Below is a message I received from Karen B. Content in [ ] added for clarification and online optimization.
Hi Paul!
I am absolutely appalled and utterly disgusted with the treatment I received at OMG Riverside (Orthopedic Medical Group of Riverside) . The last 4.5 months have been an absolute nightmare.
In July I broke my leg, and because I had to be treated immediately, I had no time to switch my network out of Riverside (I now live in San Diego). I was forced into their care due to the urgency of my injury. The doctors and staff at OMG Riverside [ Orthopedic Medical Group of Riverside ]have made this experience the longest, most stressful time- physically and emotionally. I truly believe, had I not been in their care, I would be in a much better place now in terms of my recovery.
Where do I even begin…
I had to repeat my situation to every single person I came into contact with- even being asked multiple times what I was there to be treated for… despite already being an established patient.
I waited to be seen, a minimum, of 2 hours for every appointment. Once I was taken to a room, I could wait up to 1 hour for the doctor to even enter the room. All the while, I was in the dark and would be scolded if I asked how much longer. Keep in mind, I was driving the 2 hours from San Diego to the provider on top of this extra wait time.
On top of that, the women at the front desk have the most horrendous attitudes- over the phone and in person. My suggestion- if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. People like that should not be around patients who are undergoing a stressful time as it is. The lack of compassion and empathy is unbelievable.
If I called the office to get information about anything at all- or to ask for an update on a pending authorization, etc. , I never got what I needed. Every time, without fail, I was sent to the voicemail of my doctor’s assistant and I would never receive a call back. The message machine says to give 48 hrs. for a return call. I gave them 72 hrs. sometimes even more, and when I would call back to follow up- I would be scolded by the girls- asking me to stop nagging them and that they had many other patients to take care of as well… and that they would get to me when they got to me.
I was treated by Dr. Uppal [Dr. Sunny Gurvinder Uppal ], He performed a surgery on my leg, and it did not go as planned. He kept pointing fingers at me for reasons as to why the surgery didn’t go as planned- he said my bones were not of good quality without ever doing any kind of test to verify that. (Now with my new doctor I find, after testing, my bones are just fine, and it was in fact his failure to perform).
When I would ask questions, he would laugh and almost never gave me the answers I was looking for. He was terrible at communicating and did not respect the doctor patient relationship. He was constantly saying “If you were my daughter… I’d do this and that” and treating me as such, and it was not appreciated. He did not respect my questions at any point.
Now, when Dr. Uppal [ Sunny Gurvinder Uppal, M.D. ] suggested I needed a second surgery- he had his partner in his office give me a “second opinion” (which makes no sense because apparently Uppal is the director over the office, no bias there….).
The second doctor that saw me was Dr. Baima [ Richard Biama, MD – Joint & Trauma Surgeon ] He had not even discussed with Dr. Uppal my situation. Nor had he seen my x rays until he was right in front of me that same day, and within seconds, declared I needed surgery.
When my father and I asked him to give us a better understanding as to why, he said, “I think my 4 years of medical school and 2 years of residency qualify me to know what I’m talking about.” I kid you not, word for word. At this point, I chose to switch providers.
I am now trying to have them provide my new doctor with my medical records so I can proceed with treatment. HOWEVER, their incompetence continues to delay my care. I called about a month ago to request my records. A gentleman in the office told me they were going to be mailing my records and I should receive them the following week. I confirmed and got off the phone, glad I wouldn’t be dealing with them again.
After not receiving them in the time promised, and waiting an extra reasonable amount of days, I called back and was told that I was not telling the truth because it didn’t show in their records that anyone had requested anything; it isn’t my fault that they didn’t document things. I have my phone records to prove the calls made. Understand, I cannot make the appointment with my new Orthopedic Specialist until I receive those records, so until then I remain in the dark regarding my remaining recovery time.
I have been in a cast for the last 4.5 months, not the usual timeline for my kind of injury, with no end in sight at this point. It has been incredibly stressful, physically and emotionally, and all I want to do is move on at this point.
I just got off the phone with them and I am at my breaking point. NOBODY deserves to be treated like that.
It’s unfortunate that they get away with all of this. I want to fight them and make sure that nobody else is treated this way. These providers are dealing with people in sensitive and volatile situations- dealing with people’s HEALTH AND LIVES. They should be kept accountable.
THANK YOU THANK YOU for creating this site. I hope one day that place is shut down.
