JR Gatpolintan, MD

This awful man deserves ZERO stars! gatpolintan was a major disappointment! Seeing him was a huge mistake! He has a nasty personality and a terrible bedside manner. He is one of the worst doctors I have ever seen. Appointments were always rushed. Several appointments were even cancelled without any valid reason! Both he and his staff were insensitive and uncaring. The staff was always very unwelcoming, incompetent and downright racist. They treated me rudely and unprofessionally and then lied to cover up their failure to follow protocol. This doctor never listened to me or my comments and showed no sympathy for my concerns and was dismissive of them. He is definitely NOT recommended as he is a horrific doctor with an horrid, racist staff. I wish I had never seen these incompetent & disreputable people!

Dr. G is awesome. I am a gay man and feel very comfortable discussing anything with Dr. G. I can’t recommend him enough.

I recently switched to Dr. G after several years with a large medical center in the city that does a lot of HIV research but that seems to be really out of touch with gay patients in their primary care clinics. My visit with Dr. Gatpolintan was simply the most comfortable and thorough annual physical I’ve ever received. He’s knowledgeable, friendly, direct, and comfortable talking about anything. I couldn’t recommend him more.

I got a response to my review within a day which I find interesting. Sadly, had this office shown as much care for patients just in general as they do for Unilocal reviews, I might have been one of those 4 — 5 star reviews. (You can see the response to my review).
Your statement of «A network of care devoted to you» is laughable. Not sure what you are devoted to, but it certainly wasn’t to my care, health or well being. And while we are at it, I decided to poke around a little more.
The front desk specifically stated that Dr. Gatpolintan was NOT accepting new patients, which is part of why I would have to wait 2 months to get an appointment. Yet, on your Unilocal page, you have a BOOK APPOINTMENT button that links to the office website which states on the front page —
HIV Disease Specialist
Accepting new patients
Infectious Disease
(Board Certified)
Accepting new patients
Internal Medicine
(Board Certified)
Accepting new patients
(Copied from your very own website)
It gets even more amazing. While my lovely incompetent at the front desk is telling me I can’t get an appointment for two months with as much empathy as a crocodile taking my leg off, I can go on this same site and book an appointment WITHIN TWO DAYS !!! WHAT THE HECK ???
Guess had I known, I would have just gone online to seek an appointment — tis the way of the world now. I am sure your Facebook or social media outlets show more empathy than Ms. Incompetent that I had to deal with over the phone.
So… what am I missing here? I would love to cry discrimination, but since my dear incompetent from the front desk did not even have my name and we had never met, I can’t say that. Unless she has some serious magical powers to see me over the phone. How is it the website says ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS and I can actually book an appointment within days and yet, when a patient who has been assigned to the office for over ½ a year calls — they are told otherwise and asked to wait 2 months to see a doctor.
Maybe it’s just me, but when the average person asks to see a doctor, its usually not for a planned sickness two months away unless I am pre-​planning for the Giants Next championship and need that good olé doctor’s letter — two months out!
How is it you take my «review» seriously, however your front desk or your office did not take my care as seriously — even after mentioning my health condition and the fact that I was seeking continuity of care.
I have experience working in the healthcare industry, and without leaking out some crazily guarded trade secret, I can state on here that as a member of a Pre-​Paid Plan or PHP as they were called, your office was paid a monthly fee whether or not I was in there. That knowledge alone and the fact that I had been assigned to this office for a number of months should have prompted a bit more empathy towards my case — or any other patients’ case for that matter.
Your response and offer of assistance is like medicine after death (pun intended). Sad that the only time initiative was shown was when a complaint shows up.
I stand by my review, and I stand by my decision where I have now not only changed my physician’s office but also my HealthPlan. I will take my business elsewhere as they say — so you now have lost a patient and the HealthPlan has lost a member and guess what — that also means my recommendations of lack thereof to any acquaintances will be along the same lines.

First of all, it’s important to note that we are not medical professionals. But based on years of VISITING doctors, my observation is that he is very thorough and pleasant. He seems to really know his stuff.

Dr. Gatpolintan is by far the most welcoming and comforting doctor that I have had. He was generous enough to spend a considerable amount of time with me. He is patient, professional, and very friendly. I am very happy to have found this doctor so close to where I live.

I’ve been with Dr. G since Dr. Loftus left his practice and handed it over to him. I see him, my friends see him, my Partner sees him, my bf sees him. We’re all mostly pleased with their service.
Dr. G listens, takes his time, cares, explains. He does everything pretty much I would like a good doctor to do. The office is clean. The workers are pleasant. They have finally gotten to know their new electronic records system.
One time there was a billing problem and they made it right in a reasonable amount of time.
Dr. G orders the tests I need and lets me try prescriptions that I am curious about if he thinks they are safe for me. This is one thing that bothered me about other Docs. They would say, «Oh you don’t need that test. Or, oh I will not prescribe that for you.»
To the patient who complained that the Doc would not see you when you were late. Well that’s because it throws off the entire day, then you get people complaining that they had to wait 30 min — 1 hr to see the Doc. It the doc lets everyone arrive late, then those later in the day have to wait long amounts of time. Show up early and wait quietly with some respect.
I took off a star because the front desk makes promises to call back, and they rarely do. After a recent visit when they were supposed to call me with a referral to a nutritionist, I thought… ya right like I’m gonna get that call. I actually did this time, so I guess they are improving.
They’re really settling into their new office, and I think they all are doing their best with a broken healthcare system and patients living a high stress city life. I’m truely thankful to have Dr. G as my Doc because he is actually still trying to do the good work and he has not given up. Thank you, Dr. G and Staff!

Chaotic, dysfunctional and frustrating are words that come to my mind concerning my experience with Dr. Gatpolintan and his practice. All of this adds up to outright carelessness. I started seeing Dr. G. in the fall of 2013. At first, I thought things were proceeding smoothly, although I had to call in several times reach anyone other than an answering service to schedule an appointment, and that was the beginning of the unraveling of my experience with this practice.
After being out of the country for a couple of weeks, I had pending lab work that I needed to get results of. Since I had been out of the country, I didn’t realize that my appointment was scheduled on the first day of a BART strike. After going through public transit hell to get to my appointment, I finally arrived– nine minutes late. After waiting around, I was told that Dr. Gatpolintan would NOT see me! I was frustrated and angry, since I almost always waited 20 to 30 minutes beyond my scheduled appointment times to see the doctor. Seems like an old double standard– the patients’ time is is not worth all that much. Only the doctor’s time counts.
I scheduled another appointment time to see the doctor the following week. I was put into an examination room, and was told that Dr — - would be in to see me shortly. I was scheduled to see another MD, who I had NO previous contact with! This caused me to have to wait around for nearly another hour, and be shuffled around to at lest two other examination rooms before actually seeing the correct MD.
When Dr. G. finally arrived, I confronted him concerning the previous appointment that he refused to see me. He mumbled something about the front desk, but they told me that his refusal to see me was HIS decision, and I believe them. After all of this, I received a bill from Sutter Pacific for NOT seeing the doctor, which was quickly and wisely recinded.
I was also given incorrect information concerning a medication, and I asked that Dr. G. call me to explain the situation. That call never happened.
I am presently seeing a nurse practitioner at a different practice, and I must say that I am receiving much better service and getting much better medical care here, than I ever received from Dr. G, who has a medical specialty.
I also agree with another reviewer who stated that the practice screws up the most simplest things like getting appointment dates correct, leading to more confusion.
If you are a patient who only needs to see an MD very occasionally, this practice just might work for you. But if you have an ongoing medical problem requiring multi office visits, this is the kind of practice that can quickly wear you down.

I was sure I had already written a review for Dr. G, but I guess not.
I will keep it short and to the point; hands down the best doctor I could have ever wished for, have ever had, and the last one I ever want!

Dr. G is an outstanding doctor who truly cares about the overall well-​being of his patients. I’ve been seeing him for the last 3 years, and here are just a couple of examples of how I feel like he’s gone above and beyond for me:
1. I first started seeing Dr. G when he was practicing at HMII. Right before HMII went under, Dr. G did a small, in-​office procedure for me, which unfortunately became infected a day or two before Dr. G left HMII. I managed to have a follow-​up appointment with Dr. G on his last day there, right before he was set to go out on vacation. A couple of days later, while he was not only no longer working at HMII, but also out on vacation, he personally called me just to confirm that the infection was subsiding and to ensure that I knew what to watch out for and what to do if it flared up again while he was out. I was gobsmacked that he would make the effort to go out of his way and take the time away from his personal life just to make sure that I was okay.
2. I feel really comfortable talking to Dr. G about anything that might be going on in my life. He’s completely non-​judgmental and as a gay male, it’s been really refreshing to have someone who I can talk to freely and who understands the unique health issues in our community. I haven’t always felt this way with my past doctors, but with Dr. G, every time I see him, it feels more like I’m catching up with a friend, who just happens to be a doctor and can offer me some great advice to keep myself healthy.
3. I feel like Dr. G is super efficient with his care and won’t prescribe any tests or medications that I don’t need. When I first moved to the U.S. from Canada, I was kind of shocked by the gold-​plated care available to those with insurance, and felt like a lot of what other doctors prescribed for me may have been somewhat frivolous for a young, healthy person like myself. I feel like Dr. G is much more in line with my philosophy and will only prescribe medication and tests that I really need, which results in savings to me on my insurance copay. It also means that I’m much more likely to follow through on his advice when he suggests that I really need to do something!
Overall, I count myself as being extremely fortunate to have such a great doctor!

simply excellent. whether i’ve come to him for a physical or a specific issue, he’s always been extremely helpful, and is very perceptive at diagnosing problems.
i always feel comfortable talking to him about just about anything, and he is very non-​judgmental, and just a really nice guy who always likes to make friendly conversation and know what’s going on in his patients’ lives.

This is an update of my earlier review … this keeps getting better. I saw Dr G late Friday afternoon. When so many people complain about their medical visits consisting of a ten-​minute visit with their physician followed by a full bill, today’s visit (the last of a day) lasted over an hour. We considered all of my concerns, set up referrals when necessary, etc. Good luck getting your physician to sit still for that on a Friday evening.
While his office location isn’t the most convenient for me, I think I’ll stick around.

I have been seeing Doctor G for a while now before him I went through many doctors due to bed side behavior etc. I must say Dr. G really cares about his patience and pays close attention to detail. If I could give 10 stars I would!

Dr. G is an amazing physician and I’ve been going to him for years, back when he was practicing with Dr. Loftus at HMI. He really cares about his patients and is always there when I’ve needed him. I utilized the my health website were you can send him and his staff emails. I can ask questions about things I have concerns with without making a appointment and if he feels I need to come in then I’ll schedule an appointment. I like that he is so friendly and and I feel that I could talk to him about anything. He’s so knowledgeable! I like that he’s to the point and quick with his assessment and always ask my opinions in my care. He’s always on time and I never sit long in the waiting area. I’m usually always called within 5 minutes or before I have time to sit down.
I have read a lot of bad reviews on the office staff at the desk but I’ve not had an issue with them. I could care less if they are friendly I just want to see Dr. G when I go there. I usually do not have much interaction with the staff other than setting an appointment or pay a bill. Although my last few visits I’ve noticed he now has a medical assistant that I think is phenomenal. I would highly recommend Dr. G for your primary needs. He’s also holds a specialty in infectious disease if that’s what you’re looking for in San Francisco.

I give Dr G and his MA’s 5 big stars! however the staff that answer the phone and check patients in only warrant 2 stars in my book.
with that said;
I’ve been with Dr G since his days at Dr Loftus’ practice… Dr G has been consistently helpful and knowledgeable to my partner and I. whether it be simple blood test, getting in on same day, several surgerys we’ve both been through or knowing what travel shots to get before we embark on out of the country vacations, Dr G has always been there for us maintaining nothing short of quality and top notch care/​concern. we adore him and enjoy getting to see him… not many people can say that about going to their Doc. cheer to Dr G!

I’ve been seeing Dr. Gatpolintan since he moved over to Sutter. He’s an OK doctor, but he is stuck in a horrible practice. During my time with him the staff has: refused to page him when I called from the emergency room (the staff blamed the doctor and vice versa), kept me waiting to see him for over 3 hours before I left (without seeing him), the staff routinely treats my partner and I in a totally impersonal manner and screws up even the simplest things like confirming appointments for the wrong day.
In short, I can’t recommend Dr. G or his practice. They just won’t be there when you need them.

Dr. G is an amazing physician! I’ve been seeing him for a few years now, and he is consistently on time (which is rare for a primary care physician), he is thorough, and he takes the time to connect with his patients. I know that if I have a question or problem, he will take the time to answer my issues without rushing through the appointment.
I can not recommend him enough!

I have now been seeing Dr. Gatpolintan for 3 years. I am consistently pleased and feel that he really cares and is knowledgeable.

Dr G. is very nice and has helped me with a bad case of bronchitis in the past. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to help with several other health issues. It’s been disappointing since he — along with Dr Loftus during the time at HMII — have known me for 3+ years.
I’ve also had a frustrating experience with him and the billing department at Sutter. I set up a routine visit for a physical and pointed that out again when we met. He ended up billing it incorrectly and I received an invoice for more than 700 $ for the visit and the blood work. It took almost 6 months, many follow-​up invoices with incorrect statements, and phone calls to get the issue resolved — by simply re-​billing my insurance company, who covered 100% of the cost at the end.
If you have a cold or other minor things, the practice is perfectly fine. For everything else, I would go somewhere else. I ended up switching to another physician who has a lot of experience and was able to help.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Gatpolintan for a number of years and he has provided excellent medical care.

Dr. Loftus and Dr. Gatpolintan together form the «Health Management Institute Inc» and while it was Dr. Loftus’ stellar reviews that convinced me use them as my primary care provider, I must say that I am truly impressed with Dr. Gatpolintan who I have seen thus far. I have worked with many doctors and none of them have struck me as being as obviously and intuitively excellent at providing medical care.