Establishing Medical Care in the Tampa Bay Area

Pics.

Two years ago I had hoped that my gastroenterology clinic at the University of Minnesota would be able to find a center for my Entyvio infusion which came due during our visit to Florida. It wasn't possible, so I had to fly back to Minnesota for the procedure, and then return to Florida, all within 24 hours.

The infusion for Crohn's disease is critical to my health, and I really don't want to miss with timing. I decided that I would get the job done myself this year. I started with Health Partners, my insurance company, in the fall and got no help at all, except to assure me that the whopping bill (about $21,000 a crack, of which ends up costing Medicare about $6,000, plus the cost of the doctor's visit -- maybe $400 or so) would be covered.

I sat down with the phone early one day, thinking this would take me all morning. I tried first with a university affiliated infusion center, but had no luck. I then looked up gastroenterology practices within a 25-mile radius, and chose the one with a website that had a patient portal. I was lucky on my first call. The receptionist at Gastro Florida patched me through to Gastroenterology Consultants of Clearwater, where I quickly got an appointment and received new patient paperwork within a week. Shortly after, I got login instructions for the patient portal.

I've received the usual email and phone reminders over the last week and my appointment was this morning. The staff, both customer service and medical, are personable, competent and professional. I left with the promise of a call about my infusion appointment, scheduled for March 13.

Easy!