text: I have been a patient of Arizona Family Care, with a primary care physician of Dr. Heidi Bannister, since - well, to be honest, I don't remember. Since before 2006 for sure. Dr. Bannister has always been friendly and attentive, with a caring demeanor. In fact when I changed jobs in early 2006 and found that my new insurance did not cover her, I was rather upset - and very happy when I found that my new employer's insurance (in 2007) covered her. \n\nTo put it another way: I live near the northern intersection of the I-17 and the 101. This office is Glendale, just off the 101 on Union Hills. It's easily a 15 minute drive to the office, and there are plenty of doctors nearer to where I live.\n\nYou may then question why I have given her office a two-star review.\n\nIn December I had an appointment with Dr. Bannister, as a follow-up for a head cold and eye problems that I was having. She asked that I schedule a follow-up appointment for a month out, so I stopped and scheduled one for mid-January.\n\nI received the reminder call the Friday before the appointment, and realized that I had forgotten to ask for the time off work, so I would not be able to make the visit. Fully intending to call, I wound up with a number of critical issues dumped on me toward the end of the day, and it slipped my mind. I did not think of it again until Monday morning, when I noticed the reminder card on my desk. By that time the appointment was well-past, so I decided I would simply go ahead and wait until the next time I needed to go in for refills or whatnot.\n\nA few days later I received a letter from the doctor's office. I figured it was a reminder that I had missed the appointment. To my surprise, I opened it to find a letter from the office, signed by the doctor, that they were dropping me as a patient. The reasoning?\n\nThree missed appointments - one in 2007, another last year, and then the one a few days ago (Jan 2012).\n\nNow, don't get me wrong, I understand that missed appointments can lose an office money and cause issues for other patients. However:\n\n1. The doctor NEVER mentioned to me in any of the intervening appointments I had in 2011 and this last appointment that this was their policy, nor is it mentioned in any of their documentation (I just went to their website and double-checked).\n\n2. In every case that I had a missed appointment, I was charged a $25 missed appointment fee - in two of the cases, $5 more than my insurance co-pay (which I understand is only partial compensation since the visit is actually far more than that) that I paid.\n\n3. In one of those cases (the appointment in 2010) I actually DID call the office the evening before to cancel, but because of voice mail problems I was unable to leave a message. I paid the $25 missed fee anyway the next time I went in, because I liked the doctor's office and didn't want to make a fuss.\n\nFor whatever reason the impersonality of the letter bothered me. My first thought was to call the office but to be honest it's too much of a hassle; there was no diplomacy here, so if they do not want me as a customer, I do not want them.\n\nI would suggest to the office that they include this policy on their paperwork, and to call 48 hours before an appointment instead of the day before (when they require 24-hours' notice of cancellation).\n\nKeep this in mind the next time you visit the doctor; apparently the friendly relationship you perceive with your doctor only lasts until you've inconvenienced them a handful of times over the course of 5 years; then you're out the door.