Banskter Deborah, MD

I’ve only dealt with this office on two occasions, but that’s been enough.
The first meeting was nearly two years ago. I just wanted to get everything checked out, be sure I was clean, cancer-​free, etc. It was at least 40 minutes after my scheduled appointment time that they called my name and led me to an exam room, where I was asked to disrobe and put on a hospital gown, basic vitals were taken, and I was left there. For another 40+ minutes. It got to the point where I was thinking they forgot I was even there.
The door finally opens, and it wasn’t Dr. Basnkter, but her assistant. She was nice, and perfectly capable, but I was peeved that no one mentioned I wouldn’t be meeting the doctor I thought I was seeing, and that she wasn’t even in the office. I understand that things come up, but having that communicated to me would have been nice.
The second meeting didn’t even actually happen. I wanted medical advice to determine when an appointment would be needed, so I called the office on ⁸⁄₁₇. It was right around lunch time, so of course, no one answers, but there was an option to leave a message for Dr. Banskter’s assistant, and she would return your call within 24 to 48 hours. I left a detailed message about my concerns, with the time, date, my callback number, etc. Today’s date is 9/​5, and I have STILL not heard back from anyone. Luckily, my GP was able to answer my questions in the interim and see me for my concerns. I have since located another doctor for my obgyn needs, and will not be bothering to try with this doctor or her office again.

Dr. Banskter delivered my two babies several years ago. I am forever grateful to Dr. B for her quick thinking, kindness, decades of experience, and dedication. I was referred to Dr. Banskter the good old-​fashion way, by another doctor.
Before I go on any further, I should probably share that between my husband and my five siblings and their spouses, we have 9 physicians and surgeons in our family. I’m the odd person out. I’m not a medical doctor but I sure hear and understand a lot about what goes on in the medical field.
If you want to know who is a good doctor, ask other doctors who know and see the work and skills of their colleagues.
I have been in the same situation as other Unilocalers, waiting in the office for over an hour or more to see Dr. Banskter. But maybe it’s because Dr. B is worth waiting for.
I’ve also been called by the office to reschedule my appointment as I was heading out the door, or in the car. I get that it can be an inconvenience.
During my last pregnancy, we had a complication during delivery. Dr. Banskter stayed calm throughout the entire time. I didn’t even realize how serious and potentially fatal the situation was until afterwards when my husband explained it to me. I overheard Dr. Banskter tell one of the nurses to call her office and cancel all her afternoon appointments. Dr. Banskter monitored my condition the next few hours, in case she needed to perform an emergency operation.
We as patients don’t really consider what they are giving up in their lives. Their call schedule, as OBs, are one of the toughest– and when it comes to the life of our babies… I wouldn’t take any less than the best. Dr. Banskter was trained at UCSF, the nation’s best in the west coast. So I’m willing to sacrifice some wait time, or going to get my blood work or ultrasounds somewhere else. I’m willing to be a bit inconvenienced if it means that my babies and I will have a healthy and safe pregnancy and delivery in the hands of a very skilled OB.

I moved to the area and found Dr. Banskter. I have always stayed for ever with my doctors and have always been fortunate. With Dr Banskter that was different. I had been going to Dr Banskter for two years. During that time I waited a minimum of 30 minutes past my appointment every single time. Twice her office called 15 minutes prior to my apt time (both times I was in the parking lot parking) to cancel my appointment telling me I had to call later to reschedule. After finally getting another apt scheduled and waiting again, this time 45 min past my apt time, she came into the waiting room saying she had to leave to go to the hospital. I said this is the second time in a row this has happened, I work and it’s difficult to take so much time off to which she replied in a very curt tone… Then maybe I’m not the right doctor for you then and walked out. Not only was I upset by having my appointment cancelled yet again especially after waiting 45 minutes PAST my apt time but also by her tone. It was rude and unprofessional. It’s unfortunate that her time is clearly worth more to her than her clients. Good customer service is important in any industry. As difficult as it is to find a new doctor clearly the next one couldn’t be worse.

This review is not for the specific Dr (as I never met or spoke to her) but more for the office as a whole 5 years after giving birth to a stillborn and after over a year of trying to conceive a baby we found out we are pregnant! I searched for an obgyn that was close by and settled on this office. I went in for my first visit and had an appt. with a lovely and very nice nurse practitioner. I was asked to pee in a cup and they verified pregnancy. my insurance was being silly so I ended up paying cash for the visit. I was given no physical exam but was asked about my history. The nurse prac referred me to get blood work and an ultrasound along with taking low dose aspirin on a daily basis because I had pre-​clampsia with my stillborn. (doesn’t even give benefit until the 2^nd trimester) I followed up and had my bloodwork done the following day and waited about a week for the u.s. as recommended. it has now been over three weeks and the only call I received from the office was a very nice receptionist asking if I had figured out my insurance??? I just called to inform them I would like to come pick up my records because I am unhappy that no one has even told me if im ok or even how far along I am! No apologies or trying to right their wrong and I am still in the dark about everything. If I could give 0 stars I would. I am returning to my Kaiser plan now. To top it off my sister in law told me that she had to «hold her baby in» waiting for this Dr to come to the hospital and when Dr Banskter got there she joked that she thought she had time to brush her teeth! REALLY?!? I rarely leave reviews but this needed to be told! I am livid about the non care received here and their aloofness to my concerns.

Super long waiting time. After waiting for almost an hour, I asked if this is a usual waiting time, the response was «People have waiting longer than that!.»
NO ultrasound in the practice. After getting ultrasound and blood tests done, expect to wait a few days to hear from them about the results (even if it’s bad news!!). This is especially frustrating if there are complications with your pregnancy.
Every time I call to speak to a doctor, she never seems to be in the office. I didn’t even get to see her when I booked my appointment and no one warned me.
There two addresses on Unilocal for Dr. B and none of the address is correct!

I have been seeing Dr. B for exactly 3.5 years. I researched for a while before I decided on Dr. B as I knew I wanted to get pregnant and wanted my OB to deliver and also be someone I could depend on. Since you have to see your OB often during pregnancy I knew if I didn’t click, I would move on, luckily Dr. B was personable and made me feel comfortable from the start. I liked her previous office location but she has now moved offices across the street on High School Blvd, which is fine since it’s not much farther. The only thing I dislike is the waiting, sometimes, because she is so busy, there’s a wait even at your appt. time (less the 1 star). But all in all, she is very nice, listens and beautifully delivered my amazing little boy who is my life. So how could I not give her a rave review!

My experience was so different from most of these reviews. The staff was great! Lisa was so caring and concerned for me. She even called that evening and the next day to check on me.
The front office staff stayed on hold with john Muir to make sure i got in the same day for lab work and ultra sound.
I was very satisfied i chose this Dr.

This a little bit late, Dr B help me out through my pregnancy. She listened my needs and my complains. The staff was very courteous all the time.

If you want a doctor who will listen to you, then DON’T go here! I’m a pretty easy going person but my health is important to me and I expect my doctor to actually LISTEN. What a concept! This review is a little long-​winded but I want people to understand that this is something that I have been dealing with for 3 years and how this doctor misdiagnosed me.
A few years ago I started having severe pain in my lower left abdominal area that would shoot into my leg and my lower back. I have an extremely high pain tolerance and some days the pain was so bad that I could barely walk. I had a ton of tests — colonoscopy, blood work, CT scan, etc. It was finally determined that it must be something to do with female parts. Dr. Banskter had done my last pap so I made an appointment with her. She did an internal ultrasound and saw fibroids so she had me see radiology to get a more in-​depth internal and external ultrasound. When the results were in, I returned to her to discuss. She said I had fibroids and that they must be bursting and causing me pain. I also reminded her that I had a uterine ablation and that the pain started not long after this procedure. She said it must be the fibroids and her fix was to put me on the pill. Well, for someone who had their tubes tied, taking the pill was the last thing I wanted to do and in my opinion was not the resolution to my problem. I told her that I didn’t want to take the pill. The pain came every month and lasted for 2 days at a time so I decided to just deal with it.
Flash forward to the end of last year. The pain had gotten increasingly worse and was coming almost monthly. Rather than 2 days, it was now 8 days off and on of debilitating pain. I was due for a pap so I figured I would discuss my pain at that appointment. My pap appointment was with Claire Barnable. I brought up the pain and told her that it had gotten significantly worse in the past several months. She sent me to get another internal and external ultrasound. Once the results were in, I set up an appointment with Banskter to discuss. She again mentioned the fibroids and made a remark that they were small and shouldn’t be causing as much pain as I was having. You would think in that moment that would make her think that wasn’t the issue. I mentioned the ablation again and she again said that the issue was the fibroids (even though they should not be causing debilitating pain) and that she wanted me to get on the pill. Since my pain was so severe and lasting 8 days at a time and affecting my sleep, I almost succumbed to starting the pill. One day while I work, dealing with this pain and in tears, I called to leave a message for Claire to discuss other options and thoughts I had as to what might be wrong. The front office staff called me back and told me Claire’s message back to me was to take the pill like the doctor said.
Finally out of extreme frustration, and the fact that as of this month (May), the pain was now lasting 9 days (Vicodin and Percocet didn’t even help), I Googled ablations and found hundreds of comments in forums from women having this same pain. I was at my wits end and found another OBGYN who I saw earlier this week. I discussed my history with him and brought up the ablation and he said, «I have a feeling I know what this is» and did an internal ultrasound. There was my problem right there on the monitor. Fluid building up with nowhere to go caused by the ablation I had. Something I mentioned to Banskter and Barnable MULTIPLE times. This new doctor asked if I Banskter ever had any ultrasounds done. I told him yes, 3 internal and 2 external. His response was, «and no one ever once mentioned the fluid building up in your uterus with nowhere to go?» NOPE! Not once. He was shocked. He was also shocked at that fact that I was pushed to take birth control and said that if I had listened and starting taking the pill, it would have made things far worse including the pain.
While I am relieved that I finally found an amazing doctor that actually listened to me, I felt the need to warn other women about this doctor and her practice. I would NEVER recommend her to anyone! If you do go here and your gut is telling you something is off with her recommendations, please get a second opinion!

I was recently searching for a new Dr. after mine retired this past year. I scheduled an appt with the Dr. (I requested to not be seen by NP). The first available appt they had was 6weeks out. I thought this was a long time to wait, but scheduled anyway. Literally THE DAY BEFORE my appt, I recieved a call from the office stating that the dr had a meeting and that they needed to reschedule my appt. After waiting so long, I gave in and made my appt with the NP.
The visit was nice enough. Front office was a little rude but everyone else that I ran into was pleasant.
My real complaint comes a few weeks later. I called at about 9:30am to ask a question and was very rudely told to hold on and without explanation, was transferred to a voicemail. I left a message and my call was returned within a few hours. I was at work and could not pick up the call so I called back at 12:30p and again, without explanation transferred to the same voicemail. A FULL WEEK LATER, I received a call back and she actually said to me, «you called about a week ago with a question?» REALLY???
I will not be going back as I feel they have zero respect for patients and their concerns. If I’m calling a DR about a question I have, I expect it be returned in a timely manner. And to reschedule an appt I have been waiting for 6 weeks the day before?
Don’t waste your time here, find an office that actually cares.

I just had my first baby 4 weeks ago and Dr. B was awesome not only during my labor and delivery but the whole 9 months prior. She really listens to your concerns and needs and has a great personality that makes you feel comfortable and at ease.
As a first time mom, I was very anxious and had tons of questions and she always made time to answer them, I never felt rushed or silly for asking.
I would definitely recommend her.

This is a doctor who just doesn’t follow through. I waited three weeks for her to get back to me when she said she would call in two days. Finally I called and a week later the nurse called back and didn’t know what she was telling me as none of it made any sense. It was not the information I was waiting to hear from the doctor. I was told that the doctor would call me back and she never did. I needed to make an appointment with another doctor just to follow up with the test results that Dr Banskter didn’t go over with me. The office is small, crowded and shabby. Horrible experience.

I really like Dr. B as a doctor… she just delivered my first baby via c-​section in October and I thought throughout the pregnancy she did a great job of balancing my normal activities but was smartly conservative when it comes to anything that would put the baby at risk. When the decision was made to do c-​section, I wasn’t ready and she stopped in the middle of my appointment to backtrack our conversation and address my questions every step of the way. I though that was nice. and of course, I have an amazing baby boy, so I can’t be too upset, now, can I? :)
I also think Liz is amazing. I really liked seeing her.
What I don’t like is the back-​end office staff processes… and in fairness to them, I did share the following experiences with Jan, the office manager. Overall, they just seem really out of sorts. What’s sad is when I complained to Liz, who suggested I speak with Jan, all she could do was nod her head in agreement, as if she’s heard my story a dozen other times.
During my pregnancy, they booked an appointment for a time when their office wasn’t even open (8 a.m. appt when they don’t start until 8:30 a.m.) the beauty of that particular experience is when they realized their mistake and rebooked me, but didn’t even inform me. Their VM says they’re open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., but if you call after 4:30 p.m. you get an outgoing message saying the office is closed. and if you transfer over to the operator, she’ll tell you they just don’t take calls after 4:30 p.m. I also came in one time for an 8:30 a.m. appt and as I was signing in, saw two other people had signed in saying they too had 8:30 a.m. appts with Dr. B. No wonder I’m never seen on time… my Dr. was triple booked! I didn’t appreciate that lack of respect for my time. I shouldn’t have to bring in a book or my laptop to keep me company knowing I’ll be in the waiting room over an hour for 10 min. with the doctor. I was also frustrated when I called in and left a VM for the nurse practitioner/​assistants… outgoing message says they’ll return the call within 24 hours but that never happened. I had to be very aggressive in calling back and asking Courtney (who was always very helpful) to find me a real person to speak with. They also never received a fax my lactation consultant sent them and didn’t order the right prescription… I feel like I have more experiences in me on this front, but I’ll stop here. I think my point has been made.
I was willing to put up with this office chaos because I like Dr. B, but then she closed her Walnut Creek office, so I started to debate whether the drive up to Concord was worth worth it moving forward. After today’s experience, I’ve decided it wasn’t. I had a follow-​up appt. with Liz for today; I have the card that says the 16^th; I even received a call yesterday confirming the appt. But when I showed up this morning (after driving 27 miles in rush hour traffic) I was told my appt was for tomorrow and that there was no way to fit me in at that moment even though there was only one other person in the waiting room at the time. I decided not to reschedule and it’s safe to say, will be finding another OB ASAP.

Dr. B has been my OB-​GYN for a little over 2 years. She delivered my now 18 mo daughter. She did a great job and likely saved me from a possible emergency C-​section (due to baby’s position not the supposed cascade effect of interventions).
It seems that the bad reviews Dr. B is getting are mostly from women who are not in the process of having babies. I think (don’t know for sure) that Dr. B primarily focuses on delivering babies (which again — she is great at!!). Now that I have given birth, I see her NP @ her concord office bc I am in great health and don’t need to see Dr.
Oh — and I love her personality. She is funny, direct but will let you make your own choices, even if she doesn’t agree with them (which she will tell you so).

Horrible… this was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a doctor. Can I do 0 stars?
My first appt. with Dr. Banskter was ok, she was personable and made some light humor which was ok. I was sent to her by my GP for diagnosis of uterine fibroids, causing terrible bleeding and pain. She confirmed the fibroids and as a precaution she did a biopsy of the endometruim. I felt ok about her after the first appt.
On follow up meeting she was totally scatter-​brained. She had no idea what I was there for… I had to tell her I was there to find out if I had cancer or not. (I didn’t, thank god!). My husband came with me on this appt, just in case the news was bad, and we were stunned when, after the «no cancer» part, the next words out of her mouth were «OK, let’s get you pregnant!» WHAT??? uhhh, no ~ not trying to get pregnant, trying to get rid of fibroids! She fiddled with her paperwork and tried to review my case real quick. BAD impression. Couldn’t she have done that before she came in the room?
Her recommendation was a hysterectomy since i didn’t have plans for kids. She seemed dismissive of my wanting to keep a uterus if I didn’t plan «to use it». :-/​Her next suggestion was myomectomy, but I clearly didn’t want this un-​focused person cutting me open! After reading Eileen R’s review I am glad I didnt (sorry you had a bad outcome Eileen!) When I asked for some alternative treatment (other than birth control pills) info, options and referrals such as UAE or FUS (non-​surgical, less invasive treatments) she got totally defensive and dismissive. Guess her thing is surgery and that’s all she’s interested in talking ’bout!
After I expressed some complaints and concerns to the staff I was told Dr. Banskter said perhaps I should find another doctor. Damn, right I will!
FYI, I went with Dr. Steven Wells, a surgeon, (across the street from Banskter’s Walnut Creek office, btw) … and the experience was as different as night and day ~ He was AMAZING!!! I had the surgery, all went well, I’m fibroid-​free and my scar is hardly noticeable. =)
Dr. Banskter and her staff are clearly fixated on the OB part of the business… if you are not there for OB issues, go elsewhere. I have no idea if she is a good OB doc (since I’m not «using my uterus» lol!)… but definitely she is NOT a good GYN. run, run away fast…

Dr. B is THE DOCTOR for me! She is awesome!!! I have gone to her for quite some time.
She does have such a great personality, and is very caring… oh yes, and a wonderful sense of humor. She gets down to business if need be, as it turned out, she needed to with me. It seems I refused to accept my diagnosis, three appointments later, it sunk in. Dr. B was so patient and kind with me during this time. My thanks go to her every day upon waking.
I LOVE Dr. B! She rocks!
Oh yeah, you might have to wait, but where does one not wait anymore? She is an excellent doctor with many patients.
I simply cannot say enough good things about Dr. B!

I have been seeing Dr. B since 2004. She delivered both of my children and both experiences were extremely positive. I was referred to her by a friend who has had 3 pregnancies with her and I have subsequently referred 3 other women to her. She is direct and to the point, but also at the same time very warm and has a great sense of humor. She was always very patient with my questions and never made me feel self conscious or silly for asking. With my first pregnancy I had preterm labor and needed to go on bedrest. She even helped me personally with my state disability forms. During my first delivery I had some minor complications but she was very calm and in control the whole time never causing me to panic or be concerned. At no point in time did I ever feel that I had any unecessary tests performed or that she was trying to get more money from me. Both of my children were vaginal and the word C section never came up. As I am contemplating a third child one of my «pros» in my pro and con list is that I would get to see Dr. B every month, seriously, that’s how great she is. I have trusted her with both of my children and will continue to trust her with my gynocological health for as long as she continues to practice medicine.
As a side note, the costs of a test will vary from person to person depending on the insurance provider and plan offered. Having a Dr not know the cost of certain tests is not an indication of anything.

If I could give this doctor 0 stars I would. I’ve had some bad gynecological experiences, but this one was the absolute worst.
Last year I had my yearly checkup with this doctor. Even though I was a returning patient of this office, it was the first time I had seen Dr. Banskter. I waited, naked, for over an hour in one of her exam rooms. I probably could have gotten over that, since she delivers babies, and their unpredictable arrivals can sometimes throw schedules off-​kilter.
When she finally comes into the room to examine me, she doesn’t even shake my hand; she barely looked at my face. She begins prattling on about the gall bladder surgery she had had a couple of days before.
She proceeds to do a pelvic exam, pap smear, and breast exam all in less than five minutes. I am 30 years old, in a relationship, not on birth control, and she neglected to ask me whether I am sexually active, thinking about having children soon, etc.
This doctor is negligent, and even though I have come to expect crappy service from an HMO doctor, I will not go back to this one as it is detrimental to my gynecological health.

I have had several doctors that I have gone to and never felt as comfortable as I am with Dr. Banskter. For several years I was searching and searching for someone I felt comfortable going to and the search ended with Dr. B. No matter what you are in her office for, she seriously makes it a positive experience. It’s extremely hard to find an OBGYN that you can go to without walking away saying ‘I am never going back there again’. I have gone to her for a few years now and will continue to go to her. Absolutely two thumbs up!!!

We just moved to the East Bay from SF so needed an obgyn on this side of the bay. When I met Dr. Banskter she asked what my birth experience was like with my first. I told her that it was good and then went into details. She said it sounded like a terrible experience to her and that she’d make sure I was more comfortable. She also looked me up and down and said that since I was slender I’d probably end up having a c-​section even though I had a successful vaginal delivery with my son (I was also only 14 weeks along at the time). She also had me take my gestational diabetes test at 14 weeks (instead of 28 weeks) even though I didn’t have it with my first pregnancy. She rushed through the appointment and barely answered the questions I had. She also claimed to have no knowledge of the cost of certain tests (we have family in the medical field and they always know the costs). She was completely untrustworthy and I felt like all she wanted was to do un-​neccessary tests and give me a c-​section for the extra money.