Zocdoc

On or about November 15,2015 I was turned away from service by a provider listed in the Healthfirst Online Provider Services Manual as an approved healthcare provider.

The aborted visit to Dr. Coscia's office was caused primarily by a lack of
Communication by his staff with me prior to my visiting his office in
Lynbrook. I had taken the time to pre-register online through your service
And provided them with all of my insurance information. It was only after
My arrival at their office that I was informed that the information had
Come up on their system as "No Coverage". My appointment was cancelled on
The spot and I was asked to contact my carrier to determine the nature of
The problem and to then rebook the appointment with them.

In all fairness I was treated courteously by the staff person, Chris,
However no attempt was made by them to verify directly with the health care
Provider. I called Healthfirst from their lobby and was informed that a new
Number had been assigned to me because I had attain ed the age of 65 and it
Caused a change in my status with them. It turns out that Dr. Coscia is not
A network provider under my current plan with Healthfirst (... even
Though I got his name from their website) and had he seen me it would have
Caused significant billing issues. In addition, had I actually been able to
Use his services I would have had to wait until December 3rd or 4th for the
Next available appointment.

I was able through your services to book an appointment for the following day with a
Dentist who actually is in my network even though it required me to travel
Significantly further. I bear no ill will toward Dr. Coscia's office but
Simply wish that they had communicated with me sooner rather than waiting
For me to show up at their office and refuse me service.

Since the new pricing model, $35 per new patient booking (finder's fee) and some detail on this first as a provider you set up a monthly budget of say $300 and if a patient books that $35 is subtracted from your budget until your budget is down to $0 at which point you will no longer be found on Zocdoc until your budget is replenished the next month... so this model is doing a huge disservice to both provider and patient.
Patients may not see the most seasoned and well reviewed doctors on the site as their monthly allotted budget burns quicker than those with poorer reviewed ones leaving patients to only choose from, well, the rest. Also, as a patient if you made an error in booking, like let's say you selected the wrong plan and you're doctor doesn't accept it... the doctor will not be as inclined to clarify your error (due to booking fees and budget restraints mentioned above) prior to treatment leaving you susceptible to out of network charges, that could be financially devastating. After all, you the patient chose the insurance.
Also, doctors are now choosing not to advertise certain insurance plans as their finder's fee eats well into the total cost of the reimbursement. Most patient's only see a provider when needed, so doctor's will do away with lower paying insurer's from the site as taking on someone with say GHI or Emblemhealth just isn't worth it when your total reimbursement is $45 and you have to pay zocdoc back the $35 finder's fee. And, yes, they say you establish a patient bond and you will receive money over the lifetime of the patient's visits upon your practice, well patient's just come when they really, REALLY have to. Don't hold your breath for that doctor-patient bond to pay off. So dropping certain plans from their site now is only logical.
And providers, you're getting the rawest of deals. If the patient cancels more than 24 hours after the booking, you get charged, regardless of the reason. Whether a patient has a gripe with you / your staff or is just acting juvenile in nature and is unknowing of the fees or has a bit of OCD with regards to technology or is even waiting to see if their condition disappears by the weekend and proceeds with a booking and cancels, you're paying for it. Still worth it? Their sales team says yes, many more practitioners are already saying no.
Zocdoc, you blew it!

I really like to have the search by doctors name from the mobile app.