The Spine Care Center

Dr. Gardner is the best and a very caring doctor. I am 73 years old and I have been to a lot of doctors and Dr. Gardner should be a advocate to other doctors in how to treat a patient because he listens when a patient is talking and he has treated me with a back problem and I feel 100% better.

Shout out to the support staff and medical staff here. Professional, friendly, but kind. I wasn’t treated like a junky trolling for narcotics. They recognized that my pain was real by looking at the signs and listening to me, and then helped me manage it and the crazy insurance approval process during each step of my treatment. Other clinics and emergency rooms should take note– this is how it’s done. Thank you! Customer for life!

I did not see the doctor to explain my issues, I explained them to a nurse who then explained them to the doctor… with less detail than I provided to her. (As I could hear her through the door) The doctor only wanted to treat my back and neck with injections instead of first requesting x-​rays to determine if this was necessary or if may I just needed physical therapy. (The injection in my neck did not work (as I told him it would not), and I cancelled my back injection because it is bad for me and not necessary! I know it will not help, I really just wanted to have current x-​rays to determine why my back is hurting again after a surgery in 2012. (surgery was with another Dr))
But biggest complaint, although petty is that they do not provide proper receipts for payments. All FSAs and HSAs require receipts for payments made for reimbursement, when I requested a receipt for payment made before my injection, I was denied. (I would have asked for a refund and cancelled appointment, but that fee was crazy) I was told that it was a 50 cent charge for receipts and that it would have to be mailed to me, because they can only print detailed receipts on Mondays. WHAT? This is 2015, you should be able to print receipt, if you know what I owe you then you should be able to provide me with a receipt, immediately. Again, I know that 50 cents does not break the bank, but this should be common practice and should be a requirement to give to a patient a receipt. (I have contacted the VA Medical Board about this practice) Due to this policy they lost me as a patient, also because I really didn’t care for the attitude of the staff or Dr. Seriously if you charge my insurance thousands of dollars, then you should be able afford a piece of paper. I have never had to pay for receipt for payments made, and no one should have to pay for a receipt for a payment they make. Bad policy! Bad Attitudes! Just to close, when I told the DR I was not happy with this policy, his attitude was it’s just 50 cents. And he said he would take care of it, but he didn’t, and I received my receipt that I was charged 50 cents for!!!

Having lived with back problems since 1965 (yes, half a century) I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to all of the doctors and staff at the Spine Care Center. I have been a patient there since 2007, have had four surgeries and numerous other treatments, and can honestly say every experience I have had with them has been positive. I agree with Daniel that Kathlene is an angel, but Sohail and the rest of the staff are just as knowledgable and compassionate. I don’t think you will find a better orthopedic surgeon than Dr. Siddiqui, and Dr Bassam is one of the best pain doctors in the area. I would recommend that anyone with back problems see them first.

The Spine Care Center in Manassas has the worst customer service. The
front desk Manager was a cold and rude human being. My husband was in bad pain and had just came back from a business trip, so we went straight from the airport with our 3-​year old daughter. The day before, I had made an appointment, gave them our insurance information and was told to bring his ID and insurance card and get there 30m earlier. They checked our insurance and no point in time did they mention, that we needed to bring $ 130 at the appointment.
Upon check in, their front manager asked us to pay $ 130 upfront before even seeing the doctor. Mind you, our insurance is in this office network. Usually its when our insurance is out of network that we are required to pay before service… Unprepared but NOT surprised, we needed to transfer some funds and needed a privacy while doing so, not in a reception full of people waiting in line.
My husband was in a lot of pain, so i wanted us to settle him and my daughter in our room and do the transfer through our phone while waiting for the doctor.
I asked if we could pay after we see the doctor. The front manager rudely said, «if you dont pay before the service, your husband will not be seen». I could tell that she was offended that i asked.
While at the mean time, i saw people paying their balance from a previous appointments with the other Receptionist.
I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t personally going to assist us.
This got me really upset. I asked to speak with a manager, and she said she was the manager. I asked to speak with a Supervisor and she said she was going to call him. Then I sat down and thought she was going to have the supervisor talk to me. Nope, she called the supervisor herself on the phone, without giving me the chance to talk to him… and laughed a couple of times. It was very obvious that she didn’t want to make it work. She hung up and told us with a smile that they couldn’t see us unless we pay first.
Their policy says «payment due at time of service», we werent denying that. We just asked to be settled in first and work with our online banking in private. I mean this doesnt seem to much to ask, especially if we’re talking about $ 130, not $ 15. Most practices would happily mail the patients the bills.
Long story short, my husband was not seen. We ended up going to Patient First. They assessed him, took xrays of his neck and back, urine sample, did blood work, got him a pain injection and sent us home with a copy of his Xray, and treatment plan… They took great care of my husband for $ 15. They told us to see a spine specialist and we will schedule an appointment at the office of Dr. Sassan at the National Spine and Management Centers.
The problem with this spine care center is not the doctors who work so hard, but this lady with the God complex. She thinks her office is the only spine center in the universe, or even in Manassas. If she thought that i would just feel sorry for my husband and took my husband back home in pain and mopped. WRONG!
So really at the end of the day, Im happy because my husband is now feeling better thanks to the staff and doctors at Patient First for $ 15.instead of $ 130 and being treated like criminals.
For people, who don’t mind being treated like numbers, and pay $$$ …this office is for you… For people who have young kids, want to be treated like valued patients and human beings while still paying $$$$$…avoid this place!

Honestly, 5 starts is not enough.
I’m going to take the liberty of calling Kathlene Horsely an angel. That’s right — A servant of God. She was a loving hand to person in need. She took the time to listen, she empathized, she answered my questions with precision. I almost felt as if we were friends by the time I left. You feel much safer in the hands of a friend. I actually smiled when I left. Smiles now-​a-​days are far and few between.
CLIFF NOTES: I have had horrible sciatic nerve pain for the last 2 months. Finally decided to have it checked out. I have had it off an on for about 2 years, but never this bad. Never this consistent. I’ve seen about 4 – 5 different doctors, and they all treated me like I was a nuisance and pawned me off on the next doctor.
BONUS: The clinic is in the same business park as a Dunkin’ Donuts, so grab yourself a delectable treat to reward yourself for putting up with pain.

I wouldn’t normally go on Unilocal to rate a doctor, but I had such a pleasant experience with this practice, giving them a positive review is well deserved. Their staff is friendly, highly competent and efficient. For both office appointments and my procedure, they were right on time if not early. I had to have a minor procedure with Dr. Bassam and he was perhaps the kindest doctor I have ever met. Patient, nice and eager to explain my condition and the necessary treatment. No arrogance that you often find with other such professionals. I would definitely recommend this practice.

I can not say enough good things about this place. They did surgery on my back in December and unfortunately I was in a car accident recently and messed up my back again. Their staff is such a rarity these days. They take the time to explore all options and go that extra mile to give you a positive outlook for getting better. I am especially greatful for Dr. Siddiqui and PA Kathleen. You will be hard pressed to find two people who make you feel like your in great hands. I urge anyone with any issues to see them and then you will see exactly what I am talking about.

I have to start by saying that I don’t know jack about medicine, and I am in no way at all qualified to assess a spine care center so I can’t comment on the quality of treatment or the competency of the doctors.
But I can say that these people run a good practice. Precious had a tough time. One weekend she developed some spinal pain, and it got so bad that I had to take her to the emergency room. They gave her some good stuff and some pills and some referrals. We got an appointment with The Spine Care Center the next day. They looked at an MRI that had been performed a year early, and they were very concerned. They schedule surgery within a few days, and the surgeon was actually on maternity leave, and he came back making a special exception to perform surgery on Precious. It gave us the impression that they care a lot about the patients.
We’ve never had any problem communicating with these people. They’ve always answered our questions and addressed our concerns. They’ve never left us in the dark about what types of treatments are available or what’s the next step. I have a lot of confidence in this group.