Dissapointing Billing Procedures/ Lack of Transparency
I had taken my mom for a second opinion from a professional psychologist/mental Health Counselor at Medanta. My mom suffers fatigue in her daily functioning due to Navel Displacement which has symptoms very closely resembling IBS-M (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Type-Mixed).
I have taken my Mom to several reputed Doctors in the UK and eventually in India, after moving back temporarily.
After consulting with quite a few gastroenterologists, I was advised to get an opinion from a Psychiatrist or Psychologist to understand my mom's condition from that perspective.
I don't believe my Mom is a mental patient but IBS-M does have a connection with the mind.
My mom was already seeking treatement at Max Saket with a gastroenterologist and a psychologist there. My Mom had done various tests like MMPI, MMPI-2, Rorschach,etc. I felt skeptical as my Mom is not a mental patient and her symptoms very closely resemble IBS-M. Though she is not diagnosed with IBS-M.
We booked an appointment with a female psychologist. Dr. Akanksha Batra was the only one who was available that day. There were other doctors but their schedules were full.
After paying for the Consultation we go inside to meet Dr. Akanksha. After about 8 minutes of casual conversation about my professional background, she asked us to go to an adjacent room where she sent her assistant to ask my mom to do a few psychological tests. I wanted to avoid this as my Mom had already done them earlier and had her reports. I told this to the assistant. She came back telling me that the previous tests were incoherent and unclear. I pressed her further on how those tests are unclear but she didn't give any definite answer.
These tests cost 2,500 at all Corporate chains, and usually cost 1000 maximum and clinics.
I felt strange and knew that this was just a ploy for them to make quick money. She hadn't even asked my mother about her condition or her background before sending us out for those tests.
As I'm writing this I understand my naivety at continuing with her demands instead of walking away. After my mom spent that day redoing 3 tests, we returned the next day to discuss those reports and proceed with the appointment. But to my dismay she had not processed those results on time. Also, after hearing my mom out for a session she said that she doesn't specialize in IBS so I would need to consult with a gastroenterlogist for accurate information.
She ended the consultation by asking me to review our experience with her on some doctors online rating platform, CrediPlus+ or HealthCredi+.
I scolded her for making us go through all those tests and not listening to us during the initial consultation before making my Mom go through the tests in house at Medanta again. She deflected and didn't respond and sat their quietly. She didn't respond to why she didn't even process my mom's test results for this session.
It was a very frustrating time that we had spent at Medanta. I don't have any faith in how the rest of the Hospital is.
This is only my experience in the Neuro-Psychiatry department. But having experienced the dubious manner in which Dr. Akanksha coerced us into doing those tests, I can only extrapolate the culture at the Hospital. Suffice to say I'm not bringing my family here again.
I don't have time to pursue this with HOD in the Hospital and know full well that we've been duped.
8 March 2021
Unprompted review