Duke Rheumatology South Durham

At first, I was not a fan of this clinic. After several visits, I have to say that I'm pleased with the care I've received. Definitely recommend going here.

Love this new location! I have been with Dr Tarrant now for 11 years and I can say without her and her knowledge I would not be here!

Love this clinic

I made an appointment in June 2023 for November 2023. A couple weeks before the appt, the doctor cancelled and pushed me back to January. The appt was at 8am and the doctor cancelled at 7:15 am that morning, while I was on the way in. I was informed upon arrival that my appointment had been rescheduled for OCTOBER 2024. I lost 2 hours of driving and a half day wages, and all I have is an appointment set for 16 months after the original scheduling date. Insane.

I scheduled an appointment for a rheumatological consultation and had to wait several months for an appointment. (I understand that this is standard for the field.) Upon making the appointment I gave the nurse my insurance information so they could have it on file. I also took the time to upload prior medical records, family history, vaccination status, and current prescriptions. I double checked to make sure they had my correct insurance information, as well as used the Duke MyChart program to estimate my expense for this appointment, which came back showing that I would owe a $20 copay.

Yesterday, in preparation for my appointment I called both the Duke Rheumatology department and the rheumatologist's personal nurse to be sure there were no inconsistencies, missing info, problems, etc...I was assured there were none.

I show up to my appointment to check-in where I am informed they do not accept my insurance. I explain the situation and ask why I was not made aware of this sooner. The receptionist said she didn't know. I ask how much it would be out of pocket. For the 60- minute consultation it will be $490. She asks me to hold on for a moment while she goes to consult someone else to see if there might be another option. She informs me that they do have a discounted rate of $245 and then proceeds to tell me that I don't qualify for that discount because I have insurance...

So after waiting months for an appointment, and spending several hours uploading and updating all my information, and repeatedly checking in with Duke staff to be sure there were no issues, I have nothing but a half-hearted "sorry" to show for it.

I have had several poor experiences with the Duke system but this by far takes the cake. I will never look to Duke for any health care needs again, that is for certain.

Maybe the providers could spare some sympathy for patients who have waited months to get their chronic pain addressed and not refuse to see a late arrival