I was referred to Professional Eye Associates by my PCP for ongoing and uncomfortable eye issues I’ve been experiencing. For my first appointment, I arrived 15 minutes early to check in, only to be told that Tricare had not yet authorized my appointment and that I would need to reschedule. The office had over a week to prepare for my appointment, yet I was never notified beforehand that there was an issue. As a result, I unnecessarily took time off work and rearranged my schedule. I was told that the office had attempted to contact my provider but had not received a response. However, I later found out they had been contacting my pediatrician instead of my PCP. My pediatrician's office actually called me to let me know they had received multiple requests regarding authorization for this appointment. I have not been seen by that office in nearly four years, so they would have had no reason to know I was going to an eye doctor unless they had been contacted. When I brought this up, I was told that my pediatrician had never been contacted, which directly contradicted what I had been told by their office. Unfortunately, the exact same thing happened again today. Before taking additional time off work, I called that morning to confirm that everything was in order and that I would be able to be seen. Despite that, I arrived only to be told there was still an authorization issue. The front desk employee I interacted with was very kind and professional, and I appreciate her efforts. However, the repeated scheduling and authorization problems, conflicting information, and lack of communication made this an extremely frustrating experience. If an office cannot properly manage basic administrative tasks, it makes it difficult to feel confident trusting them with something as important as my vision care.
