California Pacific Orthopaedics

35 minute wait time for initial appointment. paul rowan initially tried to make me wait longer, but i insisted on rescheduling if he did’t see me.
–he was clearly in a hurry to get back to the prior patient; he spent 5 minutes with me and charged me $ 312
–i was told i needed an mri, but was not told it was customary for insurance to require a prelim xray to approve said service.
–this xray required subsequent time off work to and Furthermore Paul Rowan failed to order a full-​body xray the first around (required due to potential metal exposure) which would have required SUBSEQUENT xrays, just to be cleared for an mri.
so:
1– 35 minutes late — 5min appt @ $ 312
2– insufficient xrays originally — wasted trip and time taken off work.
3– pursuit of treatment would have required additional, redundant xrays at my own expense.

45 minutes and still in waiting room still waiting to see Dr John Belzer. Had to wait 3 weeks for this appointment. That was surprising but what can I do? Now, waiting this long in the waiting room is not good.
Just called in to evaluation room. Was told Belzer had an emergency that threw off his schedule. If I didn’t question why I waited so long I doubt I would have heard an explanation, not good. Now waiting 10 minutes in eval room to see Dr.
Just saw Belzer’s PA, nice woman. Asked me several questions did an examination, now waiting again to actually see Belzer.
I’m now into my second hour in Belzer’s office and still haven’t seen Belzer. It’s been another 30 minutes!!! I’m surprised I’m keeping my cool, very surprised.
Just meet Dr Belzer. I think he is great but do not like that it took 1:20 minutes to meet him and have him evaluate my condition. Unacceptable.
By the way my time with him took maybe 10 minutes.
To summarize, good doctor, poor scheduling, poor office management. Let’s see what happens during next Dr visit. Yes, I’m going to have to come back, crap.

California Orthopedic Sports Medicine and Clinic
Processing medical insurance forms and procurement of drugs for procedures are just a few of the bottlenecks in any medical office. Processing this information in a timely manner and communicating this to patient and doctors are not the staffs strongest suit. Communicating patients needs to the doctors at this clinic is one of the poorest on the west coast. Brace yourself for a level of frustration followed by small signs of medicine.
Once you do see the Doctor, you will get good treatment. This applies to all of the doctors reliant on this front office, very poor communications.

The process with Dr. Chan and Dr. Green has been very smooth overall, during an otherwise stressful time of injury. They’ve been helpful in giving me details on my injury and explaining best possible solution/​timeframe for recovery. Their staff, specifically Grace whom I’ve dealt with on a couple different occasions, has been very responsive with scheduling and paperwork/​documentation I need for my job. Thank you to their efforts and hard work, they’ve made this process more seamless than I initially thought it was going to be.

Do NOT waste your time with this bush league they call a medical practice. I’ve been rescheduled to see the physician’s assistant three times in the past three weeks. Each time, they gave me the same sorry excuse — «we’re sorry, but the physician’s assistant is needed in surgery.» The point of having physician assistants is to see patients, so the doctors have time to perform procedures.

I have unfortunately needed to see an orthopedist twice for different reasons over the past year; however, I was very fortunate to see Dr. Belzer and Dr. Chan. Both physicians took their time explaining causes, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. I felt treated with exceptional dignity; my questions were answered and no question was off limits. There was no «scoffing» at my questions or concerns.
A very special shout-​out goes to Erica, the medical assistant. While waiting for Dr. Chan in the exam room, Erica knocked on the door, waited for me to answer «come in» and explained that Dr. Chan was running a little late, due to the current patient having some questions. She asked if she could get me some coffee or water and a magazine. My jaw nearly dropped– I have never been treated with this kind of respect at a doctor’s office– Erica treated me like my time was also valuable, not just Dr. Chan’s. By the time Erica came back a couple of minutes later, Dr. Chan was on his way in to see me.
This is a classy outfit– great doctors who understand that their patients have concerns and they do their best to address them with respect for the whole person. And a terrific medical assistant who understands that patient care comes first! Highly recommended!

Dr Mark Ignatius is the greatest doctor I have encountered in my 52 years. He is well versed in all of the latest non-​invasive spinal techniques. He is always on time. He listens and never rushes me. Perhaps most importantly, he is as genuine a person as I have met. Even if I moved half way around the world, I would come back to him for any spinal needs and treatments. His assistant Alma couldn’t be more helpful in scheduling and answering any questions I may have. They are a great team. Thank you Dr Ignatius for all of your efforts.

Dr. Peter Callender performed the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing surgery on my right hip in May 2015. It is now August 2015 and I’m beginning to do things I thought I could never do again, like WALKING my dog without pain!!! — OMG, this procedure is changing my life. I’m 47-​years-​old and have always been very athletically active. In the past five years I was in chronic pain on my right hip. It got so bad that sitting down was painful to do because my right hip was in such pain. Dr. Callender and his amazing team fixed that problem with the BHR procedure. Today, I’m beginning to do the activities I love without pain. I highly recommend anyone who is suffering of chronic pain on your hip to stop the suffering and see Dr. Callender!!! — Please, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns and wish to get more advice from someone who has had the same experience.

This review is for Stefanii, the office manager. I called her with a problem I was having reaching a Pilates studio referred to me by one of the doctors who practices there. She got right on my problem and got the Pilates owner to respond. Stefanii’s tone of voice was a combination of caring and can do — and she hit the ground running. Without Stefanii’s help my calls would still have gone unanswered.

The medicine has always been superb, the administrative support — the people who answer the phone and those on the front desk — not so much. The administrative support is now superb as well. The people I’ve spoken with recently are friendly, efficient and capable, and have gone out of their way to help. Liz and Luis are two people who have gone far beyond what is required. I’m happy to report that the administrative support is now as good as the amazing doctors at CPOSM.

Terrible terrible customer service. So bad, I don’t even know where to start.
AN HOUR PLUS WAIT TIME: Both times I have been seen here, I waited well over an hour past my appointment time even though I arrived 15 minutes early, per their instructions. No one checked in with me while I was waiting to give any sort of update or explanation for the extremely long delay. I got an apology from the receptionist only after I complained. My impression is that this is how they run their practice.
POOR ATTENTION TO DETAILS: After a procedure, I was given a paper prescription for vicodin. After I made it across town to my ‘hood, right when the pain was kicking in, I went to my Walgreens, only to be told they couldn’t fill the prescription because IT HAD NOT BEEN DATED. I called the office and spoke to the assistant who wrote the prescription, and was told I had to come back to the office to get a properly completed scrip. No apology, nada. Again, business as usual.
TERRIBLY DELAYED RESPONSIVENESS TO PATIENT QUESTIONS: The doc who treated me told me to check in with him & email him questions via the on-​line portal, which he said he checks twice a day. Each time I emailed him (three times total), it took him close to a week to respond to me. I actually called the office while I was waiting for a reply and asked if there was anyone there to answer my questions. I was told no. I was told they would give the doctor a message to check the on-​line portal and get back to me. Even after that call, I still did not hear from him for several more days.
NO FOLLOW THROUGH ON REFERRALS: The doc referred me to physical therapy, but when I called the facility, I was told that California Pacific had not sent them a referral for me. I just got off the phone with this office again, and apparently, they still have not completed the paperwork to send me to PT even though I was seen there weeks ago.
This is hands down the worst run practice I have ever encountered and their blasé attitudes make it worse. They don’t appear to care about people’s time, and don’t appear to care much about patients. You should not have to sacrifice half your day to see a doctor here, and you should not have to beg for a doc to respond to questions about your health.

I had been in constant and debilitating neck/​shoulder and arm pain for several months leaving me temporarily partially-​disabled from performing my full-​time job and on the disabled list from my competitive sports team (Go Dragon Warriors!). I’m so glad to say that now I’m finally on the mend thanks to Dr. Mark Ignatius & his helpful medical assistant, Alma.
They listened and really cared to help when my healthcare provider (ahem, Anthem) and medical group (cough, Brown & Toland) became the new pain in my neck! I’m soon switching healthcare providers, but wish that I could bring Dr. Ignatius and Alma over to my new healthcare team.

I’ve had back problems off and on for well over 18 years. Been through countless epidurals, nerve blocks, minimally invasive surgical procedures, to finally having an L4/​L5 spinal fusion. I’ve seen my share of doctors, medical practices, physical therapists, acupuncturists, etc. When moving from So Cal up to San Francisco in 2013, I wasn’t sad about leaving much behind, other than my BFF, Randi B. and Dr. Evangelista, my back doctor for over 7 years who is nothing short of amazing.
Once my back issues resurfaced after moving up here, I bounced around to a few doctors, including a spine specialist at UCSF and Dr. Paul with this medical group. I was in constant pain that had been going on for months, and frustrated by the lack of any real progress in successful treatments and even being made to feel like I was a drug seeking patient (even though I take as little pain meds as possible). By the time I was in the waiting room to see Dr. Ignatius, I was at my wits end and didn’t know what I would do if Dr. Ignatius couldn’t help. I had even considered flying back down to So Cal, paying out of pocket to see Dr. Evangelista again. I was desperate.
Dr. Ignatius walked in the room and all of my anxiety and worries went out the window. I immediately knew I was with the right doctor. I mean, he shares his name with one of my favorite Saints, LOL! Dr. Ignatius exudes empathy, listens carefully to really understand what’s going on, offers up suggestions for a conservative approach to fix my back pain, and he trusts me to know what’s best since I’ve been dealing with this chronic condition for so long. I’ve undergone a couple of procedures with him with good results and what’s more, I have peace of mind that if, and inevitably when, I have future back flare-​ups, I’ll be able to call him and trust that he’ll provide me with the best of care.
I am beyond grateful to have found Dr. Ignatius. And his medical assistant, Alma, is great too. If you’re having back problems, I’d highly recommend him.

Mark Ignatius made a really good first impression last Friday. More personable and more professional than anyone I’ve seen about my slipped disk since this whole ugly tale of insurance billing and poor interoffice communication began (with other providers at other offices).
Scheduled for an injection in three days. Tentative five stars for first impressions. Will adjust accordingly if things go horribly awry. LOL.

Great group of doctors/​surgeons. Please see my review specifically for Dr. Peter Callandar — he did my total hip replacement in 2013. I had amazing results with a difficult surgery to begin with due to two prior surgeries.

Dr. Christopher Cox is a brilliant orthopedic surgeon and he did my knee replacement last month. My right knee has been giving me the blues since 2012 and I love the fact that Dr. Cox exhausted all other remedies before suggesting surgery — his conservative approach makes me feel confident in his decisions and overall concern for my total health. I have chronic back pain and Dr. Cox is always thoughtful in regards to pain management for me. While in the hospital, I did have another surgeon check on me during the weekend and he made me realize in his rather abrasive manner that God had truly blessed me with a surgeon who is not only skilled, but caring, kind and compassionate. Dr. Cox has never made me feel that any of my concerns were insignificant — he answers my questions and he does so in a patient manner. Added value is Irma who is an absolute jewel — she is thoughtful, helpful and no matter how bad I feel — I always feel better after talking to her. I will never forget the first day I walked in to the office, Irma asked how can I help you — I said, I have two bad knees and Irma replied with a smile — you are in the right place! I have no regrets and I believe Dr. Cox is one of the best knee surgeons in the Bay Area.
My knee is healing — still stiff and achy, but I am looking forward to complete healing so I can have the other knee replaced by Dr. Cox. By this time next year I expect to be walking without chronic knee pain.

this is my second post to add some other info about this assocation i came from the tri valley Livermore Ca. to have this surgery and i would do it again if i need any other surgerys in the near future dr. chan was just fantasic before and after the surgery calling me after i came home same day and office visti so if anyone needs to have some kind of out patient surgeries contact this group they are fantastic and awesome. thank you again CPOSM.

I wish I could review my doctor, but I walked out after waiting an hour past my appointment time (which I showed up 10 minutes early to).
These people are not considerate of your time.

I’ve been waiting about 7 months now since my surgery to write my Unilocal review because I wanted it to be fair and accurate.
My achilles tendon popped at the gym, and I needed surgery. I saw Dr. Dickinson. He recommended surgery, which is what I wanted. After the surgery, I felt this weird knob near the base of the incision on my heel. I thought it was odd, and asked him about it, but he said it was nothing.
I read everything I could find online about achilles tendon surgery, and everything I read said that generally, the doctor starts by putting a hard cast on you that slowly gets adjusted and that the recovery process is very slow. Dr. Dickinson treated my achilles tendon very aggressively. I didn’t have a hard cast, and I only had a soft cast for about 2 weeks before moving to a boot.
It was painful, but I recovered faster than almost everyone that I read about on numerous achilles tendon blogs. I was on crutches for about 2 months, I think. I was able to walk just fine and return to the gym in 3 months. At about 7 months I can pretty much do everything I used to do. My ankle gets irritated if I work out too hard, but it’s not bad.
The only reason I’m not giving a full 5 stars is because Dr. Dickinson gave me unrealistic expectations (he said I’d be able to go to work the Monday after my Friday surgery. I was out for a week because it hurt too much to sit up with my leg perpendicular to the ground). Also, he didn’t give me enough direction for what to do after surgery (can I take my cast off to shower? should I sleep with my boot on?) Also, he didn’t tell me that the pain pills pretty much require a stool softener. My pharmacist fiancée set me straight on this one. Thanks, Heather.
Ultimately, I gave Dr. Dickinson 4 stars because he must have done an awesome job on the surgery itself because I’m in really good shape now, and I appreciate good work. I still have that odd bump on my achilles tendon, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting me, so whatever.

I think they’re full of themselves; appeared dismissive of a problem I took seriously enough to seek medical advice about. I echo the other reviewers who felt the Dr’s attitude was inattentive, and their services way OVER PRICED.
I arrived for my appointment 15 minutes early. 50 minutes later I was called in and led to an exam room where I waited another 12 minutes (yes, I was watching the clock) before an assistant came in to inquire why I was there and weigh me in. She left and 11 minutes later an «intern» introduced herself to ask the same questions for a few minutes. She left and another 8 minutes went by before Dr. Callander himself appeared. He didn’t say much but asked me the same «why are you here» questions. I told them I thought I had torn my medial collateral ligament in a ski accident several years ago, and I just wanted to have an MRI to determine why it wasn’t healing.
He gave me a cursory pull of the leg, this way and that, and declared that nothing was broken and that he would refer me for physical therapy sessions at some other business. Callander did not want me to have an MRI (as was my wish), he said that could wait. On my way out, his brassy assistant, Mara, gave me a two-​page handout and ushered me out for the billing end of things. I was SHOCKED to learn that I was being charged $ 310 for this visit where I learned nothing I didn’t already know.
Later, when I looked at the handout; it was missing 2 essential pages. I felt treated as a «low class» by this medical office who normally and proudly treats SF Ballet dancers for their injuries. Almost 2 hrs. to actually see the doctor for SIX MINUTES, and all he does is refer me for physical therapy, which is NOT CHEAP — like $ 90/​session, 3x/​week for a month or two?
All I wanted to do was find the cause for this recurring knee pain. As far as I’m concerned, it cost me $ 310 to be told to go somewhere else.