Payam Vahedifar, MD

I’ve broken just about every bone possible in my torso from athletics, car and motorcycle accidents, being a stuntwoman, and fighting in black belt tournaments back in the day. You name it… 7 ribs, shoulder, collar bone, shattered scapula, neck cracks, spinal compression, lumbar and thoracic damage, sacroiliac injury, loss of 7 teeth, cracked eye socket, TBI’s… I’m a mess but at 66 still standing thanks to Dr. V. Ironic, never an arm or a leg though I did paralyze my right arm for a year after one accident. Got it back though with a lot of PT. Nine lives, indeed.
After a 12 year absence from LA, I moved back in 2012. First order of business, find a good pain management doctor, and trust me, it wasn’t easy. Finding Dr. V saved my life, literally. By the time I found him, I literally could not walk. I would roll out of bed and land on the floor on all fours and then crawl to the bathroom and kitchen in excruciating pain. The overuse of cortisone injections by former east coast doctors had worn off leaving me with multiple side effects including a 25lb weight gain, facial hair, buffalo hump, and moon face.
I was a mess when I found Dr. V. He knew he had a challenge on his hands with so many injuries to deal with. Lesser doctors would have referred me to someone else. Where to begin? With his calm demeanor, he concluded that the first tackle should my lower back so I could stand and walk again. He did Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) at a surgery center, in and out within only a few hours. By the time the procedure was over and I awoke from the anesthesia, I could stand and walk out of there. I felt 20 years younger and so much happier. Chronic pain can be so depressing, so even that was gone.
His work and reputation are as good as it gets in his field. From there, over the next few months, he took care of my neck and thoracic injuries. My spinal issues are progressive and degenerative which means a life long relationship with my pain management doctor. It’s been 4 years now and Dr. V has kept me standing and walking ever since, and pain free. I’m even able to go for walks again a few times a week. Not running or sprinting anywhere but at 66 with all these spinal issues, now arthritis setting in, I’m just grateful to be standing and walking. And just to let you know how good this guy is, his main office is 35 miles one way from where I live and I don’t own a car. He also has another office closer, about 20 miles away. I still don’t own a car. But he’s that good that I’ll either rent a car or take a cab or find a ride to my appointments or treatments as I know I can fully trust that Dr. V will take good care of me and yield great results. As a side note, he has a unique laugh. Every time I’m in the surgery suite getting prepped, I can hear his laugh in the distance when he arrives. It gives me such comfort to hear that each time, and any nerves going on just dissipate, because now I know I’m in good hands.
As with any doctor or hospital, it’s up to you to understand your insurance coverage and discuss your coverage with your doctor’s office billing department before all procedures. Assume nothing. Insurance is complicated and can be tricky so it’s vital that you learn and understand what your insurance covers and doesn’t cover or you’ll end up with a big unexpected surprise in the mail. I have always found Dr. V’s scheduler Alicia and their billing department to be very generous and gracious with their time on the phone or in person answering all my questions about each procedure, insurance coverage, scheduling and rescheduling, prescribing medications, signing necessary forms, and providing referrals for other health issues.
PS: Because Dr. V did the RFAs instead of continued use of cortisone, I lost the 25 pounds, and all other side effects went away within the first year under his care. I’m back to my fighting weight though at this age the only fight I’m having is with time and gravity. My knees are where my ankles used to be, it’s hard to tell anymore where my thighs begin and ass ends, and my boobs cover most of my belly so tube socks have become my new bra. But what the hell, I can stand and walk, and bend over without falling on my face. A lot to be thankful for, thanks to Dr. V.

Dr. V. Is a competent, compassionate, and professional doctor and human. He made a significant positive change in my road with my back and neck with severe issues. I adore him. Okay, I just love him. I recommend him as a doctor able to make a significant positive change in his patient’s lives. I don’t know what I would have done, without his treatment and guidance.

To be very clear up front my poor rating is NOT because of the doctor. He is a good doctor and I have no issues with him. His back office/​billing is the problem. I pretty much never write reviews but I feel compelled to do so because of my recent experience. my intention is not to slam them but to just lay out what actually happened so that hopefully nobody else has to go through this. Everything I am laying out here I tried to communicate with them. They made mistakes yet have not been willing to take responsibility for them or even apologize for it.
Back in Nov when I was going to have a particular procedure done on one side of my spine i asked up front what this was going to cost me. Alicia, the woman who verifies insurance told me is was going to cost me $ 27 because my deductible had been met. I reiterated, «$ 27? Are you sure?» she said, Yes. I’ve barely been working so this was an affordable price for me so I went ahead and scheduled it. A few weeks later it became clear to me I needed the same procedure on the other side of my spine. Since Alicia already told me it would cost $ 27 I had no reason to believe doing the exact same thing again would be any different. So I went ahead with the 2^nd procedure.
Then I got the bill for the 1^st procedure. It was nearly 4 times higher than what they said I would have to pay. A 400% increase. So I called their billing person, Michelle, and explained what Alicia had told me. She verified with Alicia so I paid the $ 27.
Then the bill for the 2^nd procedure arrived. Same thing. a 400% increase from what i had been told. I sent in $ 27 with a note explaining that this was what i paid before for the exact same thing. Michelle then called me and told me I had to pay the remainder because my insurance had paid «nothing». Firstly this was not true at all as I could see on the EOB that my insurance DID pay a certain amount, and secondly I explained again what Alicia had told me. I said there has clearly been a miscommunication and that I can only go off of what i am told when I up front ask «what will this cost?» I also explained that I have been barely working and if I had known upfront that this higher amount was what I would owe that I may not have chosen to do this procedure. She said she would check with the Dr.
I then received the same bill again with a note saying I needed to pay the remainder. I noticed on this bill that the $ 27 I HAD paid was NOT credited even though that had already cashed my check. Basically the bill reflected as if I had paid nothing, which was wrong.
I then called Alicia to find out why she quoted me $ 27 if this was not going to be true. She said my insurance did not pay what they had expected them to pay and that was why. I explained that I paid ONLY the $ 27 for the 1^st procedure. Why would the 2^nd one be different when the bill was exactly the same? She had no answer and hid behind the legal paperwork I signed stating I agreed to pay my bill.
This was not the point at all.
My point was, how can you quote a patient one thing, and they are RELYING on that information, but then completely not take responsibility for what you said? Plus, I had paid $ 27 for the 1^st time, why it was now different made no sense! I understand how insurance works, but one never expects a 400% increase!
And now this is the kicker… I then called my insurance to try to figure out what might have happened, and why the discrepancy. They explained I had a $ 100 copay for every procedure billed as «surgery» (I did not have «surgery» I had an injection. How was I to know that an «injection» would be considered «surgery» and a whole other set of costs come into play…) AND that Alicia had been informed of this when she called to verify my benefits. what? She KNEW? They had noted the date of her call. She HAD BEEN TOLD by my insurance yet she completely failed to pass this information on to me. She should have informed me that she made a mistake BEFORE my procedure. But even the day off my 2^nd procedure she called me to collect the $ 30 she said would be my responsibility… How $ 27 became $ 30 I have no idea, but I’m not going to fight over $ 3. The point is that they seem to have no idea what is really going on. Like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. I emailed her to let her know about this copay and to ask why she didn’t inform me of that. So far no response.
btw, I did express to Alicia that there was something «not right» happening. She of course didn’t want to hear it.
To be clear, I don’t think these mistakes were done with malicious intent, but am laying this out just so other may be aware. Check your bill. Don’t take what they say at their word. I have never before had this problem. I always pay my bills and my credit score is practically perfect. But how this all transpired makes no sense at all.
The worst of it may be that they seem unwilling even take ownership of their mistake and have the decency to apologize for it.

Dr. V is the man! If you are having any kinda of neck or back problems, he is the man to see. He was able to really explain what was going on and got me to the point of walking comfortably again. I needed two epidurals, and now I can start physical therapy. Hopefully, id be able to avoid any surgery.
I highly recommend him!

Dr. Vahedifar is absolutely amazing. I first went to him a year and a half ago when I had a bulging disc. He gave me 2 epidurals that kept me pain free for a year. My bulging disc corrected itself but over a year later I was in excruciating pain with a herniated disc pressing on a nerve. When the epidurals didn’t completely take the pain away Dr. Vahedifar was unbelievably helpful in helping me manage the pain until I could have a much needed surgery. Dr. Vahedifar and Alicia and Richard in his office, were kind, responsive, patient, reachable, caring, thoughtful, helpful, honest and a million other wonderful adjectives. The past few months were the worst time in my life because of the pain I was in and I really can’t imagine what I would have done without this amazing doctor and his team. I was recommended to Dr. Vahedifar by a friend’s mom who has chronic pain who had seen tons of doctors and told me he was the best and she was right.
I don’t think I can ever truly thank Dr. Vahedifar and his team for all the kindness and understanding and expertise they displayed during a very scary time. If you are in pain please do yourself a favor and call this office.

Dr. Vahedifar is an fantastic doctor. I have been to other pain management specialists and he is the first one who has not only helped me, but taken the time to specifically discuss and answer questions. He spends the time that is needed and you never feel rushed to leave. I had been in chronic pain for so long and his treatment plan has started me on a healing path that I didn’t think was going to be possible. He’s incredibly bright and attentive and his staff is equally as friendly and helpful. I’ve been to a lot of doctors in my life and I feel so grateful to have found him– I just had to share!

Dr. Payam Vahedifar MD is one of the kindest and most competent doctors I have met. I had a problem with my elbow and I went to Dr. Vahedifar at Nuvo Spine. He was very personable and caring. He took the time to ask me questions so he could do right by me. I’m not in the habit of looking into men’s eyes, but I could see he really cared about me as a patient. I wasn’t just money to him, I was a patient and he was going to do his best to help me. He gave me a cortizone shot (which didn’t hurt) and I currently have no pain in my arm. Everything is good now. I have recommended many of my friends to Dr. Vahedifar.