Steve F.
Google
OSTOMY PATIENTS BEWARE OF THIS SUPPLIER !!
I did not choose Austin Medical Supplies in Maryland, as my hospital made the arrangements following my ostomy surgery. Had I known then what I know now I never would have accepted them as a provider. Here's why; 1) I frequently received shipments of ostomy pouches that were late, and this is not a medical item you can live without. 2) On a few occasions I received pouch supplies that Austin ordered from Coloplast, a completely different manufacturer that was not intended to be used with Hollister products. Again, the correct replacements were ordered but were delivered late 3) Austin's representatives kept leaving and I was frequently dealing with someone new, but never informed about the transition. There appears to be a lack of stability at Austin Medical Supply, and therefore I cannot recommend them to anyone. And 4) the most important reason why no one should use Austin Medical Supply. If you're on Medicare, they start you out with a quantity of two pouches per day with three boxes of 60 every three months, which was less than adequate for any male my size.
I explained to Lisa that I was running out of pouches before the three month period, and her response was "I'm already receiving the maximum allowable amount". I called medicare to explain my circumstances and they noted that there is a provision that permits a patient to have their physician fax a letter explaining the patients need for an additional pouch per day to their supplier and they would then forward it to Medicare. I Called Lisa to explain this and she surprisingly stated "Ive never heard of that, who told you this?" I sent her the language from the Medicare website along with the link for her to locate it herself, but she never acknowledged or responded to this "new information" that she was apparently unfamiliar with. Suprisingly, this woman has in her email signature that she is the "DME/Clinical Managing Director" at Austin Medical Supplies. She works with Medicare on a reqular basis and has never heard of this patient provision?
Something is off here, she is either insufficiently educated on Medicare policy to adequately and fairly represent her customers, or she did know and intentionally pretended that she didnt for some strange indefensible reason. Nevertheless, I insisted on proceeding as planned. My physician agreed and faxed the letter directly to Lisa Fitzell. After hearing nothing from her for two weeks I called and asked her if we had a response from Medicare. She stated, and I quote, " I did not send your physician's letter because I knew they were not going to accept it" and "There is nothing to appeal. We have only sent you the allowable quantities that Medicare covers." Can You Believe That? At this point I concluded that Lisa was possibly suffering from pathalogical issues and was no longer qualified to have my business. So I fired Austin Medical Supply and have since found another company to do business with. My physician sent them his letter and I received several boxes of pouches within a week. I have learned that its a lot easier working with a company that actually appreciates your business. I cannot recommend either location of Austin Medical Supply, there are other suppliers that are competent and ready to serve you.
