NorCal Imaging – San Leandro

When I walked in I the first thing I noticed was the sign stating that the wait can be 1 to 2 hours. I looked around and there weren’t may people around so I asked if that was true, and she said it can be, depending on how busy they are. From what I can tell they have two x-​ray rooms and one MRI, so if there’s enough of a line, it’s going to be a wait. Fortunately I was there for about half an hour all told, but had the wait been longer I at least would have understood why.
As for the staff, I found them to be pleasant and helpful. I discovered a long time ago that if YOU are pleasant and helpful, you get the SAME treatment in return, even at places that are high-​volume and under-​staffed. Funny that.

My wife was scheduled to have a CT scan and since I work in East Bay and her in SF, we arranged for me to pick up a prep kit the day before. They mentioned closing at 7pm, great.
Unfortunately, I rush from work and arrive at 6:40pm and they are closed, nobody home. No notice on the door with a reason for being closed within the posted hours 7 – 7.
Guess we’ll be looking for another imaging lab. Terrible and upsetting.

First, giving credit where credit is due, the gentleman checking me in and the gentleman in the imaging area were amazingly helpful and supportive throughout my entire experience. The lady was initially helpful, as well.
Today I had an MRI of my foot on the side where I have had 3 artificial hip replacements. My leg tended to spasm. I had tried to call in advance to advise them of that potential and instructions to have a successful reading, but I could not get ahold of anyone to help.
The result is that the lady had to stop the MRI and come out to advise me that the movement was causing so much blurring, it was not readable. After about 15 minutes into the second try, I called to them to see if it was going better, as I could not determine the movements (which were so small, I couldn’t detect them.) She came out and told me it was coming through fine and clear now. However, she seemed annoyed that I asked the question.
But when it was over, I was told, rather abruptly, that they will see if the radiologist could decipher anything because of excessive movement — just the opposite of what I had been told 15 minutes earlier.
Because of a serious auto accident of a high-​impact rear-​end collision decades ago, I have had progressive issues from the neck through the feet over the years. So I have had many MRIs (2 neck, 2 knee, 3 hip, 2 back, etc) — in 5 different labs. As they say, «this wasn’t my first rodeo».
But it WAS the first time EVER that I was never given the opportunity to take a breather, regroup with some movement and settle back in between imaging series. Never have I had a failed MRI.
Moreover, I always have been helped after an MRI — most of which were taken when I was not using a cane. My take on it is that the lady was running late and was rushed and her way to deal with it was in making the patient wrong. She is not results-​oriented and certainly has no interest in the patient. She is only ruled by the clock. Starting 10 – 15 minutes into the first take, she made me much, much more stressed and scared, which exasperated the problem. It was like I was to hold my breath for a half hour, as she even complained about my deep breathing, too.
So I clearly took too much time and lady was VERY ANNOYED with me. I am disabled now and she refused to help in any way following the MRI. I had no access to my shoes, socks, or cane, which slowed me down even more. (The wonderful gentleman helped me – he was great). She wouldn’t even look at me. It’s bad enough to be in this condition, but to be treated with such disrespect was totally inexcusable and unprofessional.
I so badly wanted and needed a good foot MRI outcome. Yet, the lady, who had initially been helpful, was very clearly angry.
This ordeal has been rough to begin with. That lady made it exponentially worse. So judging by the reviews I see — this place must be a hit of miss experience. Again, the two gentlemen were very respectful, compassionate, and helpful. But the lady was very mad at me, implying that I was trying to cause a problem. I am very, very upset.

Be prepared to wait at least two hours for an x-​ray. Came in yesterday after work to be told it would be at least a two hour wait and to come back in the morning as it would be much less time. I’ve been sitting here for an hour and forty-​five minutes and still don’t have an ETA for when my mom, whose on oxygen will be seen! To further this no one really seems to care much, sadly it’s the only option for her insurance so we’re stuck.

Minus Stars for my experience.
This fiasco started way back in January. My primary doctors office made a referral for me to go Norcal Imaging for a CT Scan Thorax W/​O Dye. When I called to schedule the appointment I spoke with a woman and explained that I had changed employers and insurance companies since the referral was made. She stated «this has authorization until March, so you will be fine» I then stated «Are you sure? I can wait until my other insurance activates». A second time she said «This authorization is good until March, and its only January currently the authorization is good». I went to the San Leandro NorCal Imaging location on January 13, 2015. At the front desk I asked again about having changed employers and insurance coverage and was told a third time the authorization was good until March. Well, then the incompetency started. I received my first bill for $ 876.00 in April. I called and left messages for Roxanne, the business manager. She took her time to call me back, but she finally did. I explained myself at extreme length and she said she would resubmit the $ 876 to my previous insurance company. I continued to receive invoices for $ 876 and called Roxanne again in June. The same thing was said by her and I was left extremely frustrated. Now in September I received a «Final Notice» letter saying that I have not paid my invoice and if I don’t pay them $ 876 they will send me to collections, ruining my credit. I called and left a voice mail for Miss Roxanne on 9÷10÷15 and now its 9÷11÷15 and no call from Roxanne. She is at work because I confirmed it. Well Roxanne and the other employees at NorCal must assume that if they keep submitting for payment and or sending the patient continuous bills that they will become intimidated and over extend their budget/​savings and pay the bill. Well after 9 months of total incompetency I have a right to describe NorCal imaging as incompetent. I also suggest to everyone not to patronize this business, and demand your doctor refer you to another imaging business other than Nor Cal Imaging. I also have the opinion that I’m a victim of Predatory Billing by NorCal Imaging.

Look, the people were fine, I have no issues with that part of the experience. I don’t appreciate having to wait 90 minutes past my appointment time to be seen, my time is valuable too. They overbook these things to get their share of the insurance money for sure. I have now had 4 MRIs, thankfully this was the only one here. They call this one an open MRI but it wasn’t all that open and the worst part is the noise which was sooooo much louder than the other 3 MRIs I have had done. I think this might have been the first MRI machine ever made with the noise the way it was. My left ear is still ringing today from yesterday’s MRI. They gave me those cheap little foam ear plugs which were 100% useless in there. If you have a choice to go somewhere else I would take advantage, I sure wish I had driven a little farther for a better facility.

Went in for my first open MRI of my head. I was very nervous not knowing what to expect. I signed papers and waited about 5 minutes. Went in to the dressing room and locked up my items and entered the MRI room. Put the key to the side, lay down and get my legs up on a pillow. The lady said here is some earplugs because it is somewhat loud. The crown went over my head and then she stuffed padding so I wouldn’t move my head. She then hands me a button to push in case I need them to stop. The machine was making a weird drum noise. I told them they needed to add some lyrics to that. As I was getting rolled in to this huge donut thing the top comes down with it and it is about a foot from my head. Then the noise starts. It was 18 minutes of loudness. Some of those noises really made my body cringe that I wanted out of there. I knew I had to hang on and get it done. After 9 minutes they stopped to communicate and see how I was doing. I was moving a lot with my legs and arms because the noise was unbearable even with the ear plugs on. They said just keep my head still. They started up again for another 6 min. then stopped to check on me again. I said I wanted out, they said just 3 more minutes. I hung on and did it. My being in a squished area was not the problem, it was the loudness of the machine. It was that certain noise that made my body cringe. Not sure why, maybe because it was my head ears etc… I give this place 5 stars for being very courteous, patient & sympathetic. I would definitely go back if I had too, but not looking forward to doing an MRI on my brain again, ever. The machine noise was so loud & scary and made my body almost go in to anxiety mode, not the confinement of the machine on my head. The machine is not somewhat loud, it is very loud and scary. I didn’t know what it was doing. Had I been prepared for those noises, maybe it been of been much easier, not sure. But for those who go in for your brain, be prepared for a very loud experience!

I had my MRI at this site and was belief at the front desk by the courtious Cindy and Stephan. Wait time was brief, but they asked if I’d like sine water while I waited anyways. Sophia was my tech, she was incredibly sweet and helpful. Even being the last patient of the day on a Friday, the staff didn’t seem drained or annoyed at all. Quite the opposite. Would definitely return here.

About two hours after I left the one star review I was called by Francesca, the office manager asking me to explain what happened. She was very concerned that I had such a bad experience and wanted to make it right. I was given an earlier appt on a Fri night and arrived early, the front desk staff, Stephan, was very friendly. I waited about 30 min passed the apt time and Sophia the tech chatted with me and the MRI went fine. I guess sometimes the squeaky wheel really does get the grease!

Worked great for me! The waiting room was indeed packed, but I was seen fairly quickly. I went back to the MRI area, which was set apart from the chaos in the front room, and was quieter and darker. The technicians were really sweet, and they made me really comfortable in the open MRI (I would not have been able to do a closed one!). When we were done, they showed me my scans, which was really cool! I would go there again if I needed another open MRI. BTW: the office kind of came up on me suddenly off the side of the road, so drive a little slowly as you approach.

Too bad no stars is not an option. They lost my doctor’s referral. Then, when I got another one, they «put it in the wrong stack». Delayed my test for almost 1 month. Despite call before and extra time I allowed they ran very, very late. Watched other people being turned away because «their xray machine wasn’t working». Some who had come from many miles away. Icing on the cake: they submitted my insurance incorrectly, which has caused me so far to spend 2 ½ hours on the phone with insurer and with their inadequately staffed billing info. Good luck if you use them.
BTW the receptions could not have been more dismissive of the people who were coming for tests.

Came here for a pelvic ultrasound. They told me I needed to drink 32 oz of water before my appointment. I arrived at 4:30 and it’s been 1 hr, and I’m still sitting in the waiting area. My bladder is about to blow up. They shouldn’t have told me to drink the water at home hey should have just told me to come with 32 oz of water. Do not come to this place unless you have time to waste and to hear some Machismo comments by one of the service rep. After a 1hr and 45 minute wait I left.

Nice Place. Got a Mri done here and it was top class. Ken the manager was very professional and made me feel comfortable. Would go back in a heart beat.

Had to have my first ever MRI today and my doctor picked this location because they have an «open» MRI and I am seriously clostraphobic. I mean seriously. I’m in horrendous pain from what they think is a herniated disc in my back and couldn’t take pain medicine or anything for anxiety before going since I drove myself. I only add this because, frankly, I was already cranky and experiencing a high level of anxiety before walking in the door, something their poor techs had to deal with.
I am giving this establishment five stars because of the technicians that performed the MRI. The rest of the office was fine, but for someone like me, my ability to complete this task hinged totally on the two men who performed it. I hope I have their names right. Kenny seemed to be the senior tech or perhaps maybe a manager that I worked with and Dave was working along side him sort of like a right hand. I immediately told them I was freaking out and they immediately kicked in to «you can do this» mode even with my insisting I couldn’t. They both had personalities that I could warm up to and start to build trust with since I’m a wimp when it comes to things like this.
The net of it is that even though the x-​ray world and I have very different ideas of what «open» looks like, if not for these two men, there’s no way I would have made it. They were my cheerleaders and also made me feel safe in that I could trust that even though I couldn’t see them, I knew the second I hit the panic button they’d immediately stop. I know they worked as fast as they could because of the anxiety that was written all over my face and they convinced me I did a great job even though I’m pretty sure people like me make their jobs hell. Both were super supportive and acted as if they’d known me for a long time and that they were there to help me. And then they celebrated with me with some high fives and fist pumps when it was over.
I do plan to update this with more of precisely what they did that made this work, but at a minimum I wanted to get this up here tonight before calling it a night from the stress of today. They deserve many kudos and hopefully someone from management will read this and realize how lucky they are to have employees like this that took a pretty impossible situation and made it work. I am forever grateful and would return to this location for any imaging needs even though they aren’t that close to me.

Appointment was scheduled for 9am but arrived at 8:45 just in case I needed to fill out any papers. Finally was called in at 9:45. Told the young tech that my appointment was for 9. She said sorry she does the patients as they arrive. I asked then why make appointments. .she couldn’t answer. She just said sorry. Test was done in about 20 minutes but never was there an explanation as to the very long wait in the beginning.

Someone at the front desk needs customer service training. Nobody seems to want to go the extra step for anyone. This location doesn’t have the «ability» to receive auths online, so you have to run around and get the information for them. I would have given them one star had it not been for the last 4 people at least being polite. I would suggest the NorCal in Pleasanton. At least you don’t have to deal with the sub-​par customer service.

I’ve been to this lab several times both for myself and with my son. The place is pretty well-​organized and I haven’t had to wait too long for scheduled appointments. (I do not know how well their drop-​in x-​ray procedure works.) I have found the desk staff to be standard, i.e., not particularly friendly, but satisfactorily responsive, and the clinical staff to be kind and informative. I have never noticed any cleanliness problem, as one reviewer mentioned.
My only caveat is that on their answering message machine they tell you about this drop-​in x-​ray thing, but do not mention (what I did not know) that a mammogram is NOT an x-​ray. (Maybe everyone else understands that but me.) Anyway – you need an appt. for a mammogram. They do, however, take the time to tell you not to wear perfume.

I came across the Unilocal reviews for this facility when looking for their address and phone number. I have to admit I was concerned about going there for a CT scan on my neck after what I read.
I found that the facility was clean, they were right on time and my technician, Maria, was great! I was originally scheduled for am MRI but I chickened out because I am very claustrophobic. Maria than made sure I was comfortable with the CT scan, and assured me she would be monitoring me the whole time if I had a problem. I really appreciated that and advised her I might end up having to have an MRI in the future. She offered to show me the machine they have (which is different than the one I used many years ago for an MRI.) Very caring and professional! Jill L.

Norcal Imaging was a referral years ago from one of my doc.
–came here to take some tests (blood, x-​rays?)
.-walk up some flights of stairs,(didnt see any elevator
–my pulse became elevated. attendant got false reading i was bordering on high blood pressure.
from then on, i always good some rest or took a nap before taking any blood tests or pulse reading.

I have been a patient here for nearly 8 years. I transferred my care from Dr. London because I was tired of waiting 90 mins for appointment. NorCal Imaging is by far more superior when it comes to patient satisfaction. I am a patient for life.