South Texas Spine & Surgical Outpatient Center — Local services in San Antonio

St. Rafael's Surgery Center San Antonio

Buyer Beware or better yet, Get It In Writing !

If anyone is thinking about using this place for a procedure take heed.

A little history first:

My Doctor scheduled me for carpal tunnel surgery at this place and with-in the hour of scheduling one of the Administrators from St. Rafael's calls me. She explains that they don't have a contract with United Health Care ( my insurance co. ) and that they are trying to get one but won't have it by the time I have surgery. She says that they will accept what the Insurance pays them. She says she checked with my insurance company and since I still have $2050 left on my deductible I would have to pay that amount. So I agreed since I knew I had to meet my deductible. Four days before my surgery the Surgeon's office calls and says they need $1600.00 paid up front, so I paid them that amount. The day of the surgery at St. Rafael's while checking in they say they need the $2050 that was due for my deductible last time they checked with my insurance. I told them that I had just paid the Surgeon $1600 the other day and I would only have about $500 left to pay, The girl at the front desk called the surgeons office to verify I had made that payment and said the $500 would be ok.

Fast forward 5 months and I get a call from the billing dept. at St. Rafael's saying I owe them $2050, I tried to explain to the girl the agreement we made but that led to nowhere. So I call the Administrator back and talk to her, she says she looked at her notes and she talked with the billing office and that I owe the $2050 and she don't remember any other arrangements that we made.

I would not have agreed to pay anything over my Deductible or for that matter my Maximum Out Of Pocket ( which I hit before they even Billed me ). I would have told the Surgeon to use another Surgery Center or I would have changed to a doctor who did use the In-Network Facilities.

So, Beware if anyone is thinking of using this facility, if your out-of network or even in-network I would GET IT IN WRITING up front on what the cost is going to be.

Jim G. San...

Had surgery on Nov 21, 2024. The registration staff was very nice the pre-op personnel super nice. The staff that preps you for the surgery very friendly and answered all my questions. However after surgery the day shift nurses Michelle and Deborah man the worst. Michelle was my first nurse and I was just out of surgery and ate my first meal and due to anesthesia I threw it all up. I called for the nurse (Michelle) and she went and just gave me clean sheets but left me in my dirty gown and didn't even clean my table. After that she offered to bring me crackers and a ginger ale and she never came back. Well then she put me some medication on the IV and it all dripped on the bed which was all wet and I mentioned it to her and the sheet was never changed. Deborah was the same like Michelle. However the night nurses and staff were amazing they did everything what the other ones failed to do. Alyssa and a male with a pony tail were super super nice. Then the day I was discharged Deb gave me all the paperwork to get discharged and left the room stated she would be back and never came back. Some of my family was there so they helped me walk out of there in the process of walking out Michelle sees us and decides now she wants to do something and walks with us out. I was happy about this hospital since it only has 30 beds and thought I would get the best treatment but nope the day nurses just want to get you out so they don't...

I rarely write reviews, but the behavior of the receptionist, Gabby, was so shockingly rude it deserves to be addressed.

Gabby told my husband he was at the wrong location, and then doubled down by claiming she had already told both him and me, which is simply not true. I have never spoken to Gabby a day in my life. All of my communication has been with Sabrina in billing, who has been nothing but professional and helpful.

What made things worse was that Gabby wasn’t just rude to us she was already being short and condescending to the woman she was helping before my husband even walked up. It was clearly a pattern, not a moment. My husband had to calmly ask her not to speak to him in that tone, and at that point, even other patients in the waiting area started to speak up and tell her to stop being rude.

Let that sink in: multiple people in the lobby had to intervene because the receptionist was so unprofessional.

Gabby’s behavior was disrespectful, dishonest, and totally inappropriate for someone in a front-facing role. A receptionist is supposed to offer support and information, not sarcasm and attitude.

To the office: you might want to reconsider who you trust with your first impression. To Gabby: a little kindness goes a long way—and a job in customer service might not be...