Dr. Joel Chua Ang, MD

Charging for services I didn’t have. Twice now. Thief’s

I was out of the country traveling when my prescription ran out for my HBP medicine which is meant to protect against a kidney disorder (1 year from appointment). Shortly after i got back, the COVID-19 quarantines had began. I tried to get a temporary refill but he has refused. They have some sort of portal that doesn't work, and every time I call the office I get told to sign on to the portal. As a result, I literally have to switch doctors just to get a prescription refill. There's no legal reason why a physician cannot do a temporary refill in DC. This has to be about reimbursement, which is absurd from a basic patient care perspective, but even more asinine if your hope to get patients to return for a long time. I'm happy to come in for an appointment, but even if we were not in the midst of a once in a century pandemic, its not abnormal for life (work, family) to somehow get in the way of a person getting into the primary care physician within a year of their last… appointment. What is abnormal is the fact that he won't even fill the script. His employees were very good and competent when I went in for my appointment last year, and I found the physician to be professional in person. But being a doctor is about more than just your face-to-face interactions with clients. This level of service is unacceptable, and I can't recommend stronger that patients look for another physician.

I am also a new patient after my initial doctor retired. Every visit they take a ton of test which I think is unnecessary and my insurance won't continue to cover this many test. They ask you to send emails and they will be most responsive. They are very bad at returning emails and when they do late they don't answer the questions. I recently needed an urgent answer and it took three days to respond even after calling the office. The staff acts as if you are interrupting their personal time. Some are completely rude. I am. It looking for another doctor because the service is horrible and the doctor next touches you checking any ears, nose, or throat. The dr. Is friendly but that's not enough to good a good doctor,

My wife and I are reasonable and level-heade professionals. We only expect the same in a GP. Our doctor of 8 years retired. We loved him and his staff. Thus, we had to find a new GP. Dr Ang was among 3 recommended. First, the waiting area has all the feel of a massage parlor. Then we had to wait 30 minutes just to get started on a 30 minute questionairre and 15 minutes of bloodwork (3 vials) and blood pressure, etc. I thought, "okay, they just do this for a first appointment. They are thorough." I learned later they do this at every appointment. Ridiculous. But this is not really important if the doctor and staff are great. They are not. Then the medical assistant was nice to me until he found out I was straight and married and he became immediately rude. Further, he was very rude to my wife who had an appointment after me. When I got in to see Dr Ang he seemed very patient and educated. My wife liked him as well. He did not feel comfortable filling a prescription for my… wife and I for ADD. (This is for meds we were properly prescribed, tested, and diagnoaed.) This was fine and he recommended a specialist and filled the meds one (promising once more) until we set an appointment. De Ang was very impressed with our blood pressure and cholesterol etc. So, we are in otherwise good health. Also, he was to follow up with me via email regarding some blood work. We left feeling pretty good about him as a GP althought not living the staff. A week later I emailed to request the results of the bloodwork and got no response. Then the specialist Ang recommended was out of network thus repayment became hassle. In addition, the specialust madee a highly inappropriate sexual remark about my wife (nothing subjective about it). Needless to say it wan't going to work out for me or my wife. I then emailed Dr Ang to request another refill until we could obtain another specialist. I copied the specialist so that there was no appearance of impropriety on my part. (In the email I merely explained reimbursement was at issue). Dr Ang he replied with a form response that his office did not write scripts for those meds. I emailed him again (without copying the specialist) explaining the inappropriate remark played a big part and that finding a new in-network doctor accepting patients was proving difficult, further, that I had called 10 already, thus i was making the effort, and plesding for momentary help for me and my wife from our new GP, especially in light of the comment and that it was a specislist he had recommended. He could have said no and recommended another doctor. Sympathy would have been nice but instead he gave us a scolding about all the health risks if these meds (which we do not abuse and are necessary for us to function at work and at home), none of the health risks hr mentioned to us in our appointment, although he claimed he did. He said nothing about the comment by the specialist made no specific referral (just to a national ADD organization), and closed it all out by telling "good luck finding a new general practitioner!"

Although Dr. Ang may have a decent bed side manner, his business practices are awful. When I returned for my second visit, he advised me that I owed the office several hundred dollars for services I was under the impression that my insurance covered. Since my second visit for several months after my first, I asked why no bill was sent (and still has not been sent to this day) and I was advised that his office does not send out bills, and that if I wanted to be seen that day, I had to make some type of payment. I paid it, and when I called back to see about making a 3rd visit (I know, gluten for punishment) I was told I owe Dr. Ang's office in excess of $700.00. I have no problem paying this, however it is the way that his office handles the matter in a very unprofessional manner. As well as, after all of this, Dr. Ang referred me to a specialist, and upon meeting with this specialist, I was advised I DID NOT have the condidion that Ang diagnosed and tested me numerous times for and… that it should have been obvious to him. WOW.

ent to the bathroom for urine test. They keep billing you for the things you just took a test for already and you won't be covered. And I agree with another critic, it is so embassing to walk in the waiting room area with your urine sample in your hand everyone looking at you!