Dr. John J. Ball III, MD

I had a first-time allergic reaction to an antibiotic and didn't even understand that's what was happening. Upon calling my regular clinic, I was referred to a triage nurse who said I should be seen that day, which was going to be difficult as it was the day before Thanksgiving and most Allina clinics were packed. The scheduler was able to find an appt for me with Dr. Ball and, boy, did I luck out!  Dr. Ball is young, up-to-date and current, kind, and very knowledgable. He patiently answered the many questions I had. He explained, clearly, my options and let me decide how to proceed. I never felt rushed or pressured. He even shared some of his similar experiences with me which made me feel less embarrassed about my own situation/ignorance. He did all of that even though we had never met before, and even though it was a last-minute appt right before closing for the holiday. I am thrilled to have met Dr. Ball and that he is practicing in this area. An A++++++ experience.  [A tangential but related side note: I have been mightily frustrated with Allina's back-end business operations the last couple yrs. Allina's governance/high-level-administration should be ashamed of the nightmarish info systems and short-sighted policies they have created, or failed to fix. They hamper the ability of Allina employees -- from schedulers to nurses to office staff to providers of basic hospital services to doctors -- to do their jobs well and effectively. Those (opaque) systems and policies frustrate and *scare* clients and patients, some of us who have been with Allina for a couple decades or more. I know that Allina employees have been mistreated, even abused, by patients who don't understand that the problems are created much higher up and that employees are working very hard to do their best for us, but are doing so in illogical and unacceptable situations. One example among many: I had the flexibility to visit pretty much any Allina clinic in MN or WI on 11/23/22 but the wonderful and kind scheduler could only check for openings one clinic at a time. It was an arduous and time-consuming process because of an inane search system that could be solved by most first-yr Computer & Information Systems students. So I have a gentle request: If you're having problems with your care and access at Allina, please don't take it out on the employees who almost certainly didn't create the problem and who almost certainly would like it improved, the same as us; instead, ask who you should talk to about the problems you've encountered. For your conveience, here's a link to the Board of Directors: https://www.allinahealth.org/about-us/leadership/allina-health-board-of-directors and to the Executive "Leadership" Team: https://www.allinahealth.org/about-us/leadership]