ZOOM+Care

What a great way to increase access to medical care! My 8 month old came down with a high fever & his pediatrician was unavailable today. I called zoomcare & they made it easy to schedule a same day appt. The gentleman, Ian who helped me on the phone was warm & actually helped relax me about the whole situation. He even called me back before the appt to let me know that I wouldn’t be seeing a pediatrician but that the PA we were scheduled with was comfortable seeing children. When we arrived, the waiting area was empty (seems they’ve got their scheduling system worked out to have minimal wait times!) & the receptionist, Deserre was helpful, and friendly. The PA, Mandie actually came out to get us. She was very open, listening to what I had to say before making any judgements. She was knowledgeable and explained clearly what she came to the diagnosis that she did. She spent ample time with us & made sure she answered all questions before the visit ended. Thank you!

I feel like I wasted my time going in. I was hoping to get some medication for my severe cold/​flu symptoms that persisted for a full week. Instead Mandy told me to «get some rest» and basically to tough it out as if I’m some kind of hypochondriac. I didn’t sense any compassion from her at all. I won’t be back.

Very modern, clean, streamlined environment. Great for my kid’s vaccination. It feels like a breath of fresh air into the field of accessible medicine. Right by Safeway and across from a great bakery and some other restaurants. It’s nice how it integrates into the busy street.

The guy at the counter thinks that it is Zoom cares policy to deny care for workers comp claims unless you were first seen out of state. Legally I can change providers with form 827, buy they still won’t see me. It was a waste of time coming here, so glad the VA has my back for everything else.

Of my two experiences with ZoomCare in the last year and a half, both have been mostly negative.
First, the good:
– Easy to get a same day appointment very quickly, even on the weekend
– Appointments run on time, and there is very little waiting in the lobby
The less good:
– Unimpressive medical staff. The physician assistants (most of their staff are not actual doctors) that I’ve seen at ZoomCare have been okay, but they didn’t seem especially competent, either. One of the two was particularly awkward, and it just made for a pretty uncomfortable appointment. Both have seemed significantly less competent than the doctors at The Portland Clinic, where I usually go. Maybe that’s just what’s to be expected for this model of health care, though.
– AWFUL billing practices and customer service. Both visits over the past year and a half, at two different ZoomCare locations, on two different health plans, resulted in incorrect billing that took weeks to resolve. On my most recent visit, for a routine immunization, I called my health plan (Providence) before going in to ZoomCare to confirm that the procedure would be fully covered and would require no payment on my part. However, at ZoomCare, after 15 minutes of haggling with the front desk person, I was required to pay $ 83 in order to leave. This was $ 83 that I did not have in my budget, and that I needed in my bank account. After leaving, I immediately called my health plan back, and they confirmed that I should not have been charged a penny.
I called ZoomCare’s billing office to complain — they were already closed at 4pm — and left a detailed message explaining the situation and my frustration at having been charged when I should not have been. I expressed concern that it was probably going to take several weeks to get this money refunded, which was exactly what had happened on my last visit when they incorrectly billed me. $ 83 is real money, and I was planning on having that money available in my bank account. After leaving a detailed message requesting a call back as soon as the situation had been resolved, I got a generic voicemail the next day, without any apology or acknowledgement of my concern, simply stating that I needed to call them back. I then had to reexplain my entire situation to a whole new person, making it pointless for me to have left a message in the first place (WHAT’S THE POINT IN HAVING A VOICEMAIL FOR THE BILLING OFFICE IF YOU ONLY CALL ME BACK TELLING ME TO CALL YOU BACK? You didn’t even briefly acknowledge or apologize for my situation; instead, it was just a clinical sounding voicemail from someone that sounded like they didn’t particularly care about customer service).
So, I had to call back the next day, and the new person I got was perhaps mildly sympathetic to the situation, and said she would work to get the situation resolved and to get my $ 83 back. I explained that I would appreciate getting my money back sooner rather than later and I asked if she could give me a phone call once she figured out the timeline for this happening, and she at first said no, that it wasn’t ZoomCare’s policy to call back in this sort of instance, but after I asked again, she eventually agreed. Well, 8 days later, I still haven’t heard anything, and I still haven’t been refunded the $ 83 that my health insurance plan has twice assured me that I should not have been charged.
Ugh. If this were a one-​time deal I would perhaps be more forgiving, but it is ridiculous that I have had this exact same issue twice, with two different health plans, at two different ZoomCare locations. This has been compounded by their lazy, uninterested customer service. As a result of these experiences, I do not recommend ZoomCare to anyone.

here on vacation, I finally admitted I was sick –on a sunday morning. I made an appt for 9am easily online the night before and was seen immediately. the front desk staff was very friendly, helpful and compassionate as was the doctor. Dr. Brooks listened, asked questions and included me in the plan of care. They both gave advice for filling the prescriptions and encouraged me to call if not feeling better. Very efficient and catered to someone from out of town very well. Mahalo!