Middlesex Hospital Marlborough Medical Center: Emergency Room — Establishment and doctor at 12 Jones Hollow Road, Marlborough, Connecticut.

I recently visited this clinic with my 89 year old father after being directed to go there from by his doctor for cellulitis that was not improving. We checked in just before noon- by the time we walked out of there it was approaching 430 and we never saw the attending doctor just a PA- (who was pleasant but frazzled from what she said was a very busy day). My advice would be unless you have blood spouting profusely out --or like to sit around and wait for hours go someplace else.

I recommend avoiding this hospital. While conducting research in CT, I noticed two bites with rings of approximately 3 cm diameter surrounding each mark. I went to what I was told was a clinic for a proper diagnosis. The doctor wasn't sure whether the bites indicated Lyme disease or not, so she prescribed an antibiotic to treat two different varieties of tick bite. Our conversation was perhaps 8-9 minutes long, mostly because the data (bite marks) were inconclusive.

Three weeks later, I received a bill for $700 because Middlesex Hospital bills as "outpatient facility" ($350 for the ER visit and $350 for the professional staffing of the hospital) rather than "outpatient clinic." Below these two charges, there was a line-item charge for "insurance" for $206, followed by a credit showing that my insurance company had paid $206, thus leaving me with $700 in outstanding charges.

I have a PhD and spend most of my days reading dense manuscripts from the 17th century, but I will admit to not following the logic of these billing practices. I called the billing department to ask for an explanation, but the response left me more confused than when I started. The customer service representative said that the hospital had followed it standard billing procedure, but I confirmed with a nurse in the area that not all patients are billed as "outpatient facility." My insurance company is now looking into the charges.

I hope that mine is an isolated case. But speaking only from my own experience, I would strongly encourage people to avoid this hospital. I have insurance, and I can only imagine how awful they are to sick people who don't have medical coverage.