Chen Terence L, MD

I had a n appointment with Dr. Chen at 4:00 p.m. for my sport injury on my back. I was told that that I have to be there at 3:30 for paper work. I requested all the paper work and completed. I arrived at Dr. Chen’s at 3:40 (I was seeing a patient who needed more time). When I arrived at Dr. Chen’s office The receptionist was rudely told me that I was late. I told her that all of my paper work was ready and I was running late because I was seeing a patient myself and I already called the office. The receptionist told me that I can’t see Dr. Chen since I was 10 mins. late even though my paperwork was complete. I told her to ask Dr. Chen about my situation and he also refused to see me. Please note that this appointment was the 3^rd appointment since the other 2 was cancelled by Dr. Chen’s office because of other conflicts a day before my appointment. I am also a Dr. with a busy schedule and each time my appointment was cancelled it affected my schedule since the patients on my waiting list were not able to come for that specific time. In addition to what we learn in medical school, many training programs emphasize on the bedside manner and compassion toward patient (at least the reputable ones). I also try to emphasize the attitude of compassion and care when I train my office staff. Unfortunately, Dr. Chen didn’t seem to have this training for his office staff since he didn’t possess the compassion and caring attitude himself. One of the greatest asset for any person in the medical field is to show compassion and care as well as understanding the situation of their patients. When I was teaching in the medial school I told my students that «your patients don’t care how much you know as long as he or she doesn’t know how much you care!». Before I left Dr. Chen’s office I told her receptionist that if I die of back pain and he is the only physician in town, I will NEVER go to him again. A physician who doesn’t care about his patients & is lacking compassion is USELESS!

Dr. C — You simply rock! Dr C was my surgeon for a fusion and I can honestly say that I felt I was in the very best hands.
John Muir Hospital — you have a total winner. I’m a raving fan of John Muir Hospital as a result of the care not only from Dr Chen but the entire staff involved in my recovery.

On November 20^th I suffered from a freak fall. After being treated at the Emergency Room at Sutter Delta Hospital for more than 3 hours, they determined that I needed to be transferred to JMMC. I was assigned to Dr. Terrence Chen to handle the surgery of my C-​4 fracture. He was extremely straight-​forward on my various options. I spent 6 days in the ICU unit awaiting a surgery date. The staff at the ICU unit were some of the most caring, attentive Professionals that I have ever dealt with. They reassured me that Dr. Chen’s reputation was impeccable. My wife researched Dr. Chen’s background and came up with the same conclusion. The surgery went well and I was released within 3 days of the surgery. It has been almost a week since my surgery and I am walking on my own, and seeing great progress on a daily basis.
I am extremely fortunate to have had Dr. Chen perform my surgery. Most importantly I am grateful to be alive, not paralyzed and on the road to a full recovery. Thank you Dr. Chen!!!