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January 2024 by Imon Candelaria
I want to make it very clear at the outset that I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE TREATMENT THAT I RECEIVED FROM DR. MARK LAWLER. He is amazing, kind, patient and so positive. However, the reason I'm leaving a bad review is because of the unbelievably rude receptionists. I had an ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair surgery and was 10 minutes late to an appointment (they do ask you to come 15 minutes early, so they counted the total "lateness" score at 30 mins). Keep in mind at this point I can barely move my leg and walking on crutches. Getting to the bathroom and back to bed takes me 15 minutes and at the end of it I'm exhausted and nauseated. And the pain from the surgery is excruciating! They're located on a second floor so I admit although I left early it took me a while to get to the receptionist. She was rude, snarky, sarcastic and pushed me to pay a bill (that I was yet to get in the mail). When I pointed that out she says "You don't have to pay right now, you do have a balance but okay...". Her attitude, body language and tone was beyond disappointing for a patient who just underwent a very painful surgery. Again, the doctors and nurses were very understanding and kind but the receptionists are beyond terrible. Hilariously and ironically she had one of those generic "be kind" stickers on her desktop. Lol.In short: go see Dr. Lawler if you need to, be wary of the needlessly spicy receptionists.
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September 2023 by Sherrie Perkovich
I've gone to this group for both a hip labrum tear and a shoulder rotator cuff tear. Dr. Lawler for the hip and Dr. Solomon for the shoulder. I would highly recommend both of these doctors. They also have a great support staff and PAs. If you're an athlete looking to get back into the game, these are your guys!
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June 2023 by Vincent Stevenson
The actual providers and care were good, but the billing and customer service has been poor. I was overcharged $225 for services back in November 2022. I was never informed that I overpaid my account as I just paid what was requested after the services. The only way I found out I had overpaid was by checking the itemized billing record. I don’t understand why it is my responsibility to not only check if I have overpaid, but to also request that I get a refund for overpayment. In addition, I need to wait for some department to approve the refund, and no eta can be provided. Poor communication and customer service.
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April 2023 by Robert Levy
Dr. Kelly.The last thing I want to do is write this. As, if I were not in continued pain, it would not be necessary.I was referred to Dr. Holly Kelly’s practice by a surgeon from whom, some years earlier, I had received a new right hip. Pain had returned to the hip area but it was believed that its cause was lower back. An MRI confirmed the likelihood. As I was planning a trip to Europe, pain-reduction was advised.1. In Nov. ‘22 I met with Doctor Holly Kelly’s Tech Assistant. He recommended a two-step process (a) I would receive a small amount of numbing agent into area to see if the location were ‘correct’ (the pain relieved). (b) If it was, the full Cortisone shot would be injected into that location shortly before my departure.2. When, in Jan. ’23, I met with Dr. Kelly for the first step she advised me that it was unnecessary. Instead she would simply inject the Cortisone ten days before my departure. An appropriate appointment was made.3. In March ’23 I arrived for the Cortisone. She asked, Why are you here?’ and when I told her she said, ‘We should have had a consult before this to see if it’s still necessary.’ I assured her that it was, and she – seemingly reluctantly – agreed to the injection.4. I had received Cortisone previously. Three times prior to my hip-replacement. Each time it was injected ‘INTO THE PAIN’, both with and without a Sonogram. But that day the Cortisone was to be injected into the small of the back; the MRI-suggested source of the pain.5. I mentioned my previous experiences to Dr. Kelly and she responded that this was her approach. Cortisone was injected into the back (not into the pain).6. Now in Europe the pain has worsened. From Europe I contacted the doctor and again asked her about the Cortisone being shot INTO THE PAIN. Her rely was (a) That is a ‘trigger’ shot and I should have asked for it, and (b) Why don’t I drop into her Novato Office and she’ll do it.As I look back over this experience I don’t know what more I could have done to achieve a better result. We, each of us, is responsible for our own health; not our doctors. But the communication breakdowns that defined this set of experiences should alert anyone seeking treatment. Get as much information about a practice as you can, before ‘signing on’.
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December 2022 by Hamed Tabeefar
One of the worst offices I've visited. First made me to schedule with an orthopaedic that I did not want, but was forced by medical assistant to get scheduled with him, then after 6 weeks of waiting, on visit day in office , they said they booked me with the wrong MD. The next appointment with right MD is in next 6 weeks!!!...No apologizes for the mistake they did saying" it is what it is"
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December 2022 by Vanessa Tsutsui
Waste of time. Please think twice before seeing Kevin PA. Don't expect to be informed after the visit either. It's unfortunate I heard good things but my experience was one I'd rather forget and with no help or advice. Patient care is not there priority.
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May 2022 by yasmine k.
The clinicians seem good but the practice has poor logistics with painful consequences for people in need. I have jumped through so many insurance / test hoops to get PRP injections for my intense chronic pain. I showed up at 3:30 for injections based on a rescheduling phone where i was told my new appointment was on a new day, same time. When I arrived the front office said that my appointment was at 3 and I was a "no show". I have been looking forward to this day like a kid waiting for christmas bc I am in debilitating pain everyday. They said I should be able to see 3PM in MyHealth.com But I can't for the life of me log in because it keeps saying it will text me a verification code that never arrives. I didn't get any confirmation emails or texts like I did for past procedures. The person who called to remind me to drink water before the procedure didn't verify the arrival time. Or I would have been there at 3. Consequently, I will be using a cane and needing my husband to help me use the restroom for several more weeks until I can get another injection appointment. I'm a 40 year old woman with a toddler. I am confined to my bed in pain daily. No one seems to care. It sucks.
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February 2022 by Suzanne L.
WARNING! Save your sanity find another doctor!The staff in Novato is absolutely the WORST! Unprofessional,RUDE & mean! They will accuse you of missing appts that NEVER happened,They do the bare minimum!don't expect to be treated w respect or care.This is definable the WORST experience I have ever had.They seem to screw up appts sending you to Kentfield by mistake,never ever had I heard them say I'm sorry for their errors.The doctor in charge of this office needs to CLEAN UP THE OFFICE & hire professional people that actually work & are competent!!STAY AWAY they will put you thru HELL
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December 2021 by Jessica J.
Ok so first of all this place is a complete joke. All they care about it making money. If you have chronic pain issues, like I do, then you're not going to get any help here. In fact, you'll probably just end up feeling worse because it's very difficult to get the doctors and staff to follow through with anything and because of of all the stress this place will cause you. I learned this the hard way. I was hoping for a better outcome for all of the issues I had stated in my first review, but they just ended up making things worse. Unfortunately I'm not surprised, based on how they've handled things in the past. I contacted them once again, stating all the issues I've mentioned in my first review. Someone actually got back to me, which was so unusual. So that was hopeful. They told me that they were going to work with me to solve my issues and that they were going to talk to my doctor about filling a prescription he said he would fill months ago but never did and told me to call to schedule a follow up appointment with my doctor. Well, a couple days after that I got a letter in the mail from them telling me that they are not willing to see me as a patient anymore! I think it is because of my reviews and the feedback I've given them, so be careful what you put out there! This place is awful, unprofessional and many other awful things I won't go on about. Do yourself a favor and just stay far away from this horrible place if you really care for your wellbeing and want to actually get real help. Here you'll just get non responsive staff, meds not filled, referrals not sent, the office not responding to emails or calls and you'll likely be billed incorrectly. I was billed incorrectly, on more than a couple occasions, and it has usually taken months to fix due to them being unresponsive and not actually looking into the issue. Do some research and go somewhere else. It would have been great if someone had warned me beforehand about this place, so I'm trying to warn others. I wish I had done research about this place before I started going, but I was naive and hadn't even though to read reviews and I didn't expect to be treated so poorly and unprofessionally, but at least I learned my lesson. They did nothing really to help me. How could they have helped me when they don't do anything except have a doctor spend 2 minutes with me, 3 if I'm lucky, and then say they they're going to give me a referral for a procedure or physical therapy, or whatever it is, and then they don't follow through with that and then they don't fill my meds they say they're going to and then they don't respond to calls or emails? Ever since I started going to this place my overall wellbeing has declined due to not actually receiving help for my chronic pain and all the stress this place has caused me and how time consuming it's been to try to get them to actually do their job to help me. I'm so done. I would have left much sooner but whenever I went to their office I was given false promises that they'll improve things and I was d*** enough to keep giving them more and more chances thinking that with all the feedback and negative reviews they've received from other patients that it would motivate them to make some changes, but apparently not.
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December 2021 by Jessica Jeffers
I broke my toe in July and received an orthopedic shoe from California Orthopedics and Spine. I was assured that my insurance would be billed. I have broken my foot before, and my ankle, plus I've had other injuries which required boots or orthopedic shoes. My insurance has ALWAYS paid for them. I keep receiving bills from California orthopedics and spine for the orthopedic shoes. It doesn't even look like they tried to bill my insurance. I always receive a letter in the mail from my insurance if a medical establishment has billed them and my insurance denies the claim. I have not received any such letter. Also, whenever my primary insurance doesn’t pay for a medical device then my secondary usually does, and if they deny the claim they also send me a letter to inform me. I haven’t received a letter from my secondary insurance either. I have emailed California Orthopedics and Spine several times asking them to bill my insurance. It never seems to happen, I just keep getting bills in the mail pretty much weekly it seems. I emailed them again today so I will update my review when and if they take any action, but I’ll also update it if enough time goes by and nothing happens, just to show how this establishment handles issues, or doesn’t handle them. Since emails and calls haven’t worked, I’m hoping they read this review and actually take some action.
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December 2021 by Gotelli Plumbing Company
Dr. Solomon is the best Orthopedic Doctor I have ever worked with, very professional. He has worked on both of my shoulders that were very painful, now they are great. He has helped me with several injury’’s and got me into Physical therapy right away and I was able to heal fast. His assistant Louisa Munger is very professional and always able to answer any question I have. I highly recommend both of them!
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July 2021 by qopr47
Pre op 2 stars, post zero. My mom's post pain mgmt terrible. Called MD's office 4 times, no reply. Sad day when folks pay for insurance and surgical center policy is motrin post op -- would you be comfortable w motrin after having plates and pins put in less than two wks later - i think not. Surgical center policy is to lie to their clients about feeling great less than a week later after surgery....really?
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July 2021 by Mahoobeh F.
My mom has been Dr.Holly Kelly's patient over 15 years,she is very knowledgeable, caring & excellent surgeon,she has helped my mom for her lower back & her hips,her staff are great.we are soo thankful to know an excellent, caring surgeon like her.
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June 2021 by Dennis H.
After breaking my leg and ankle, my doctor referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Nathan Ehmer, at California Orthopedics & Spine in Novato. When I arrived for my first visit, I was greeted with a friendly, courteous and professional staff. Dr. Ehmer's assistant, Sydney, came to the lobby to take me back to the examination room. Sydney is a truly knowledgeable and caring person. She played a major part in helping me get through the entire process. Dr. Ehmer is a great guy and a highly skilled surgeon. He was honest with me and answered all my questions. He and Sydney kept me informed about everything I was going to experience, before during and after my surgery to repair the bones and damaged ligaments. Dr. Ehmer performed a completely successful surgery at the surgery center, and I might add, his incisions were impeccable. California Orthopedics & Spine is a well-equipped facility with a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. I would recommend this place, Dr. Ehmer and Sydney, to anyone in need of orthopedic help.
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May 2021 by Bradley W.
Friendly and nice. Upmost care. Can't go wrong going here. fixes everything that's broken.
