Dr. Mara Fiorentino Dr. Mara Fiorentino, genuwine at first but shows true hidden self as time goes on, falsifying records, blaming insurance companies for no pay and blames patients Destin, Florida

I was a patient of Dr. Mara Fiorentino for almost 2 years.  Although I reside close to 50 miles away, I was referred to her by a friend who at the time recently started working for Dr. Fiorentino, claimed she was amazing at her practice and that I should switch doctors. I did so, and at the beginning Dr Fiorentino seemed genuwine and very knowledgable of my mental disorder. She was understanding and showed interest in my personal life and was willing to work with my dosages to find the right fit for me. As time when on, each appointment got harder and harder to make. There were times no one would return my phone calls, nobody would ever answer to the doctor's office, or I wasn't able to take off from work to drive due to having short staff. Later, I was browsing the mugshots and found she was arrested for Domestic violence and a DUI. I called my friend who previously was a receptionist, and she clued me in on just who I was actually seeing (althought I was hesitant to believe because Dr. Fiorentino was so nice and never showed any signs). After suffering with my disorder without medication, it was close to a year before we hired enough staff at my place of employment and I was able to take leave from work to drive to see Dr. Fiorentino. I made an appointment with excitement that someone actually answered the phone at her office, after numerous months of calling. The receptionist over the phone was very pleasant and scheduled me for a normal visit. Upon my arrival, I was told by the receptionist my documents cannot be found and were probably destroyed being so long that I havn't seen the doctor. I explained it was not even a year ago, and she said it must've been lost then because it would only of been destroyed if it was 7 years older or more. I agreed to start filling out a new patient form, about 30 pages long. Over the pages I noticed 2 pages requiring my credit card number and information, along with consent if my insurance wasn't to pay or there were any late charges/overage changes that Dr Fiorentino could charge my credit card at any given time. That concerned me, being I do not like having my credit card information written on paper that could potentionally be LOST AGAIN. I still continued to fill it out, until I was called up to the desk and was asked if I could make a down deposit of $200.00 and she would refund it to me only if my insurance will pay her. According to Dr. Fiorentino, my insurance never paid her for my last visit. Nothing was ever mailed to me, neither from the doctor nor my insurance company. This made me upset because I did not have $200, and if that was required it should of been discussed over the phone when I was scheduling an appointment so I could be prepared before driving 50 miles to an appointment I couldnt even afford to go to and schedule for a later time. I declined the $200 deposit, and then the down payment offer turned into $100. Hesitantly I agreed to the down payment and continued on filling out my paperwork. In the meantime, the receptionist called to verify my insurance, who informed her my job had two policys, and that a different insurance covers mental health. We got that information from them, but only to find out Dr. Fiorentino was listed Out-of-Network. The insurance company said they would made an exception for me and list her as an In-Network provider, only if Dr. Fiorentino consented and verified her information over the phone or through their website with them. The receptionist started explaining to Dr. Fiorentino and before she could even finish, Fiorentino shouted saying NO THEY NEVER PAY ME IM NOT DOING IT (talking about the other insurance). After multiple attempts to correct her, she absolutely refused and told me to have a nice day and that I was free to go. At this point I was heated, after driving 50 miles to see her in the first place, having to pay a down deposit that didn't make any sense, and having to fill out new patient forms because mine went "missing" .... I finally decided enough was enough and asked for my papers back with all of my information so I could be on my way. Dr. Fiorentino refused to give me my papers, claiming they were her property and she didn't have to give them back. I stood there and argued with her, telling her I wasn't going anywhere without those papers that contained my social security number, credit card number, and my policy numbers I had written down earlier while I was on the phone with the insurance company. My concern was my papers would get lost, or fallen into the wrong hands as everytime I visited the doctor there was ALWAYS a new receptionist working.... even the one that day been there for only 3 weeks at that time. When Dr. Fiorentino finally got the point I was not leaving without my papers, she threw them at me and told me to get out. I will never, refer her to anyone that I care about. I am 100% sure everyone in the lobby got a glimpse at how crazy she can be that day. Not only was I treated with disrespect from a DOCTOR whom you are supposed to TRUST....and feel comfortable around.... I was talked to as if I was to blame for nonpayment of my old insurance company (later finding out was not even true). I got my papers and left crying, embarressed and shocked to be treated that way for no reason, when it was obvious I was doing everything in my power to continue to see her. Never again, people BEWARE!