Dr. Russell B. Mckelway, MD

scheduled an appointment to be seen straight from out of the hospital. They gave me an appointment a month later which was really hard because I was currently suicidal. I waited all month trying not to hurt myself. I called the day of the appointment a month later and they told me they rejected me. I didnt get help for a month because I thought I would be seeing a good doctor who could help me. VERY dissapointed. They didnt even tell me I was rejected until I called them the day of the appointment. Now I have to find a new doctor that might have a waiting list too. They put off my care for mental help. I just dont want this to happen to anyone who is suicidal again.

Review: Dr. McKelway has a policy that requires a patient to pay a $100 fine if an appointment is missed with insufficient notification. This, despite the fact that every time I have arrived, early, for an appointment the actual appointment started 5 to 10 minutes late. There is an apparent gap in how Dr. McKelway values his time versus how he values my time.My mother has end-stage ovarian cancer and had a downturn in her health on April 30 that required me to attend to her constantly, all night. Around 7 AM on Thursday, May 1 I concluded that I would not be able to make my 8 AM appointment, so I called the doctor's office and left a voicemail to that effect. I gave as much notice about my inability to attend as I could.On Saturday May 3 I received a letter from his office, dated May 2, informing me that he intended to charge me $100 for the missed appointment. I called his office around 2 PM on Monday May 5 to explain the circumstances that led to the missed appointment and to request that he waive the fee in light of those extenuating circumstances. I spoke with the lady that works at the front desk. She said she would relay my message to him.Today, I called back to inquire if my request had been considered and the receptionist was only able to inform me that the charge was still listed on the books and she surmised that he had chosen to not waive the fee. This is, as far as I can tell, purely a guess on her part.While the fine for my mother having an unscheduled medical emergency is certainly galling and cause enough for me to discontinue my association with Dr. McKelway, my complaint at this point is the absense of clear communication by Dr. McKelway regarding this matter. He did not respond to my request, and indeed I have no way of even knowing if he has heard my petition at all.Desired Settlement: I would certainly want Dr. McKelway to waive this fine. Barring that, I would want direct, clear communication from him acknowledging my petition and confirming that he is unwilling to waive the fine.