Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Northwest Medical Center's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Northwest Medical Center

  6200 N. La Cholla Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85741

• 

  Northwest Medical Center

  2945 W Ina Rd Tucson, AZ 85741

• 

  Northwest Medical Center

  1295 W Duval Mine Rd Green Valley, AZ 85614-5003

• 

  Northwest Medical Center

  1920 W Rudasill Rd Tucson, AZ 85704-1076

• 

  Northwest Medical Center

  6180 N Corona Rd Ste 106 Tucson, AZ 85704-1098

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This complaint is directed towards Northwest Medical Center, 2200 S. Houghton Rd., Tucson, AZ 85748. I had awakened the morning of 7/12/22 with something very wrong when I used the restroom. I was taken by ambulance to Northwest Medical Center's Emergency Room. I gave the EMT in the Rural Metro Ambulance all my demographic and medical insurance information in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room. When I arrived at the Emergency Room, they were waiting for me--the EMT personnel gave the hospital all the information, including that I am insured through the VA. I spent 4 hours there, being misdiagnosed. Two doctors examined me, and decided it was either a PROLAPSED RECTUM, or INTERNAL hemorrhoids that were grossly swollen and protruding. A doctor proceeded to numb my anus, then waited for an hour before attempting to push them back inside the rectum. I left Northwest in even more pain, and no conclusive diagnosis. The net morning, I was still in severe pain, and went to the VA Hospital Emergency Room. The VA confirmed that the problem was EXTERNAL hemorrhoids. The NW Medical Center emergency service was totally inept. Two day later, I gave NW Medical Center a review, detailing the poor care/misdiagnosis by their Emergency Room. I received a letter dated, Aug.,10, that NW would investigate. They investigated, and I received a letter dated Aug. 23, saying "the director of the ED is sorry I did not have a positive experience with the staff that took care of you" and "has taken this as an opportunity for reeducation of the staff members involved" AND "that Provider concerns will be routed through the Peer Review Process": NW Medical Center is hiding its findings under the AZ Revised Stature 360445.01 They are ashamed to fess up", and to add insult to injury, they sent me a bill for $887.00! Considering the horrible, wrong care/misdiagnosis they should not bill me, nor my VA Veterans' Insurance...they should simply drop the fee.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  Hello,

   

  Im sorry to hear your experience with with us was not satisfactory. 

   

  Due to the concern being physician based. I would have to submit this to the facility to have this investigated. If you have any additional questions or concerns please call our office at 1-844-201-4530

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/05/2022

  This is the same thing they said 3 months ago.Its been investigated and there was no denying the misdiagnosed and the pain they put me through for something  that should  have been routine. I refuse  to pay for services that weren't  related to my problem this hospital  should  stop demanding payment  from me

  Business Response

  Date: 11/07/2022

   I understand your frustration, however due to this being a Medical care issue and not a billing issue, this will need to be reviewed and determined by the facility.

   

  I truly apologize for the inconvenience. your request has been sent to the facility for review. Please allow time for it to be completed

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/17/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was rushed to NW Medical Center Friday morning on September 9th, 2022 and left the following Monday with pitch black pressure sore, as big as my hand, on my upper buttocks. They took no responsibility for the neglect that allowed this to happen.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/26/2022

  Hello,

   

  I'm sorry to hear your experience was not satisfactory. I have sent this information for review and to open an investigation regarding the care received.

  If you have any additional 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/25/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Major able to walk problem..Opened without A.D.A. requirements finished.. Lack of handicap rails on ramp..Asked for help to car, was told by Docs PA to busy..Go find help elsewhere..nit going back, afraid of injury from falling. Have asked ever time since first visit.was told they asked landlord but was stone walled.. A.D.A. requirements state business CAN NOT OPEN until all A.D.A. completed..

  Business Response

  Date: 09/28/2022

  Hello,

   

  I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. However I am unable to assist due to the lack of information this is in regards to. Is this regarding a specific location? If so which location?

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A couple of months ago I received a phone call from what looked like a local number. When I answered a woman asked to speak to me, I said alright, she then immediately asked me to 'verify my birthday'. I asked who she was and what she wanted, she said she was calling from Northwest Hospital and needs my birthday. I said I wasn't comfortable giving it to her without knowing what she wants and she got mad and stammered 'well then I guess I'll just send you a bill for 2,000 dollars since you can't cooperate'. I said fine as I felt certain it was a scam call. Today I received two separate bills dated a day apart (8/23-8/24/22), one for the Month of May and the other for a Week in June, both for Last Year. One was for exactly 2,000 dollars and the other for 2,475. Both bills had adjustment minuses for over 1,000 dollars leaving one bill for over 850 and the other 700 dollars even. Neither bill had any itemized fees nor insurance adjustments. No mention of what the bills are for. This isn't the first time they have sent me bills for services I never received or have already paid but never like this. Please look into what is happening because I am not able to deal with this myself now. I've been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease a couple years ago and recently put on disability and I don't have the energy to deal with this. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Hello,

   

  I have reviewed your accounts with NW. The call and previous letters were requesting you to contact our Billing office to assist with issues regarding your insurance processing. Your health insurance denied as to not being eligible during the times of services. Since we did not receive a call back from you the account has been switched to a Self Pay status. If you have new insurance that was active during that time please contact us so we can verify and have it billed.

  Please contact our office at 1-844-847-3831 at your earliest convenience 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/11/2022

  There were never any 'letters' sent to me regarding questions about my insurance during that time period last year. I was sent two bills and received one unprofessional phone call (see original complaint for details) three to six weeks ago. I also was on medical leave from work last year and was paying out of pocket for insurance via Cobra. I made very clear at every medical establishment I went to that unless the insurance I had (BCBS via VCA) was accepted or else I didn't receive any treatments as I was financially limited. I paid co payments every single time I checked in and everytime during check in a receptionist would inform me whether or not my insurance was accepted and active. In fact I applied for AHCCCS at the start of last year as I knew my BCBS would be ending and it did in end in July. I know that because the last appointment I had was for physical therapy and I was notified at check in that I no longer had active insurance so I canceled that appointment and didn't receive any further medical attention until end of December when I was finally approved for AHCCCS. If there were concerns about my insurance or extra payments they should have been brought up last year, especially since my co payments were being taken and my insurance was accepted. I feel like this is a fraudulent attempt at collecting monies from me because someone didn't do their job correctly with the insurance company or is allowing them to not pay out for whatever reason. I paid out of my savings for Cobra insurance through my work while on medical leave, they accepted my insurance and my co payments last year and year before. I'm on disability now so I can't help them with whatever mistakes they made last year. I'm very uncomfortable with the way NW hospital is behaving so nonchalantly with their 'out of the blue' intimidation tactics which solidifies my suspicions of fraudulent money collecting from non responsible individuals. Not sure where to go from here, thank you for your assistance. 

  Business Response

  Date: 11/03/2022

  Hello 

   

  I apologize for the interaction you received with the representative. Any time bills are sent they are sent with only payment information for HIPAA purposes. If you would like an itemization of your requested date of service then a call in would need to be completed and an IB request would need to be requested as well. If you have any questions or concerns please call our office for additional information regarding your bills  at 1-844-847-3831

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/06/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My self and my friend visited north west medical cemetery on houghton. We arrived around 10:30am tuesday 8/2/22. We checked in and we’re told to be seated. After waiting about an hour we finally were able to be have our vitals checked and then quickly sent back out to the waiting room. Another hour goes by and my friend marissa goes to check how much longer and the lady at the window says they forgot to take her insurance information. Throughout this whole situation we are sitting in the waiting room in pain from just being in a car accident a few days prior. Nurse on duty named ******* was completely being unprofessional and rude to myself and my friend and not taking us serious while eating her salad in front of patients on her cellphone and when asked that I have been here for over 3 hours and I have not been seen, my insurance information was never taken and people after were being seen before us. The visit caused us stress and pain from sitting in the waiting room not being able to seek medical attention put more hurt to our bodies.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2022

   

  Hello,

   

  I am truly sorry for the way you were treated at our ER facility. In order to better assist you can you please provide me with more detail such as your account number so we can assist you appropriately. 

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/20/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I went to the Northwest Medical Center last October 2021 to the ER. Received my bill I believe in December 2021 for an amount I don't even remember. My first payment was on Jan 1, 2022 in the amount of $123. I paid the following month on 2/9/22 in the amount of $300. In the month of March I received notice that I needed to pay my total bill and this was the final notice before I got sent to collections. I called and left vm for them to call me back. They supposedly called but I didn't ever receive a call, or an email, or a letter. Ironic because they ask for this info. And so I called the hospital again in May after receiving a past due notice and spoke to a female. She told me that I couldn't pay partial amounts, even though the website allows for partial amounts, that I needed to specifically arrange for payments. She said she would set me up for monthly payments. This NEVER happened. I receive a collections notice from Professional Account Services in May. I go to the hospital where I received medical attention and am told they don't have a billing dept there. They provide me a number, I speak to Jose who can confirm that I called to arrange for payments, but it had never been done. He tells me I am NOT in collections and that I should make my payments through Professional Account Services. I speak to someone at Professional Account Services in June who is supposed to set up monthly billing and mail me a bill. I never get that either and am told by PAS that to keep my account active I need to send payment by the 22nd. I called Northwest to try to speak to a manager in the biling dept to complain about their billing practice, which has been a nightmare, but instead was hung up on by ******, and then transferred to PAS by Danielle. I have yet to receive a bill and don't know how much I owe now. I should have never been sent to collections. I especially do not appreciate being hung up on.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/21/2022

  After review of your account no payment plan was established. Payments were made 11/11/21 1/1/22 2/9/22 and 6/21/22. 

   

  Whenever a payment plan is needing to be established it is important that the patient contacts our Business office so we can set the account up as a Time pay account. We did try to reach out to you on 1/3/22 to return your call but there was no answer and the voicemail box was full. I am showing you were set up for Time pay to be due the 1st of every month beginning July 1st. We have yet to receive payment.

   

  If you have any additional questions or concerns please call our office at 844-847-3831 Mon - Fri 7am - 5pm

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/30/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My daughter, ********* ** *********, was treated at Northwest Medical's ER in August 2021 for a strong headache. The visit lasted for approx. 1 h, she was seen by a doctor and they also administered a CT scan. The original bill was for more than $9,000, then after our insurance paid $700+, the bill was reduced to $827. I tried to dispute the bill to no avail. In November I received another bill from NW for $427.66 which I paid, erroneously thinking that this was the reduced bill for the services rendered in August but turns out that this was yet another bill for an MRI. I am willing to pay a reasonable amount for the visit but to me it looks like that NW Medical is simply playing with the numbers. Yet again, it was a visit elated to a STRONG HEADACHE. It was not a complex surgery or a heart attack. NW labeled this visit as "extended" because a CT scan was involved. They also charge 2 times for a CT scan explaining that one entity charges for the scan and another entity charges for the reading. I'm sorry for being sarcastic but why don't you charge for the number of words your doctors say? Then every visit will be labeled as extremely extended. NW did not acknowledge my letter disputing the bill and it was recently sent to collections. NW claims that they DO NOT have any paperwork re the visit now because the matter is with the collections agency. Just out of curiosity: if the case goes to the court, will NW Medical magically re-create proof of the billing? Desired resolution: I am willing to pay a reasonable amount for the visit and $800+ (on top of $700+ paid by the insurance company) does not seem reasonable. Please assist. Thank you!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/01/2022

   

  Hello,

   

  After review of the patients account and phone calls. There were only two calls made to the billing office The first being 6/28/22 requesting a fax# to send correspondence in and 6/9/22 the patients mother spoke with a Customer Service rep who explained how these visits are billed. He id d explain ER visits are not billed based on the time spent at the facility rather than the services rendered. The customer service rep also explained the payment of $427.66 was paid towards a visit from October. Due to the patient being over the age of 18 they would need to contact the Collections office to discuss payment arrangements. The statement received did request that we reach out to the patient to discuss the billing. We did contact the patient on 11/29/21 at 520-406-4274 there was no answer or returned call to further asset the patient with their concern while the account was still in good standings. 

   

  If you have any additional questions or concerns please contact us at 844-847-3831.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/07/2022

  Dear friends from NW Medical,

  Thank you for keeping a thorough record of the number of calls I placed with your billing department. 

  Before I started making calls, I sent a letter disputing the charges to you in November 2021. Something tells me that it was never received. 

  Just for the future reference, if a patient wants to dispute a bill, is calling THE ONLY way of conveying the information to you?

  I understand that patients are being billed by the services and not by the time spent at your facility. Please explain to me why a headache-related visit is considered an "extended" one when a patient was examined by your doctor and had a CT test done only. Where is the logics? Originally I was billed almost $6,000 for a CT scan and then the visit got labeled as an "extended" one because of the CT scan? So you bill patients for a scan itself and an "extension" it creates because you have to go down the corridor to get this test? This was the explanation I received from the billing department.

  Please provide me with a copy of the original bill listing all the charges and not just a final amount. You can send it to the patient's address on file.

  Thank you.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/07/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had elected surgery on 07/13/2020 and was told that after the insurance being billed I still owed about $2300 out of pocket. I arranged a payment plan of $80 per month before I even went under, and agreed to have my debit card automatically deducted every month. Around April of this year (2022) I lost my debit card and cancelled it and had a replacement sent to me. After almost 2 years of having the $80 automatically deducted, I completely forgot to call and let Northwest know I had a new card. The only way I found out I had forgotten was a collections letter I received in the mail on June 06, 2022. I immediately called Northwest to see if I could continue my payment plan and explained to the representative why I had stopped making the payments and that it was an honest mistake on my part. The representative informed me that once a bill is sent to collections there is nothing they can do and that I would have to take care of it with the debt collector. I asked why Northwest never made an attempt to contact me once the payments stopped due to the card no longer being active, I would have happily given the new information and that I had forgotten. She said that Northwest does not attempt to contact its patients if payment is not received as it is the patients responsibility. I find this to be very upsetting as I have no collections on my credit report and have always had an impeccable credit score. Now this is going to be on my report for something that could have been resolved with a simple phone call, email or even letter in the mail, but I received nothing. I hope that in the future Northwest makes more of an effort to help out their patients rather than just sending them to collections without even giving them a chance to make it right.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2022

   

  Hello,  When an account is placed on a payment arrangement it is referred to our extended business office for monitoring purposes. When the payment was missed, a Missed payment letter was sent out on 3/28/2022 and there was no response. A collections letter  was then referred to them to try and collect and a letter was sent on 5/17/2022. The original address that was on file was *** * ***** **. a** ***** Tucson AZ, 85704. A call was placed on 5/19/2022. At that time mail was returned on 6/3 and updated to **** * **** **** *****  TUCSON, AZ 85741. The patient did finally reach out to our extended business office (Pasi) to update and restart the recurring time payment on 6/6.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/17/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 17328561, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ****
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A few years ago, I had a procedure done in the emergency room at Northwest Medical Center. There was a high probability that I would bleed out from the procedure so they contacted my emergency contact, which I had given on a previous visit. I was heavily anesthesized when my ex, his mother, and his new boyfriend showed up. On the way, they stopped to buy a camera and ***** ******, the new boyfriend of my ex asked if he could record what was going on. I told him he could but I didn't want anyone else seeing it, but if I died they could do whatever they wanted with the footage. I never dreamed they would allow an almost complete stranger film a surgical procedure in the e.r. In fact, one of the nurses pointes out that filming was against the rules. Well, several months later u discovered the clip on a social media platform. I spoke with ths hospital's privacy employee and filed a complaint with HIPPA. The hospital agreed to settle the matter and I dropped the HIPPA complaint. The now forme mayor of Tucson heard about the settlement and called me to congratulate me on my new found wealth and ask what my plans were with the money. The hospital told me rhs check was in the mail and refused to give me the name of the company I was expecting the check from. Nor would they tell me where they had mailed it, as I didn't give any contact info upon arrival as I was immediately triaged. I still have not received any compensation and now they have, on the advice of my ex, deemed that I was trying to defraud the insurance company, which I had no intention of doing, nor did I do.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/26/2022

   

  Please see response from NWMC Compliance officer **** ******

   

  This individual expressed concern that hospital staff allowed a visitor to videotape his procedure. This individual alleges he previously submitted a complaint to the Privacy Officer and the hospital agreed to settle the matter if he dropped the HIPAA complaint.
  Northwest Medical Center has no documentation to support that we have ever received a complaint related to this allegation. Therefore, Northwest Medical Center would not have issued a settlement check. Unfortunately, this individual has presented multiple stories which all have been investigated by Northwest Medical Center in accordance with its policies and deemed unsubstantiated. The referenced video was not taken at this facility.  
  This individual was notified of our findings on 5/16/22, but continued to contact several hospital employees, therefore a cease and desist letter was sent 5/20/22.
  
  
  If you need additional information, please contact our Facility Privacy Officer, **** ******, at 520-469-8806 or [email protected].

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/01/2022

   
  The compliance hotline operator remembers me and my case quite well and so does my HIPPA representative. My ex, **** *****, paid 300 people to file fraudulent claims saying that was their leaked video to discredit my claim. I think ****** may be related to one of his boyfriends, **** or ****, perhaps?