Puget Sound Gastroenterology

Absolutely clueless.
I’ll refrain from naming names but a certain doctor said she didn’t believe SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) exists. Um, okay, so you’re just going to ignore the countless doctors and peer reviewed research documenting the undeniable existence of a well known condition? What the hell?!
Never mind the fact that I was diagnosed at Cedars Sinai and by the doctor who discovered the damn disease. Clearly that’s all made up too, right?!
As a result they concocted some other bogus diagnosis and threw some pills at me that did nothing.
With that said, their reception is quite courteous and professional and appointments can be made very easily — in case, you know, you wanted to see a doctor who doesn’t believe in medical research.

I have had three appointments at the Seattle location. One was fine, the second appointment the doctor NEVER SHOWED UP. After I waited for an hour and a half the receptionist said, «oh yeaaahhh. He’s still in surgery». Now is my third appointment and I am waiting for my fun filled colonoscopy. When I walked in the receptionist said he was running an hour late. The nurse came out to talk to me and she acted like it was a blessing to be in her presence. If I need any more of this type of service, I am going elsewhere. Or pack a lunch. And dinner.

The good: This place appears efficiently run and has some good nurses.
The less good: The doctor did not speak to the patient or the driver after the procedure. A nurse sent us home with no instructions, just a two page document with no useful information. Also, pre– and post-​procedure, I was not permitted to see my spouse despite asking the nurse.
Overall, it is fine for medical care as far as I can tell, but don’t expect courtesy from anyone working there.

I don’t recommend the Edmonds location. I’ve had to call twice to get results from tests I for over a month. Poor follow-​through. Either poor training, or too cheap to hire more staff. Find somewhere else to go.

This is the first time I have visited a gastroenterologist, and I have been pleasantly surprised by the service and care I have received at this clinic.
I scheduled an appointment here because I had been feeling sick for months, and finally decided that my upset stomach wasn’t going away on its own and I needed to take action. I was able to get one at SGA within two weeks, whereas other gastroenterology clinics were giving me appts 1 month out. My doctor is Dr. Hinds, nurse is Ophelia. I appreciate the level of attention I have received from both of them. I think it’s important to establish a line of communication with the folks at SGA — once I had called while waiting for results and expressed how I was feeling, Ophelia and Dr. Hinds offered me an OTC regimen of meds to try to calm my stomach down in the meantime. After that, they checked up on me frequently. I now have a diagnosis and am feeling much better, and Ophelia has made herself available to me by both phone and email.
The attitude of the employees at SGA has never been anything other than friendly — even when I went in for an early morning (7am) procedure (after being up all night prepping and in a pretty weird mood), everyone was helpful and kind. This was my first time having any of the tests/​procedures I had done (I’m only 25), and I was nervous at first, but was ultimately put at ease by the nurses and the doctor. Dr. Hinds is pretty no-​nonsense, but I appreciate that in my doctor. I want to talk about what’s wrong and how I’m feeling, and have that be the focus of my visits.
Yes, prepping for a colonoscopy is a nightmare. But having the procedure done has put my mind at ease and helped me toward a diagnosis. This clinic made the entire process as comfortable yet efficient as possible. Check them out!

Perhaps I should leaven my review by stating that I haven’t really had any other experiences with GI docs to compare it to my experiences with SGA…
Then again, maybe the fact that I have undergone more than a dozen procedures with them and feel absolutely no need to go anywhere else is the most telling detail?
I have had multiple endoscopies and colonoscopies, both in the Fremont clinic and in Swedish-​Ballard hospital when they started using general anesthesia (I’m a big guy and was waking up before they had finished when they put me under normal sedation).
The staff is pleasant and low-​key and efficient as hell, which is just what I want in that sort of situation. I have rarely waited longer than 5 minutes, and when I have run late to an appointment, they have been very forgiving.
The docs have all been professional and showed an interest in me and my situation beyond just being another procedure to be billed. I would absolutely recommend SGA to anyone.

Dr. Shaw, who is moving to The Everett Clinic, has been a phenomenal doc. He diagnosed my colo-​rectal cancer — and possibly saved my life — 8 years ago. I’ve gone back for colonoscopies every year since then… so I have a lot of experience with this clinic.
They are a pretty no hassle place. Endoscopies and colonoscopies they have down pat. You are in and out as efficiently and painlessly as possible. Top notch.
Reviewers for a clinic like this one have to alway be cognizant that the prep for a procedure like a colonoscopy is awful… no doubt about it. But feeling awful to ready oneself for the procedure shouldn’t reflect on the clinic. It’s what you have to do to clean our your intestines.
Highly recommended place.

Who really wants to (in essence) volunteer to be poked, prodded, pricked and probed and then be handed a bill for the pleasure afterwards?
I went there to have two procedures involving cameras north and south and although the reception staff always seemed curt, harried, almost indifferent and possibly being trained, they were efficient enough for the task.
The nursing staff appeared more professional. My pre-​procedure meeting with a nurse and then doctor went smoothly and I felt they were understanding and yet clinically aloof. Fine by me. One doesn’t need «sympathy» at a doctor’s.
The day of the procedures went well enough. The receptionist (again) curt yet efficient but the nurses were great. I think I had an interaction with at least 4 of them, and no complaints in regards to their attitude or competency. The doctor was pleasant and reassuring and I left, albeit drugged and woozy, feeling that I had been treated well.
All in all, if one has to go through these sorts of procedures on a semi-​frequent basis, I think one could do a lot worse than choose SGA.

Changed the appt, and made a feeble effort to inform me about it, so I only found out I wasn’t having a colonoscopy after I’d been taking the poop-​it-​all-​out stuff. Spent the night crapping on the toilet. I just got back from dropping by their office, where the nurse was INCREDIBLY cold & rude, and couldn’t muster even the tiniest apology. Like I did something wrong. I was there to make a new appt, but I’m never going back.

Thought Dr. Shaw was very good, but I can’t get over how poorly the office is run. Two days to get a call back on blood test restuls — unacceptable. Their reception desk can’t handle the load of incoming calls on a Monday. Like, their phone system will hang up on you type of can’t handle it. I just called back in reply to a voice message I received last Thursday, only to be told (after waiting on hold again — twice) that the nurse will need to call me back. I’m not holding my breath.

When I first called Dr. Shaw they got me in in less than a week. I was surprised considering most specialists in Seattle have a month or two waiting list. When I saw the dr. he was very nice, straightforward and to the point. I needed both a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. I was surprised when they were able to schedule both procedures a couple days later. Also, the dr. forgot to give me something and the nurse called me later that day and offered to drop it off at my house! I’ve never felt such great treatment! Anyway, I was having some issues with a medication and had to call the dr./nurse. They called back within a couple hours and we got it all squared away over the phone. They even gave me medication samples, which was very helpful. I fully recommend seeing Dr. Shaw. Great treatment, fast service, and very nice nurse!!!
Oh, also, they were able to take my DSHS coupon. How awesome is that?!

Well, considering the circumstances in which I had to visit here, I wasn’t thrilled. But the receptionists were friendly, and my doctor (Dr. Wegely) was one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever talked to. The RN was a little weird, but still pleasant.
I made an appointment yesterday, and was scheduled for Friday. But then they called me back and let me know there was an opening, and it was all mine if I wanted.
Very efficient, very nice building, very nice staff.
I think maybe Laina was having a bad Monday.

My experience with SGA was, unlike Laina’s, relatively brief. It consisted of: primary doctor suggests seeing them, me calling and getting an appointment two days later, me going in, signing in, seeing the doctor, getting blood drawn, and then leaving.
Two days, for a non-​time-​critical condition, isn’t bad. The receptionist was a little curt at times, but generally friendly. The doctor who examined me was good, Dr. Steven Shaw. Not great or particularly noteworthy, but helpful and happy to answer my questions. The nurse that took my blood was a little annoyed, but in the «I’m filling in for someone else today so can’t find anything» sort of way, so mostly excusable. The doctor and nurse both seemed very knowledgeable and competent, if not the most outgoing.
So in my brief visit, I found the personnel to be generally neutral towards me, which is good enough for me, but certainly not as good as it could have been.

My first experience with the docs at Seattle Gastroenterology Associates (SGA)dates back to my first Swedish stay, back in April. I was in the hospital on a Saturday and a doctor (doctor #1)from SGA came to visit me. I shared with him the condensed version of my medical background as he didn’t have much time and that I was currently not happy with my present gastro at Harborview. He seemed
eager to tell me about their new fancy shmancy location in Fremont. The doctor was friendly enough, but apparently did not take any sort of notes.
I was only in the hospital for the weekend and was instructed to call and make my follow up appt on Monday. As instructed, I called SGA to make an appt to see the doctor (doctor #2) recommended by doctor #1. When I first called, my call was directed to an answering service. No big deal, I was calling around lunch time. I called later and the phone call was answered by a curt front desk employee. Ok, I guess she’s having a bad Monday. I told her that I had been referred to doctor #2 by doctor #1 by way of a hospital visit. They made my appt for the next day, which I was happy about.
The next day I arrive on time and when I enter I am not greeted by anyone at the front desk. I’m standing there waiting to be acknowledged, and when I am finally noticed it was like «Yes?», like I had popped in for some fun times and they were pissed off at me. Let me tell you, when you’re in office of doctors whose days consist of performing colonoscopies and endoscopies and diagnosing all sorts of horrible diseases, you don’t just «drop in for the heck of it».
I’m finally acknowledged, albeit grudgingly, and am told to sit and wait for my appt despite that fact that I was there on time and had had them fax me all the paperwork so I could have it all filled out and ready when I came in. I wait and I wait. I had been hoping to actually get this whole visit done in about an hour. That didn’t happen.
Finally, after about 20 minutes waiting in the main waiting room, I am brought back by an equally pissed off nurse. Ok, what is wrong with this place? In the hospital, doctor #1 had pimped this place out and how great the location was, all shiny and new, bought from a dot-​com company that recently went bust. Maybe the previous depression stuck around and permeated the place, but I was NOT impressed so far.
Pissed off nurse weighed me and took my vitals and stuck me in a room. I waited and read some super boring magazines (not even any old People rags around!) for another 20 minutes or so. By this time, I was pretty pissed. When the doctor finally came in, doctor #2, he seemed rushed and eager to get me out of there. He asked me what my needs were and I told him. He did not have any of the information I had provided to doctor #1 when he visited me in the hospital. I don’t mind talking to my doctors and giving them my medical background, but whatever happened to doctors talking to each other? I shared with doctor #2 what my immediate needs were in regards to medication. I needed to have one oral prescription written and another medication I receive is administered intravenously every 8 weeks. For this, I would like to set up either early morning or late afternoon appts as to not interfere much with my work schedule. I actually like my job and like to be there, so the less time away and the less sick time I can use, the better. Doctor #2 assured me that this wouldn’t be a problem and that a nurse would call me «soon» to set up my next appt for my medicine. And that was it. A very awkward visit and I didn’t feel that we had accomplished a lot, other than I would be contacted «soon» to set up my appt to receive my medicine.
So, some time passed and I was never contacted by anyone from the SGA Fremont office. It was getting close to when I needed to actually receive my medicine, so I called to schedule my appt. I was given the run around by a very rude front desk staff. One phone call was answered «You’re 5^th in the queue». Not even a «Hello, will you please hold» but «you’re on hold and I’m going to be awhile and don’t give a rats ass why you are calling». When I finally got to talk to someone, I was still being given the run around. After devoting a day to getting the appt I needed, I was finally set up for Monday.
I had my appointment for my medicine on 5 – 21. The next day, I was in severe pain and called the nurse to see if I should come in. Given my recent health issues, I was advised to go immediately to the ER and if admitted, my doc would be in to see me right away. I was admitted that day, had surgery the next morning, and that doctor never bothered to follow-​up with me while in the hospital or with a phone call or written correspondence. I have since found a GREAT new doctor and would like to advise everyone NOT to go here.
*Please msg me for further info. I don’t want to trash talk anyone, thus I didn’t want to name names here, only share my bad experience and lack of care.