Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation – Family Practice

Family doctor decided I don’t need any blood test because I was healthy all past YEARS !!! And she said every 5 years I will need check up blood test !!! I’m adopted and I have no idea what is my family history and the doctor can look at me and predict my next 5 years that I don’t need any blood work because I feel okay !!! We really missed Doctor Gjeltema. He is the best.
After the visit to the office yesterday I felt hopeless that my family doctor will only take care of me after I will get sick, if it wont be too late :(
It was already so hard to get the yearly check up with this doctor at this office.

This is a review of the lab.
The now-​closed Labcorps on Solano Avenue was bare-​bones, and I’d hoped this larger health-​care-​based facility would be a good alternative. However…
First, there was no TP in the bathroom — not something you want to see in a health-​care facility taking bodily fluid samples — and the several staff who were mostly sitting around chatting at the end of the day made the security guard deal with it.
Worse, the very young-​looking person staffing lab reception said to me he was sorry for the brief delay, but the person ahead of me had taken a long time because «she was a real baby about being stuck.» I jokingly said I hoped the tech would be gentler with me, and he said HE was the tech! Talk about inappropriate comments by a health care worker about a patient. I asked him how old he was, and he said 20. His badge read «assistant lab tech,» and it seemed likely he had been out of school for only a few weeks. So it seemed HE was the baby.
I walked out rather than get stuck by someone with no blood-​drawing experience or HIPPAA confidentiality and ethics training.
So this lab is a great combination of Alta Bates slovenliness and Sutter greed.
Still searching for a decent lab…

The last two practitioners who I have seen at the Sutter, San Pablo Ave. office have called me «old» in reference to problems I’m having with osteoarthritis. I REALLY think that some training in cultural competence would help benefit staff at the San Pablo office that may be having difficulties relating to people who are older and/​or different from them. I dislike «calling people out» so I’m not going to get into mentioning specific individuals by name.
Instead of telling me I’m «old,» one could say something like, «As people age…,» or «Part of growing older involves…» And besides, telling me I’m old doesn’t inform me so much as to what I should do, it points out to me what I can’t do (through no fault of my own) which is the polar opposite of what it means to «empower» one in need such as myself.
I think that people in the helping professions have a duty and responsibility to get over their stereotypes of the people they serve to truly be helpful and to fulfill the oaths they take that relate to the standards of their professions. As a person who is a practitioner of the healing arts, this to me is central to helping and has healing powers in itself. The care itself has been adequate for the kind of help I need at this time.
When I transition to Medicare in the near future I may not seek out Sutter as my healthcare provider because I would prefer to work with helpers who don’t draw such stark distinctions between me and them based on age or other differences. I think it possible to find a more humanistic medical practice that appreciates people for who they are and will seek out such a place before deciding on where to go for my medical care.
The irony here is that there is a tidal wave of baby boomers like myself who if anything will require more healthcare services – not less! The attitudinal perspectives of providers is of concern to me as a patient.
Besides, I really don’t feel that I am that «old” – I’m 64 years old and doing pretty well… age is a product of the mind as much as it is the body.

Unless you like doctors who don’t respond to refill requests and generally have a very dismissive attitude (looking at you Dr. Sanders and Alley Blaufarb) don’t waste your time here. There is zero care in how they handle your health.

I should have checked Unilocal before I signed up with a doctor at this establishment. Ditto all the other reviews that say this is the worst medical clinic they’ve seen in their lives.
The experience I just had here was a nightmare. I had transferred here from another clinic in the system that gets world-​class doctors and gives outstanding service. I thought that the fact that many years of medical records transferred with me was a good reason to go here, along with the good reviews for one of their doctors. This turns out to be a terrible way to make a health care decision.
I was shocked when I walked in the door — I feared I’d made a mistake, and by the time I left, I knew I was right. The place is shabby, dimly lit and grimy, cluttered with half-​dead plants, tattered bulletin boards weeping outdated announcements, and a general air of defeat. You wait in a long line while apathetic employees desultorily check in what seems an endless stream of people who’ve run out of other options — such as elderly parked in wheelchairs alongside their home-​health attendants playing video games on their phones.
The nursing staff is, without an exception, the least caring, least energetic and the least trained that I’ve seen anywhere. Including public health clinics and third-​world hospitals.
I had called for followup for a serious infection, and they wouldn’t let me see a doctor for my condition til I’d had a ‘New Patient Appointment,’ which for my chosen doctor couldn’t be booked for WEEKS, although if I had ever seen her before, she had end-​of-​week availability. So we went through a crazy exercise (my idea) that I would see the least popular NP (once I’d seen him, I knew why) who had nearly immediate availability, and then see Dr. Wonderful at the end of the week.
My much-​vaunted New Patient Appointment consisted of this NP gushing to me all about his amateur musical theater career while barely looking at my vital signs and showing perceptibly zero interest in my health. I was out of their soiled little treatment room in 10 minutes after having my temperature and blood pressure taken. It was a complete waste of time. At the end of the week, Dr. Wonderful turned out to be Dr. Not-​So-​Hot.
Now it’s a few months later and I have a potentially very serious condition. I call in the morning for a same– or next-​day appointment. The call center lady was EXCELLENT, but no one at the facility was taking her calls — I know because she kept putting me on hold and then coming back to say that no one was picking up, or they were ‘in a meeting,’ etc. She spent a solid 20 minutes trying to get this place to give me an appointment or at least respond. She finally booked me for the next morning into another network facility that’s 15 miles away, but where they take her calls. However, in the interest of time and urgency, I needed labs today. She said she’d get me an appointment in Albany just for the labs, and would call me back by lunchtime. Which is exactly what she did, however, it was to tell me that she still hadn’t reached anyone, but that if I went over there that afternoon, she would have set it up. Apparently she had overestimated their motivation.
This place has no interest in helping anyone, established patients, call center ladies, whomever. I got a complete runaround once I arrived. Polite insistence on my part got almost immediate coldness and snottiness. I seem to have committed the incredible offense of attempting to get service from a company that claims to care about their patients. At the place from which I had transferred, none of this could possibly have happened. I would have had a same-​day either from my GP or a colleague; I would have had labs ordered with a mere phone call to the GP’s assistant; I would have been treated with warmth and caring. This place makes me feel embarrassed that I got sick and had the impertinence to ask them to help me, for which privilege Blue Cross was going to give them a fortune.

What else to say other than this place sucks! I went here several years ago and found the medical care to be poor and the staff to be overwork and non-​caring. I would wait for hours in some cases while having an appointment before getting in to see the doctor and no one seemed to care or even offer any reason for the delays.
My mother-​in-​law recently moved nearby and located a doctor based here who seemed to be a good fit for her needs. The first appointment went okay after just over a half an hour wait. After more than an hour wait for the second appointment she canceled and rescheduled. Not one individual at Sutter apologized or even offered an excuse for the wait. The third appointment entailed another 45 minute wait after the scheduled appointment time, at which time the front desk told them to expect another 30 minutes wait at least. This was of course after they approached the desk and asked and again with no reason or apology.
If you enjoy being treated and served by people who feel their time is so much more important than yours that you do not even deserve consideration than this is the place for you. Otherwise I would stay far away! As this has gone on for a very extended time at this facility, it is clearly part of the culture here and if Sutter really cared about their patients they would close the facility disperse any employees that didn’t deserve to be fired to a variety of other facilities and start over from scratch. Makes me glad I have Kaiser.

I just moved up here from los angeles and was nervous about getting a new doctor. Sutter was part of my insurance plan and is about 4 miles away. Freat experience. I was in and out within 15 min. Unfortunately, I forgot the nurse practiioner, but she listen to me, had a great attitude and really made he feel conmfortable. Really glad I went, will keep them as my primary physician.

THIS IS THE WORST HEALTHCARE PROVIDER I HAVE EVER BEEN TOO. DO NOT GO HERE.
I have had a number of rather serious medical issues over the past few years as a patient of this practice. When you need them, they are not there. You call and they promise a call back. You end up waiting hours by the phone, and they NEVER call back. You need an urgent appointment? Not going to happen. The only time I was actually given an urgent appointment is when I threatened to leave the practice and burst into tears. You shouldn’t need to go through this type of emotional turmoil to get your doctor (or any doctor in the practice, there are many!) to pay attention to you.
I understand medicine, I’m the daughter of the physician and a nurse, and this is just not in the realm of normal. Even though I balked at the idea for years, I think I’m going to join One Medical in Berkeley. They guarantee same day appointments and from what I hear the customer service is great.
Bottom line: you shouldn’t have to beg your doctor to see you, or to call you back. If you start going to this practice and have a serious issue, I guarantee that you will be in this situation sooner rather than later.

They don’t accept any of the Covered California plans! I have a PPO but I find that many of these clinics have decided not to take any Covered California Plans. So much for affordable healthcare when these clinics decide to make a political statement with their care. The term «hypocritic oath» comes to mind even though I’m sure there’s a canned response/​reasoning from these clinics to make this choice. My opinion.

It is close to home and they are one of the best. Costumer service is good and if you need a blood test it is right there. You dont need to travel. Nurses have a light hand which you will not feel the pain when you give blood for your tests :)

On a Monday morning, I contacted the doctor office because I was having very high fever, vomiting, pain in the flank, blood in the urine and burning sensation when urinating. I would think I was in need of urgent care. The office did not have any available appointment for me but they said a physician would call me back and They would put me in a priority list because of my symptoms. My Doctor never called me back and when I finally called back I was told it was too late and that I needed to go to the ER. I went to the ER that evening but after waiting 6 hours we were all told that they did not have any beds and couldn’t tell us when we would be attended since paramedics had priority on us. I gave up and went home in the middle of the night. The next morning at 7am, I called the office again to get a same-​day appointment which I got for 8’45am. When I showed up there I was told the appointment was for the following week. I was too weak to fight but my husband was furious and called the office who finally got me an appointment for early afternoon that day. When I saw the doctor, he did diagnosed me with kidney infection and gave me 10days antibiotics. He also told me to call if I had any problem. On Thursday morning I woke up with nosebleed, ringing ears and huge headache which were considered major side effects that needed urgent care so I called the office who said the doctor will call me back. 15 minutes before the office closed on that day I called back to tell them the doctor had not called back. I was laughed at and was told not to worry that the doctor usually calls after he sees his last patient… he never called me that day nor the day after, he never called back at all. Three huge mistakes in one week putting my life in danger… I had to report them to report them to CA medical board.

Seems to be lacking in the follow up department. Need a Rx refilled or an authorization? Be prepared to do your own follow up work. I am pretty much in the habit of checking up on things but my Fiancé’ who also goes here doesn’t seem to realize yet that if you don’t keep the ball moving, it’s going to drop.
Otherwise, the nurses are friendly and seem to want to get you in to see the doctor as soon as possible.

Some of the people here are great, very caring, specially the nurse helping me, Margaret she was lovely and very polite, I’ll come back to this place any time !!!

The Albany office of Sutter has several outstanding Doctors. My wife and I each have a different Doctor for General Practitioner. It is the cost side of Sutter that is terrible, at least for people like us who are paying for their own ultra-​high deductible health insurance.
The are many many issues but all relate to pricing and price transparency. Some of this is due to the convoluted health care system but some is Sutter’s fault. The Doctors are not educated about this messiness so are sometimes shocked when we inform them of how much something ended up costing us. Issues include:
* hard to get a fixed quote for many types of visits, procedures, or tests
* something extra can be charged when you’re totally not expecting it (i.e. $ 70 extra for a 2 minute puff test during a physical)
* we have often been able to pay at a 40% discount by not presenting our health insurance card and paying at the time of the visit. But then we get the bill for 40% we didn’t pay and have to «remind» them that they offered us this discount, which they then write off.
* Most procedures cost MORE when we run them through our insurance so for the most part we don’t run anything through insurance — thus not contributing to deductible. This is with Anthem — and it appears that lately Anthem is trying to get Sutter to not allow providing 40% discounts to those who pay same day, bypassing the insurance pass through.
* The worst thing that ever happened was a simple test procedure that my wife had done in other locations in the past for around $ 200 or $ 300. We were shocked to get bill for nearly $ 2000. We found out it was because it took place in Summit Hospital. My wife had no idea this was a hospital — it’s just a minor medical office building in Berkeley! But apparently if you call it a hospital it is customary to charge 6−8x as much. It took a lot of calling and letter writing back and forth over the course of 12 months before we got our fee drastically reduced on this.
Conclusion: If you have low or no deductible health insurance, there are some great Doctors at the Albany office and you may find that one of them is a great fit for you. But if you have high deductible health insurance, it’s a real hassle to work with an organization that tries to over charge you whenever they feel they can get away with it. In the end. It may be more economical (and certainly less hassle!) to go with Kaiser.

My 90-​year-​old mother signed up with a doctor here because it’s much more convenient than getting to her former doctor in Orinda. It’s been pretty much worthless. Mostly she gets jollied along, told that she’ll probably feel better soon — no matter what the issue.
They also never call her with the results of her lab work — including a regular test called an INR, which measures the effectiveness of the blood thinner she takes (Warfarin). She has to call them and chase those results down.
Recently she’s been feeling very weak and has had stomach cramps. She couldn’t get an appointment with her own doctor for about three weeks (around August 20) so she saw a different one. (This is pretty typical. You can have your own doctor, but you’re not likely to be able to get in to see him or her any time soon, let alone same-​day. Our sense is that many of the doctors here are part-​time.)
She was feeling a little better the morning she went in and so the MD told her that she’d probably had a viral stomach upset but if she didn’t get better soon to take Cipro (assuming it was bacterial instead). Gave her a prescription for that. No blood work, no tests of any kind. Also, there are indications that Warfarin and Cipro interact badly, which we didn’t know.
The next day she called to say her legs were swollen and to ask for a diuretic. Eventually the doctor called back to say, rightly, that he couldn’t prescribe a diuretic without giving her a complete workup. But he didn’t set that up.
Two days later, her legs were still swollen and her stomach was cramping still. She started the Cipro.
By the next day she was in Alta Bates with extremely low sodium levels and extremely high levels of blood thinner (7.7, for anyone familiar with the INR).

Beware. Sutter Health has a record of «losing» patient records. I have just been a victim (along with over 4,500 others) of identity theft. Sutter Health already has one case pending — and will likely have another over this issue. Patient beware!

As I recently moved to the West Coast, I spent a a lot of time researching primary care physicians in Berkeley/​Albany/​El Cerrito for my partner and myself — I reached the conclusion that Sutter East Bay on San Pablo in Albany had the best range of PCPs and conveniences for the both of us.
This Sutter location is a mid-​to-​large sized practice, but in general Sutter Health offers online resources, including emailing your doctor, seeing test results, and making appointments which was important to me. I considered all of that versus some of the smaller practices in the area which can definitely have its pros: my PCP on the east coast was a independent practice with modern tech and online capabilities with a better personalized experience. I didn’t really see that here, at least for my insurance, so I chose the Sutter location in Albany.
My partner choose a PCP that has a more holistic approach (Dr. Buffett) and I chose a thorough/​no-​frills doctor (Dr. Tennant). I like that they can do blood work on site and that the location is less than five minutes from my home. The office is very clean and everyone I’ve met so far has been very kind and professional. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes.

The doctors are quick to see patients, and now open on Saturdays. Compared to waiting weeks for an appointment for simple things elsewhere, this is excellent. They have majorly improved their front desk customer service, the friendliest receptionists to date from my experience.

Please note this review is based solely on my experience with the billing department of SEMF. The two doctors I have seen at this location were the best of my Bay Area medical experiences and I am sorry they are saddled with an incompetent office staff.
I recently received a letter from a debt collector stating I owed them for one of my visits. This greatly confused me since I had been under the impression I was making automated monthly payments with my credit card, since I had set one up with them after my last statement. I checked my credit card history (zero payments charged) and my phone history (called in early February) and called the office. They told me that not only did I not have a payment plan, but there was zero evidence in their system I had ever created one. Since my credit card was never charged, there wasn’t much I could do besides be very angry at them, and annoyed I didn’t notice the missing charge on my statement myself.
After consulting with my brother (who is a lawyer) and checking my credit report, I have decided to go ahead and just pay the debt collector. Since the report was filed in such a way as to not affect my credit score, I am more than happy to avoid any further dealings with the SEMF Billing office.
If you have visited this location, check your statements for accuracy, your credit score will thank you.

I came to this location to get blood drawn at LabCorp — without checking Unilocal first to verify that it wasn’t CLOSED. Oops, LabCorp is in fact closed here, though they now have a location on Solano Avenue. Sutter moved in some time in January. (They’re also on the ground floor, but not in the same suite.) The good news is that Sutter will welcome your business if you have a LabCorp laboratory form and insurance that they can collect from. I was in the good category and didn’t have to go over to Solano.
First impressions count for a great deal. I am convinced that the new Sutter people are more efficient and much more on the ball than the LabCorp people that they replaced. After I filled out my new-​patient forms («Who can we thank for referring you?» Answer: LabCorp!), I had to wait only about 5 minutes before my name was called. In my review for the now-​departed LabCorp, I wrote «These places are all the same.» I hope that these new guys on the block can prove me wrong.