Dr. James J. Fox, MD

Dr Fox is very difficult MD to contend with. He is a 'gods gift to the human race' type of physician and seems to be in a self aggrandizing loop. He is intent on repeatedly telling you of his credentials. After his running me through his practices nuclear medicine and echo cardiology procedures he couldn't be bothered with providing me with a coherent cogent explanation of the results (see those areas there that are black, they should be orange), seriously? I had to get copies of the reports and go through them myself. He insisted and that I needed an immediate cardiac cath procedure before having an ablation to correct an Afib issue. He adamantly told me that their electrophysiologist would not have anything to do with me unless the heart cath was done first. And when I told him I wanted a second opinion he recommended what was probably a country club buddy. At that point I pulled the plug and moved on to the professionals at USF and Tampa General. They did the Afib ablation first and then a couple of months later the cath procedure. And unlike Dr. Fox's harried routine of importance they took the time to discuss in detail what was going on. The drive to Tampa may not be the pleasant yet I highly recommend going elsewhere. And don't even get me started on his office staff. Just a seriously unprofessional environment at FL Cardiac Consultants.

Dr Fox was great however I can NOT say the same for the receptionist and check out ladies. I had a complaint about the billing and the office manager stated she will not talk to Dr in regards to it. I did pay my bill after having to make numerous calls only to get the voicemail and leaving messages. I work full time and would miss return calls since they were never on the same day of leaving the message. There is no way to pay online. You have to call or send a check ( if you still use checks) or write your credit card info on the invoice and send it snail mail. Also for ANY results of testing, I was told that I MUST come in. (I asked for the result over the phone). When I got there, I was told absolutely nothing was the matter (thank goodness) and everything was perfect! Guess what? My insurance was billed and I was left with a minimal copay. I'm left to wonder why it was a MUST for me to go into the office for the two minutes it took to tell me that when it could have been related over the phone. Someone with a higher issue could have had that appointment spot. I can relate to the policy of going into the office if there is something that would need to be discussed.

The medical providers are very sensitive to their patients' needs, and take great care to make them feel well taken care of. Dr. Fox is considerate and compassionate, and goes out of his way to make patients feel comfortable. His PA, Lance is incredibly kind, and gentle, and Lindsay, the nurse is efficient and caring. They know how to run a tip top practice here. I would recommend this practice in a heartbeat!!

I was trying to get an appointment with Dr. Fox because I heard he is excellent. I called one week ago on Monday and had to leave a message. I waited three day and called again Thursday. This time I was sure to state that I called three days prior. I waited until Friday afternoon. I got through to the billing dept and explained the previous two calls. She put me on hold and assured me someone would call me back by 4:30. It is now Monday and again no call. I can only assume they are too busy and do not want anymore patients.

If you are a patient that advocates for your health, likes to ask questions, or be informed of what is taking place, then this is NOT the Dr. for you. If you are ok with just allowing a Dr. to care for you with little communication or interaction, don't need to ask questions, or challenge information, then you will be fine here. My wife was seen by Dr. Fox at Sarasota Memorial Hospital after being admitted for a cardiac event. Dr. Fox found the event to be serious enough to perform a heart catheterization followed by an echocardiogram. The only communication with Dr. Fox was immediately before and after the heart cath. The results of the cath were simply "All Clear". After the echo on the following day, my wife was discharged. When I picked her up, she was still experiencing fairly severe angina pain. She was discharged only with two new meds and instructions to follow up with her PCP and Dr. Fox. Nothing explaining what to expect. Just a standard print out of a "Coronary Artery Spasm". These spasms present themselves almost identically to a heart attack, including the release of Troponin equivalent to a heart attack. The anxiety of being released in this condition alone was almost overwhelming to my wife. After being released, we called to make her follow up appointment as per the discharge instructions. I had to leave a message for someone to call me back. The person that called back was not interested in any questions. She informed me that my wife requested discharge and that the Dr. did not just discharge her. That is the first problem. My wife did not request discharge. The Dr. never even met with her after the cath or the echo. He did not visit her bedside, so no explanation was offered. In my conversation with the representative from Dr. Fox's office, I was not allowed to ask any questions. I was told that I could not question her discharge. I was told that the call would be disconnected. Then I was told the only conversation I was to have was "Yes" or "No" to the follow up appointment via video conference. Just to be clear, I was firm in my request for information and conversation about her discharge, especially after it turned argumentative from the office, but I did not yell or use any abusive language. My wife was sent back tot he hospital within 24 hours of her release for additional tests to identify the chest pressure. I understand that we are in a unique medical environment. I also understand that with all of the uncertainty, communication should be the most important aspect of a patient's care and aftercare. My wife experienced a serious medical event with terms like heart attack, angina, heart cath, etc. being thrown around. A certain level of understanding, patience, empathy, and compassion would be expected even in the midst of seeking answers. Being argumentative and defensive is not acceptable, especially in an instance of advocating for my wife's care, especially when asking about her release. When I picked her up, she was literally in worse discomfort than when I dropped her off at the ER the day before. I am sure that Dr. Fox is a capable cardiologist. I am sure that he is fantastic as what he does. If anything comes out of this review, I would hope that he and his team would consider their communication, empathy, and compassion with scared patients that are trying to navigate the unknown. **EDIT** After 2 days of phone calls and trying to track down my wife's information, we found out that my wife actually had a heart attack sometime between Saturday morning and the time of her discharge. Dr. Fox performed the heart cath. Dr. Fox discharged my wife without visiting her bedside and without any post heart attack instructions. She was told that the cath was "all clear" and they would call her with the results of the echo. During her time at the hospital, the fact that she had a heart attack was NEVER discussed with her.