Berkeley Orthopaedic Medical Group

This is regarding the Berkeley office on Colby next to Alta Bates.
The doctor was fine. Pretty average, no complaints, no compliments.
The office staff was unbelievable! I injured my back and was out on disability for four weeks. I filled out the entire disability form, except for the «diagnosis code» and signature. I brought it in on Feb 5, at the 2^nd appointment, and said that I needed a signature. They told me that it was «office policy» to charge for disability paperwork, and charged me $ 30. I was too in shock to argue at that point.
Fast forward two weeks, and I still haven’t gotten my check. I called EDD, and they have no record of my file. I called Berkeley Orthopedics, and they told me that they hadn’t sent the form until February 16!!! I went in on Feb 5, they CHARGED ME $ 30 for the doctor’s signature, and then SAT ON THE PAPERWORK for ELEVEN DAYS!!!
Meanwhile, I have a mortgage to pay, no money to pay it with, and the lovely desk attendant has to «check with the office manager» to see if she can even deign to offer me my $ 30 back! And then she had the nerve to say, «There’s no way we could have sat on this for eleven days. We wouldn’t hold something for that long.»
I could have just taken the form into the room to the doctor and asked him to put the code and signature on it, put on a stamp for less than 50c, and had it in the mail on the 5^th!
What a heartless bunch of con-​artists!

Is it possible to give negative stars? NOT RECOMMENDED.
An gullible elderly relative keeps going here, god knows why. Multiple surgeries (each with months of recovery) later, her foot still isn’t working. The office doesn’t do much to work with the insurance company to authorize adequate follow-​up care for the recuperative period, and they do nothing to support or communicate with relatives trying to fill the gap.
For this (8^th? 9^th? 10^th?) surgery, which has been planned for months, they are telling my relative that it’s up to the hospital discharge nurse where she will go to convalesce – although supposedly the discharge nurse does what the doctor recommends. But they won’t say what that is. So day of surgery I will take off work and go to the hospital to learn where she goes post-​butchery.
The doctors are arrogant and condescending, which would perhaps be tolerable if they seemed to know what they were doing medically. Let’s just say they’d be out of business if they were equally incompetent at getting reimbursed by the insurance company!
Anyway, pray for her that this surgery does the trick – don’t think she can tolerate another. Sad, sad, sad.
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October 2008 update: well, the excruciating pain that made her cry went away but chronic fatiguing pain did not. And a few months ago the ankle swelled up again. So after weeks of painkillers and bedrest we went back. And the doctor took one look at this trembling, weak old lady and said: SPINAL STENOSIS! LET’S OPERATE! I swear, he discussed no other treatment, just wanted to start opening her up. As to the ankle pain and swelling, he said that was to be expected – «because of all the surgeries.» (yeah, those have really improved her quality of life.) Spinal surgery – so easy to recover from! So generally successful! What a great recommendation!
So we said thanks but no thanks, got a support sock, increased the aspirin, and got a referral to someone else.
«To the man with a hammer – everything looks like a nail.»