LifeStance Health
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Dr unreliable, unreachable, unresponsive
I have had ups and downs with Lifestance. I was struggling for months to get my diagnosis when the psychologist I was assigned had me jump through a thousand hoops only to get told my symptoms were "too mild" for medication (they are not) (this decision was made after only an IQ test and two questionnaires, and my partner's questionnaire was weighed more heavily than my own). I broke down to the psychologist and after actually being able to explain my symptoms, he finally, finally agreed to get me in touch with a prescribing Dr. I didn't love my Dr, I felt like she was only half-listening to me, but I grit my teeth and sucked it up to get the medication I needed that greatly improved my quality of life. But now... With my medications experiencing a shortage, I called local pharmacies and found one that carried my medication. I called and messaged the office MULTIPLE TIMES to move my script over and it took a solid week to get any kind of response, and only after explaining my situation in a frustrated tone to support staff today was I able to get any kind of help. A WEEK IN. It was apparent to the staff assisting me today that my psych was not responding to my messages, and I was not able to get in touch with her directly (no direct line to the Drs? For mental health concerns? Seriously?). Then, my psych tells me she sent the prescription... but she sent the wrong prescription to the new pharmacy, under the impression that my usual prescription is "out of stock everywhere". I informed her that I had called the pharmacy and they confirmed that they had my usual medication in stock, and to please send a script for that specific medication. Finally, after calling back and forth with the Lifestance office and my new pharmacy all day, I finally got my medication. After a week of struggling to get in touch with my Dr. I was also experiencing difficulty with the office's automated text message system. When a prescription is filled, you get an automated text with a link to a website that tells you what was filled and where. Every time this happened, the website said the script was filled at my previous pharmacy... leading me to believe that the script was not sent to the correct place. The online portal/telehealth stuff is clunky at best and a detriment to patient care at worst, the Dr was unresponsive and communicated poorly with me both in appointments and outside, and my only saving grace was the wonderful staff member, Kim, who was so kind and helpful to me today as I was breaking down in tears over the phone in frustration. Having ADHD then jumping through multiple hoops to get a diagnosis, medication, and continuing that medication during government-mandated shortages is hard enough. The professionals I have seen so far made it hell to get the care that I needed and now that's two for two on healthcare providers that made me feel unheard at best, ignored or brushed off at worst. Safe to say I will be seeking out a new prescribing Dr, as the support staff are being very helpful in finding me someone else, even offering to see someone tomorrow (I work full time and cannot get the time off, unfortunately). If this second Dr doesn't work out, I'll be seeking care elsewhere. I would give one star, but I'm giving a whole star just for Kim. She saved me today when I was about to break down over the phone just trying to get my medications so I can live instead of survive.