease? Leave this page and find another name. Dr. Carlson was mediocre (nothing wrong, nothing gleamingly right); her office has proven to be a disaster on more than one occasion (lucky, lucky, me)
1) Overcharging
For my first visit, I was incorrectly billed. They filed wildly inappropriate codes for what I was seen for, which meant my insurance wouldn’t cover the cost and I was charged $ 250 instead of a co-​pay of $ 20. I was on the phone with Dr. Carlson’s office for an hour trying to understand what to do, then had to call my insurance company (another hour) only to be told what had to happen was the office had to change the codes used. Another hour later (and an extension on the bill), and I had my fingers crossed this would get worked out. It did, but really? You sent me to my insurance to tell me something you probably knew.
2) Idiocy
I went to the pharmacy to get a prescription refill and was told they had to verify with my doctor/​insurance. After over two days I get a call from Dr. Carlson’s office telling me that I need to make an appointment. I call back and talk to someone (not the original caller) who assures me they just sent the prescription back to the pharmacy and that I should get a call from the pharmacist later in the day. At 4:52 I get a call from the original caller and am told that the paperwork had to be pre-​approved by my insurance. I ask why, as I’ve had the prescription for years. She tells me this is standard procedure. I say I don’t understand. She says it’s standard procedure. I say this has never happened before so it’s new and I don’t understand.
Finally, I ask her what I can do in the interim about my prescription. I’m out of pills (I was when I went to fill). She suggests I ask my pharmacist for a free sample. I laugh, and reply that seems fishy, and since when were prescription drugs handed out as free samples? (This isn’t the sort of drug you’d hand out to people. I swear.)
I then ask to talk to a manager. It’s 4:57pm, and the receptionist tells me it’s 5pm and they’re closed. I reply that it’s actually not 5, and I want to talk to her manager. She says they’ve already left (ever so glad she’s still there to not answer my questions, I’m sure). She tells me there’s someone else I can talk to who will explain things and puts me on hold for two minutes before I hang up and call my broker.
Do NOT go here.

Trying to establish care with this new doctor, as she was recommended by an OB-​GYN that I trust. Two times in a row, my appointment was cancelled at the last minute — No reason given, just cancelled.
If they can treat patients this way, I wonder if it’s worth keeping her as my doctor.