SimonMed Imaging

Wow what a terribly run facility. They seemed to be completely overwhelmed with scheduling patients. I waited an hour to be seen. No sense of urgency at all.
I never received a call that they were running late.
Do whatever you can to go anywhere else for an MRI.
I just hope they are technically proficient and that they run the test professionally.

Health Diagnostics used to be great until SimonMed took over. DO NOT GO HERE! I went here for a brain MRI and had a terrible experience. After my insurance approved my MRI, I called to ask what my financial responsibility would be. They told me it would be around $ 150. I went ahead and got the MRI. After much haggling, they finally submitted the bill correctly to insurance and the charge was around $ 150. Then they send me an additional bill for $ 1,370 from another one of their companies, Progressive Radiology, for the same procedure. They say I owe them the money and won’t back down. DON’T DO IT!

OMG… I can’t believe this company. I had been dealing with migraine headaches for a couple of months. Finally had a brain MRI/​MRA done at the Post Street facility couple weeks ago and they have not gotten a report back to my neurologist. The told me it was going to be ready in 2 –3 days. I can’t believe they do this with people’s lives. We need to know the findings of this report so I can find out what’s going on with my health. DO NOT USE HEALTH DIAGNOSTICS FOR YOU IMAGING.

I went to the Health Diagnostics on Post Street, near Van Ness, for an MRI on my wrist. And for the following reasons, I would not go back. I was not in pain when i went there (numbness was the issue), but I was in pain for awhile during and after the MRI. My arm and wrist were put in a very uncomfortable position in the scanner machine, and after two attempts, over a period of 45 minutes, the technician could not obtain a clear image of my problem area. I don’t how someone who might have pain issues could have survived the procedure that I went through.

I called Health Diagnostics to schedule an appointment and spoke with Elizabeth. That’s why Health Diagnostics at this location gets only 1 star.

Beware!
My doctor referred me to SimonMed Imaging (AKA Health Diagnostics) to get an MRI. Health Diagnostics is an in-​network facility with my insurance company. When I made the appointment for the MRI, I provided my complete insurance information to Health Diagnostics and they filed for the preauthorization with my insurance company. Once I obtained the preauthorization letter from my insurance company, I had the MRI taken at Health Diagnostics’ Sacramento Street location. Some time after the MRI, I received two separate bills (one for the facility and one for the provider who «read» the MRI) related to the MRI totaling nearly $ 4,000! I called Health Diagnostics’ billing department and found out that they, despite having my insurance information and obtaining the insurance preauthorization, had sent the MRI out to be read by a provider who is out of my insurance network. I initially believed that Health Diagnostics had mistakenly sent the MRI out to a non-​preferred provider. However, their billing department refused to take any responsibility for the error, and instead instructed me to file a grievance with my insurance company to get the bill paid in its entirety. They even coached me on what to say to my insurance company. After this exchange with Health Diagnostics’ billing department and reading the reviews from other Unilocalers, I am now certain that Health Diagnostics’ use of a non-​preferred provider was intentional. The insurance company would only pay Health Diagnostics the «allowed amount» if they had used an in-​network provider. However, by sending the MRI to an out-​of-​network provider and then instructing me to file an grievance with my insurance company, Health Diagnostics clearly is trying to get their ridiculously inflated bill paid. It has been very stressful worrying about whether I will have to pay this massive and unexpected medical bill when I did everything I was supposed to do. It has also been very time consuming having to make multiple calls to Health Diagnostics, who continues to refuse to accept any responsibility, and my insurance company. I am considering taking Shane R.‘s approach and filing a complaint with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.

The most effective action you can take to hold these people accountable and to prevent other people from being taken advantage of is to file a complaint with the SF District Attorney’s Office. See their complaint for link below.
They were helpful.

I had an appointment this morning for an ultra-​sound and was told to arrive at at 8:45. I left my home between 8:15 — 8:20 and arrived at the appointed time. The receptionist, Catherine, was on the phone giving directions to another patients, leaving me waiting some 5 minutes. When she got off the phone, she informed me that the technician was sick and they could not provide the ultra-​sound. She said she called me (checked my voice mail and she had called at 8:24 to cancel an 8:45 appointment!!) She said she had an opening in their Daily City office at 2:30ish; I refused it. After canceling a morning of patients, I was not about to cancel an afternoon. So I returned to collect my car and paid $ 3.25 at the garage. A very costly morning without results. With the man dissatisfied customers, I DO NOT SUGGEST UTILIZING THIS FACILITY. I WILL NEVER GO BACK!

I had a 7am appointment scheduled and was told TWICE to make sure I’m there 15 – 20 minutes early. Needless to say I waited and waited — DOORS CLOSED and lights off. No one was there to let me in. I stood on the street for 15 min and decided to leave. This place is ridiculous. What professional office makes appointments at 7am (when they open), yet can’t get their butt in at the same time as the patient (um, 6:45AM). I had the respect to get there on time, yet the technician did not. Apparently my time is less valuable. DO NOT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT THIS PLACE. A poorly managed organization and complete joke. One Medical referred me to this place, and I’m calling to complain to them. They need to stop with the referrals to this place.

After scheduling an appointment and getting it confirmed I arrived at the center and they had no record of my appointment! I guess I’ll wait on hold for another 45 minutes to talk to the scheduling center.

I don’t usually review businesses that are OK. And this was the case for this business. They were nice, and there was availability, but 8 MONTHS after I went there to get some imaging on my foot, they decide to call me to tell me that I owe them money, even though my insurance was current and should have paid for all of it.

Their billing center is terrible. They accepted and cashed a payment from me and then continued to bill me. There is one to speak to, only an automated service.

Extraordinary that this place is in business! Here’s why:
Insufficiently staffed: Instead of delaying one month for a daytime appointment, I visited their office at 7:30pm for an MRI. After waiting a few hours, the receptionist told me that their system was not working «and they were unable to restart it because no one was available with the right skills» (until the following morning). I wouldn’t recommend the «convenience» of an evening appointment, especially if you have to get babysitting for the privilege!
Billing is very poorly organized: After I finally got my MRI, I paid my copayment in full, and I thought I was done. But no. I just received another letter/​bill threatening me with collections. So I double checked with my bank — and, yes, my check was cashed 2-​months ago. The billing office was incredibly rude on the phone about their «investigation» process. However I see now on Unilocal that billing issues are quite common so this shouldn’t have come as a surprise…
Health Diagnostics was a referral from SOAR medical group in San Francisco. I will let SOAR know about the terrible service. I hope that the SOAR doctors will stop referring people to Health Diagnostics in future. I certainly wish I’d looked at Unilocal and requested a different place!

DO NOT go here, they are running a scam. Due to a car accident years ago, I routinely have to get a series of MRIs for my spine. I have never ever experienced such bad customer service/​scammy medical practices from a health care practice!
Over one year after my scans they sent me a bill for $ 1,700; AFTER insurance had already paid, and after I had already paid several hundreds of dollars myself. I was perplexed and called my insurance — they informed me that I owed about $ 100 and recommended that I ignore the bill until I get an updated one.
I got the bill for $ 100 in the mail and paid it right away (and they cashed my check right away). This week I got a letter in the mail saying they’re sending my account to collections for the $ 100 charge even though I already paid it and I have proof of them cashing the check! Major scam artists.
Avoid this place at all costs!

DON’T GO THERE. I shouldn’t have gone there. Don’t go there unless you have money to spend out of pocket that you may not get back.
I read the previous reviews but thought that since the place was recommended by my doctor’s office, it should be ok. Wrong. They made me pay a significant charge up front, telling me that the balance, if there was one, would be refunded once they received the insurance payment. They appear to have received payment about a month after the scan, but I have yet to receive anything from them even though I paid them quite a bit more than was actually owed. It’s about 9 months since I’ve been there.
I will let my doctor’s office know not to refer to them because of this slimy business practice.
UPDATE: After asking to speak to their billing department twice but not actually speaking with them, I received a refund check for the full amount that I paid. This was almost a year after they filed and were paid for the claim. Two other Unilocalers have contacted me about what they are doing regarding potential fraud with this company. One found that the San Francisco District Attorney would look into it if they got enough complaints.
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Also let your doctor’s office and your insurance company know about your experience so the doctor won’t refer any more patients there. Your insurance company may investigate as well.

I agree with many Unilocalers on here. DO NOT GO HERE unless you have a lot of money that you would like to burn through and time to waste.
The pros for going here is that they have a lof of availability (I can see why now) and convenient hours. The place is modern, clean, and staff was nice when I was there or as it seems like it.
Here comes the CONS:
Prior to scheduling an appointment with them, I had contacted their office requesting for a quote for a wrist MRI. I mentioned that I have insurance, but I need to cover 20% of that cost. I said I needed to know what the total cost would be so I know how much I need to pay out of pocket. This was when I was trying to compare whether I should have went to CPMC or not. The receptionist told me it would cost around $ 650, so I made the appointment with them since CPMC charges $ 1200. Few weeks after the visit, I got a FAT bill of $ 2200 for MRI Joint Upper Extremity W/​O dye. I called their billing office and was told that they have nothing to do with the charges and cannot adjust my claim. The only thing they could do is add my insurance information since apparently, the office did not provide that to them. Then I called their office asking why they charged me $ 2200 when the quote was $ 650 and the billing code is incorrect. I was told that their office had billed me for a shoulder and wrist MRI and not just a wrist scan. She said I had to call their other billing office to adjust it. So I did just that and the girl who is dumb enough to tell me that they are allowed to increase my charges since that is what was given to them by my insurance… again, how can they get those charges if they never even submit a claim to my insurance? I then contacted my insurance company to see if they can even do anything since a claim was not submitted, and they agreed that they cannot just increase the price. So I had to call the office once again saying they are giving me the run around and they need to fix this since I cannot afford to pay for a $ 2200 bill nor am I willing to pay for an incorrect charge. Then I was told that they had wrote down the last 3 digits of my insurance number incorrectly, even though they have a copy of my card.
After complaining and and screaming, they finally made the adjustment weeks later. Again, avoid this place if you can.

To make matters worse:
(On my prior review, I explained how they first MRId the WRONG LEG and then made me wait more than an hour on the make good.)
A YEAR later, they send me a bill, having billed my insurance, too. The bill didn’t even match the EOB from my insurance company. Ugh! DON’T GO HERE!

im quite horrified about my experience here that I feel compelled to write my first ever review on Unilocal.I didn’t find an email I could complain to nor would they probably even care.
My technician was incredibly passive aggressive and kept blaming me that I didn’t prepare correctly. The procedure itself was already a bit sensitive that a reassuring attitude would’ve helped, but nope, she was cold and insensitive.
It’s been a few days but it’s still bothering me, i really feel a bit traumatized by that experience. I will never come back to this establishment again. I wish I read reviews before I went there.

Do not go here at any cost — the other reviewers are right, their billing practice is quite possibly unethical or illegal.
A family member went in for an MRI and they charged us up front for $ 700 that ‘would not be covered by our insurance policy’, and would be subtracted against our deductible. This should have been determined by our insurance company, not them.
Months later, when reviewing medical expenses, I noticed that they billed the insurance company for the full procedure and was paid in full, 100% of the cost.
I called my insurance company, who advised me that Health Diagnostics now owes us a credit for our payment. They also advised us that no record of our payment was sent to Cigna, nor was it subtracted against our deductible. Keep in mind that 3+ months had passed, and Health Diagnostics had not provided a credit to us or contacted us in any way about this.
We called Health Diagnostics and they admitted they incorrectly had us pay, and that they owed us the $ 700. They were ‘behind on their refunds’ according to them — this is besides the point, they should never have charged us in the first place!

Scheduling: Easy with convenient hours (including nights and Saturdays)
MRI imaging: Professional
Cost: $$$ ($ 2,200 for an Achilles tendon!!!)
Billing: Fail
I paid what we thought my copay would be up front. After my insurance paid, they adjusted the amount I was supposed to copay by $ 12. Instead of billing me the difference (of just $ 12), they sent a full refund for the amount I had already paid and then re-​billed me for the new copay. Huh?
They also sent the refund and the new bill to an address of a former employer who I hadn’t worked for in 5 years! How did they get that address (I would have never given that address for any reason, at any time)? Why did they not update it when they had me in the office (or verify my personal address with me)?
After sending the bill to the wrong address, they turned the bill over to a collection service. They even had my phone number on record. Why not try calling me first? I’ve never missed a payment on anything to anyone. Why would they just turn it over to collections?
When I called the billing department, they were confused by the refund /​re-​bill, and they were confused as to why no one tried to call me on the phone (they had my correct phone number on file). They said they usually try calling.
Who loses in all this? I lose AND Health Diagnostics loses. They only get a tiny portion of what they turned over to collections, AND they are having to reissue the refund they sent to the wrong address. It’s no wonder they have to charge $ 2,200 for a small MRI.