I was a patient of Dr. Canalas for
approximately 10 years. He performed three colonoscopies on me and two on my husband. We both always thought he was very professional and good as a physician. We trusted him completely.
In the winter of 2017, I had a proctitis flare-up, and I called his office and spoke to his nurse, whose name is Michelle.
I asked her to call in a prescription of Canasa to my prescription program which is CVS Caremark. Canasa is what I took for my condition. A few weeks went by, and I hadn't received the prescription, so I decided to call her to inquire about it. She informed me she had called it in to Kinney's Drug Store in Potsdam. I was confused, as I had not requested this to be done. I had asked her to order it from my CVS Caremark prescription program.
I asked my husband to pick it up at Kinney's. It's a $700 prescription, and we had to pay $25 out of pocket expenses.
I used it while on vacation in Florida, and after two weeks, I realized it wasn't working. When I returned home from my trip, I had another prescription that had been mailed from CVS Caremark. I called Dr. Canalas's office and spoke with the office manager whose name is Estella.
I explained to her that Michelle had made two orders for Canasa, and that we had already picked one up from Kinney's. I also explained that had we known that she had double ordered, we would have never picked up the prescription from Kinney's and would have waited for it to come from CVS Caremark. Michelle didn't tell us she was going to order my prescription from both places. That meant that I had to pay another out of pocket expense of $25 that I knew was a waste because I would never use it as it did not bring relief to my condition. Estella defended the nurse's decision to do what she did, but I insisted that what she did was wrong, and that I should be reimbursed the $25 I paid to CVS Caremark. I could not get any where with her and hung up on her. I then wrote Dr. Canalas a letter that explained what happened and asked to be reimbursed for the $25. The letter I sent was very professional, and I ended it by thanking him for considering the matter.
This afternoon, 1/5/18, I called his office to make an appointment only to be told that a letter was sent to inform me that Dr. Canalas no longer wanted me as a patient. I was floored. I had been his patient for 10 years, and because I complained to his manager about something that I felt was wrong and their mistake, he decides he no longer wants me as a patient.
When I spoke to his office manager, I didn't use profanities nor did I threaten anyone. All I did was state my case, and insist I be reimbursed $25 for the extra prescription. As a consumer, I have the right to do this.
I have since spoken with a health professional who said the nurse should never have double ordered like she did. She herself was a nurse, and it would not have been acceptable to do this where she worked. She also said the doctors she worked for would have gone out of their way to make things right by reimbursing me and making me happy.
For those of you who are contemplating having him as a physician, you might consider what happened to me. Instead of admitting they made a mistake and reimburse me the $25, the doctor chose to ditch me as a patient.
That is not a good business practice in my estimation. He is not only losing me as a patient, but my husband who was also his patient, will never set foot in his office after this.
Good luck to present and future patients. Doctors like him should not be in business if that's the way they treat patients, the very people who provide him with a good living. $25 might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of the matter that counts.
Dr. Canalas, you certainly showed your true colors by doing what you did and you should be ashamed.s for approximately 10 years. He performed three colonoscopies on me and two on my husband. We both always thought he was very professional and good as a physician. We trusted him completely.
In the winter of 2017, I had a proctitis flare-up, and I called his office and spoke to his nurse, whose name is Michelle.
I asked her to call in a prescription of Canasa to my prescription program which is CVS Caremark. Canasa is what I took for my condition. A few weeks went by, and I hadn't received the prescription, so I decided to call her to inquire about it. She informed me she had called it in to Kinney's Drug Store in Potsdam. I was confused, as I had not requested this to be done. I had asked her to order it from my CVS Caremark prescription program.
I asked my husband to pick it up at Kinney's. It's a $700 prescription, and we had to pay $25 out of pocket expenses.
I used it while on vacation in Florida, and after two weeks, I realized it wasn't working. When I returned home from my trip, I had another prescription that had been mailed from CVS Caremark. I called Dr. Canalas's office and spoke with the office manager whose name is Estella.
I explained to her that Michelle had made two orders for Canasa, and that we had already picked one up from Kinney's. I also explained that had we known that she had double ordered, we would have never picked up the prescription from Kinney's and would have waited for it to come from CVS Caremark. Michelle didn't tell us she was going to order my prescription from both places. That meant that I had to pay another out of pocket expense of $25 that I knew was a waste because I would never use it as it did not bring relief to my condition. Estella defended the nurse's decision to do what she did, but I insisted that what she did was wrong, and that I should be reimbursed the $25 I paid to CVS Caremark. I could not get any where with her and hung up on her. I then wrote Dr. Canalas a letter that explained what happened and asked to be reimbursed for the $25. The letter I sent was very professional, and I ended it by thanking him for considering the matter.
This afternoon, 1/5/18, I called his office to make an appointment only to be told that a letter was sent to inform me that Dr. Canalas no longer wanted me as a patient. I was floored. I had been his patient for 10 years, and because I complained to his manager about something that I felt was wrong and their mistake, he decides he no longer wants me as a patient.
When I spoke to his office manager, I didn't use profanities nor did I threaten anyone. All I did was state my case, and insist I be reimbursed $25 for the extra prescription. As a consumer, I have the right to do this.
I have since spoken with a health professional who said the nurse should never have double ordered like she did. She herself was a nurse, and it would not have been acceptable to do this where she worked. She also said the doctors she worked for would have gone out of their way to make things right by reimbursing me and making me happy.
For those of you who are contemplating having him as a physician, you might consider what happened to me. Instead of admitting they made a mistake and reimburse me the $25, the doctor chose to ditch me as a patient.
That is not a good business practice in my estimation. He is not only losing me as a patient, but my husband who was also his patient, will never set foot in his office after this.
Good luck to present and future patients. Doctors like him should not be in business if that's the way they treat patients, the very people who provide him with a good living. $25 might not be a lot of money, but it's the principle of the matter that counts.
Dr. Canalas, you certainly showed your true colors by doing what you did and you should be ashamed.
by Sue
xxx.xxx.193.164
January 06, 2018
