Gary N Apter, MD

He used to be my mother’s PCP. I said ‘used to be’ because there are far better doctors out there. Doctors frankly who do want to help their patients instead of trying to profit from them at every turn. In my opinion, the latter should not determine one to study for a MD license. Sadly it’s the case of many doctors in this country.
When my mother was hospitalized for a stomach obstruction issue this doctor, being her PCP, was certainly notified. We learnt that he was doing rounds with residents on her floor. Yet he never even dropped by to see how my mother was faring. That went on for every day she was hospitalized.
The medications that my mother took for high blood pressure was always being increased. Same for the diabetes medication as well as being prescribed one that was not the best. Not that there is any proof that these things caused her failed kidney condition, but certainly a doctor who cared would have noticed impending signs and tried to adjust her medication or try different ones that may be better for her system seeing that he sent her for regular blood tests.
The reviewer who mentioned receiving a letter demanding an annual $ 100 fee is correct. My mother had also received such an offensive letter. This was shocking to my mother that any doctor would have the nerve to essentially tell patients that they ought to help defray his expenses. My mother’s only income is SSI, and his income is at least six figures.
Thus, due to the non-​acknowledgment in the hospital coupled with the medication issues and that stupid letter demanding a handout I convinced my mother that she need not put up with such an uncaring PCP. That there are so many others that she should try to find a better one which she did.
Worst was the treatment of the doctor’s assistant who is mentioned in detail by others here. The woman is very rude and unprofessional. When my mother called (she did not have to do this) out of courtesy to let the office know she was changing PCP’s this rude woman (Kay Kugler) not only shamed my mother for changing but did so in a very hostile tone. Totally disgusting behavior.
Unfortunately Unilocal doesn’t allow for zero to negative star ratings, but if possible, negative 5 stars would be accurate.

lf I could rate this doctor with a negative star I would.
I had previously seen Dr Apter twice before I simply requested he sign a DMV form so I could obtain a DMV disabled parking permit. I dropped off the form days before I said I would like to pick it up. I am 62 years old, have had Multiple Sclerosis most of my adult life, have been having much difficulties getting on and off the SF buses, balance, and walking the hills of SF. I realized it was time, for the first time, I applied for this parking permit. Previously Kaiser sent Dr Apter all my medical records which he decided not to look at (?), and I had also included with the DMV form a typed Kaiser letterhead letter, signed by my previous Kaiser doctor, stating my conditions; MS and Type I Diabetes. I should have know right then and there that this doctor was highly questionable when he refused to look at my past records.
When I came into his office both the doctor and his unfriendly office assistant started to question me. His belligerent office lady even shut the glass sliding door shut in my face stating that the doctor didn’t want to sign it. What? Why? I simply slid open the door, stating I would take a seat in the waiting room until he signed it. Her behavior with me was insulting– like I was lying about my condition. She started to question me about my eyes, etc. Again???
After some time, this doctor eventually did sign the form but only gave me a 30 day permit. MS is not a temporary disability. He obviously was angry because when I took the form into the DMV, they refused it because he had made a mess of it.
I have found Dr Apter, not only unprofessional but hurtful, and can only hope he revisits his Hippocratic oath.

0 stars actually. William M. I was so sorry to hear what he did to you. That was soo wrong. I too am still a victim of his stupidity. 3 years ago I went camping and came home to find hot red rings of target shaped rashes on my back. I worked for 15 years as a medical assistant mostly for an office similar to apters (internal medicine) basically they are the ones you go to first!!! for a medical problem, question or emergency. I worked for 5 of them. I know first place that sending your patient to the er is incredibly irresponsible. William M I am so sorry what happened to you. It NEVER should have.
Like you he pushed me off. I had never seen him after being a patient for a year. I saw his PA. That is another bad story. She did not know what she was looking at she said. Althoug any medical person knows that a bullseye rash & (after camping trip, duh) is a tick bite. A very bacteria infected tick. I went another year un treated. I am now in very good hands Dr. Stricker… he is the best! I now will take longer and harder to treat it. Thanks apter and kay. Normally if a PA did «not know what she was looking at» they should go get th md to look at it. I even knew because I had seen them in the office I worked at.
Apter … not a good choice folks. Save yourself… He isn’t.

Dr. Apter has been my primary care doctor for almost 20 years. He has seen me through very difficult times, always delivering calm, intelligent direction. He hones in on issues immediately and provides a clear, personalized analysis. Although I now live quite a distance from the city, he remains my primary care physician.

I recall nearly crying on the phone to schedule an appointment b/​c I was so sick, and they told me to go to the emergency room. I was made to feel like I was annoying them.
If you are looking for an old-​school, stuffy doctor’s office, this is your place.

A quick update to my review of a few years back. What an exceptional physician! Dr. Apter and his entire staff including his physician’s assitant Kay and his office manager Michelle are a testament to his commitment to hiis patients. I needed help with a prescription renewal recently and also had an emergency medical need. Dr. Apter and his office were supportive, responsive and attentive. I count myself among the lucky few that have an exceptional primary care doctor. Thank you!

I’ve been a patient for the past 2 years, and like many of the below reviewers have seen nary a glimpse of the (fictitious?) Dr. Apter. All of my experiences have been funneled through the Physician’s Assistant, Kay Kugler, and his administrative staff, save for the annual letters I receive from Dr. Apter requesting an $ 100 annual fee for «Administrative Fees.»
The irony of said fees is that the administrative processes of this office are among the worst I’ve ever witnessed. Every time I communicate with the office there seems to be a different status surrounding my medical records, to the point that I seriously suspect that their filing process involves a series of colored Post-​Its.
Just last week I called in to schedule an annual exam (after receiving a voicemail reminder), and was told on the phone that I’m not due for another 6 months. That would have been fine were I not called just hours later by a completely different staff member to notify me that all of my prescription renewals will be suspended until I visit Kay. Again, not a problem — but Kay comes into the office just 2 days per week, and for some ungodly reason the office takes a 2 hour lunch break every day, leaving a mere 12 hours per week that she’s actually available. Was she happy to call in the renewal if I got an appointment onto the calendar at a time that was mutually convenient for us both? No. Come in tomorrow or you’re shit out of luck.
The 1 and only time I’ve had an emergency, all the staff at Dr. Apter’s office have been unavailable. My appointments run late even when I’m the first of the day. If there were ever anything I needed beyond basic prescription refills, I’d not trust my health to the staff at this office– and it’s been made fairly clear that even prescriptions are not something I’m able to count on as far as Dr Apter’s practice is concerned.
Negative stars. Don’t gamble with your health.

I have been seeing Dr. Apter for 14 years now. My husband started seeing him 6 years ago. Dr. Apter is very thorough and very forthright with physical examination results and has always been very honest and caring on how the patient should deal with their medical issues. I have always been satisfied with my office visits with him, as well as with his assistant, Kay Kugler. His staff, from Michelle, Sherylyn to Jessica, are very friendly and very competent. His office does charge administrative fees and most of the time I do pay them. It is not compulsory for the patient to pay it, especially for existing ones. To be honest, Dr. Apter is not the only one doing this in the Bay Area. It is becoming more & more a practice among PCP to do it. Perhaps this link from SF GATE with help:
…and this link from CBS local:

Dr. Apter has been my PCP for about 12 years. Although several of these reviews say the patients have rarely or never had an appointment with him, I have never had a problem in all those years. He is thorough, caring, professional, and conservative in his medical approach — traits I admire in my PCP. And on the few occasions I have seen his NP, Kay Kugler, she has always consulted with him when there has been a potentially complex concern. The office support staff are also friendly and efficient. And I didn’t mind the $ 100 one-​time fee his patients were asked to pay — it is a simple sign of the times.

Anyone still considering applying to become Dr. Apter’s patient after reading all these reviews should know that in January 2011, all his patients got a letter asking for a $ 100 per person annual «voluntary» administrative fee to help cover his overhead! He’s been my PCP for over 10 years, but I’ve only seen him twice and Kay the PA about 3 times.

I’ve been on the fence about reviewing this practice for a while, but after reading so many mixed reviews I think I need to add my experience. All of the below refers to Dr. Aptner’s nurse Kay Kugler, as I have never been permitted to see Dr. Aptner himself (although the hub has, and could list out a million problems there as well.)
So here’s the deal Kay Kugler seemed like a nice, caring, informed health care provider on my first visit and I was stoked to have changed to their practice. No real medical issues at the time, other than minor insomnia, which as I was about to get married was understandable.
Fast forward a year later, I go in with some breathing issues, not feeling well, questions about diet &nutrition etc and am told that she had never «never heard of anything like» my symptoms and «I probably have a major panic disorder that needs to be medicated with PROZAC immediately.» She then proceeded to try and force a pap exam on me even though I repeated told her that I GO TO A REAL OBGYN, I don’t need or want her to examine me.
I was so completely weirded out by this experience that I decided to do my own research on the symptoms I was having, which turned out to be totally common ACID FRIGGIN REFLUX which was fixed by simply laying off the hot sauce and not drinking so much wine.
That’s right it was acid reflux, and my symptoms which she, without any background in psychiatry diagnosed as «panic disorder induced» were so common that webmd, and the back of every OTC drug including TUMS on the market listed them as treatable. I had heartburn people and she wanted me to take Prozac for the rest of my life for it.
One has to wonder, how many other Indian and Thai food loving patients of this practice are currently shelling out major $$ to be permanently on antidepressants, scary.

Okay I am a relatively healthy person so the need for emergency appointments and such have rarely come up. I can say that I have called and asked for the DR to call in cough medicine during a really nasty bout with the flu and he did and I was able to sleep through that night. I have never waited weeks for an appointment and was seen within 24 hours for a severe sore throat with satisfactory results. The staff who work for him are professional and very kind to me. I see him regulary once a year for a physical and I have never been to a more thorough physician. He spent a good deal of time asking questions and answering mine. I spent 5 years looking for a DR I like and I will be sad when Dr Apter retires.

My experience with this practice was negative. If I could give less than one star I would. The perception I’ve got from him is that he’s very old school, not up to speed with latest medical discoveries, and even in bed with insurance companies meaning not too willing to prescribe test, or valuable diagnostic procedures. Prescription wise, I need to agree with other comments in regard to the fact that he prescribes useless crap.

Not to burst the bubble of relatively positive reviews regarding Dr. Apter, but thought I’d share my recent experiences, as well as my partner’s experience with Dr. Apter and his staff.
Well over a year ago, I made an appointment with Dr. Apter to have him evaluate a lump I had in my neck near my jawline. He felt that the lump was nothing to worry about, probably just an enlarged salivary gland. Several months later, a second lump appeared; at that time he ordered bloodwork and suggested a referral to a surgeon for a biopsy. His staff took my insurance information and indicated that they would work on finding a surgeon for the biopsy and would contact me with the information to make the appointment. In the meantime, my bloodwork came back normal.
Fast forward a month or so; Apter’s staff failed to ever follow through with my referral. As I was in my open enrollment period for insurance through my employer, I changed insurance providers and went back to Kaiser.
In January, I made an appointment for a physical with my doctor at Kaiser. He was immediately concerned about the lump in my neck and referred me out for a biopsy. Additionally, I had formed other nodules on my leg and arm that were unusual; he further ordered one of those removed for analysis. Long story short; I have been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Dr. Apter was fully aware of the history of Leukemia and Lymphoma in my family (my Mother died of the diseases); in my opinion, he should have been more diligent in moving forward on analysis of the mass in my neck from the time of the first appointment. Note: though bloodwork was done, Lymphoma generally does not show up in the blood; a tissue biopsy is necessary.
Dr. Apter is also the same doctor that evaluated my partner for an illness nearly two years ago. At a doctor visit, he advised my partner that he may be having a heart attack, but allowed him to leave the office and drive himself to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital he was immediately admitted with a severe arrythmia that could not be controlled. He spent the next 8 days in the cardiac care unit and ultimately needed surgery to correct the condition. Dr. Apter didn’t even bother to follow-​up with my partner after his admission to the hospital.
If I could give Dr. Apter negative stars, I would do so. Avoid him at all cost!

I just wanted to re-​review as I have just never had a bad experience with Dr. Apter or his office staff. Just yesterday, Christmas eve day, I’d been plagued with what seemed like a cold for a week, and it got worse. I called in the morning at 9:30 — they informed me they were closing at 11am but took down my symptoms and said they’d call me back after talking to Dr. Apter. Within 20 minutes, I was told to come down and that they’d find a way to fit me in.
How many doctor’s offices do you know would keep the office open a bit past their closing hour to see a patient with «a bad cough» and «a major case of the sniffles.» Not many — which goes to show how competent and generous Dr. Apter — and his staff — are. I believe they take their practice more seriously than the average internist offices in SF.

You know what I like about Kaiser? They’ll call in stuff for you and you can contact your doctor over email.
I love Kay Kugler, but when I’m having enough of an issue that I actually call the doctor and am then told I have to suffer for another week before I can even talk to anyone because I have to come in rather than just have a consult over the phone, I’m irritated. A whole nother week of feeling miserable because they won’t call me back.
It makes me miss Kaiser, and I don’t often say that, let me tell you.
Otherwise, Kay is very nice and personable. She’s very smart and sensitive. But when I want medical care, I want it now, damn it.

BLAH… I used to like going here. Until it was time for my yearly pap! Yikes… I felt like I was being examined by a prison guard. It was rough and painful and I was bleeding afterward for several days. And that was from the NP, Kay Kulger. She is a wonderful lady and seems to care, but if you are very sensitive to your paps like I am then she is NOT for you.

What does this mythical man look like? He’s been my primary care provider for 3 months, but I have yet to earn an audience with Emperor Apter.
Trying to make an appointment, I got passed around between at least two equally stupid receptionists who combined to (1) not actually write down my phone number despite making me repeat it no less than three times, and (2) write me down under a time slot that we DID NOT agree upon.
Of course, this means that I missed my appointment and it’s MY fault, so I can reschedule for sometime in August when Emperor Apter comes back. By then, I think I might have a new primary care provider.
How the fuck is this guy still so busy?
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Updated 8÷14÷2007
I finally got an appointment. The office runs pretty well once you actually get in here and at least one of the previously mentioned receptionists are apparently not there anymore. Upgrade to 3 stars!
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Updated 9÷2÷2007
I had what I thought could been a brown recluse spider bite on my leg, so as it got worse, I was able to get a same day appointment with Dr. Apter. And it turned out to be a staph infection, which I’m pretty sure I got at the 24 Hour Fitness at North Point [you can see that review on my profile]. Upgrade to 4 stars for calling at 9:15 and getting an appointment at 11:45!

OK, I have been a patient of Dr. A for about 12 years. He is efficient. Not really something I look for in a doctor. His bedside manner is about the same as a small white soap dish. He never really answers questions and, god forbid, you should need to get a prescription for anything that might be considered a controlled substance. It’s like asking your mom for an advance on your paper route money.
On the up side, Kay is great and really does care; always been my favorite. Maybe all of the PA’s in SF ARE truly better than the MD’s they work for.

1. He is my PCP and a brilliant man, BUT very hard to get an appointment that isn’t weeks away
2. Thorough WHEN you get to see him
3. Kaye his PA is very caring. Went in once for bad tummy problems and she called me the next day to see if I was doing better.
4. The medical asst (forgot her name) sweet girl, great personality, always puts you at ease