Brown & Toland: Khidekel Irina

Frustrating experience. Ended up with them through Cigna which seems to outsource their Northern CA HMO plan to B&T. So none of the physicians on Cigna's website are actually in-network since you have to go to B&T doctors. I even went to a PT and they treated me for 2-3 sessions until they figured out they are not in-network for B&T. Just a frustrating mess.

Also B&T's website sucks - it's hard to find a PCP that's nearby. Lots of clicking around and calling doctors to see if they take new patients. Then our PCP just dropped B&T without telling us (and B&T didn't know about it either). Now we have to start the whole process from scratch again. We'll make sure we get off this network when we have the chance to get a new plan.

I joined the SCAN HMO offered under Medicare because providers were located at the Seton medical center about 2 miles away. SCAN is using Brown and Toland providers. I left a phone message a week ago requesting an appointment with my assigned PCP. I sent an email to the PCP a week ago asking them to call so I can set an appointment because my back is killing me. Earlier this morning I left another phone message requesting an appointment and also left a message at the Brown and Toland website.

As of this writing, no response and my back continues to ache. Am I expected to sit around at an Emergency Room with a $90 co-pay? Not sure as I'm not hearing a thing after a week. Draw your own conclusion.

I want to highly recommend Dr Jennifer Ross and Dr Dawn Corlland. I have seen Dr. Ross for over two or more decades in conjuction with Dr. Dawn Corltand. I have found them to be excellent in the medical care and support for my total health needs. I get through examinations, healthcare direction and very caring attention.

Beyond dysfunctional. how they have a medical contract is stupefying. I called and was cut off. they are amazingly terrible.

If I could give it no stars, I would. They obfuscate the medical needs of ailing patients by delaying approvals for legitimate, Physician ordered treatments by weeks, if not months. Who the hell are they, anyway? A bunch of sleazy lawyers who scrap dollars off insurance companies and actual medical treatment providers, while delaying the obvious. Considering a lawsuit, seriously considering.

They are criminals obfuscating access to timely medical treatment, pure and simple. Now they have delayed radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Also, avoid Accredo Pharma if possibe.

AS POSTED IN NEIGHBORHOOD.COM: CAUTION if you utilize MY CHART at Brown and Toland. After a doctor's visit, I received a message on MY CHART instructing me to discontinue a prescription drug I was taking. It indicated the message was from my doctor. As we had not discussed this during my appointment, I decided to directly check with my doctor.

He said I should ignore the message and not discontinue the drug. He indicated there were problems with the Brown and Toland web site. BOTTOM LINE.double check anything appearing in your MY CHART with your doctor. PS: Does anyone have the name and email contact for the head of Brown and Toland? I would like to report this directly to him or her.

I see I'm not the only one disgusted with Brown &Toland. My primary care physician is retiring so I need to find a replacement. The B&T list of primary care physicians anywhere near me is short and they are either not accepting new patients or have Yelp reviews that scare patients away. I find the B&T website useless and what information it provides is out of date. I have to find out information about each doctor by independently searching the internet

I would give zero stars if I could. Buyer beware. As a physician I've had many patients denied for services without even allowing a peer to peer review, which is generally standard when denying services. I've had multiple patients who qualified for and deserved acute rehab after serious hospitalizations or injuries, out of all the health insurance companies out there that my case managers have dealt with, only Brown & Toland has consistently declined those who qualified.

This includes a woman who was previously independent and broke her hip, even though she was a retired doctor, and though she and her family appealed B&T refused to acknowledge the clear indications, physician and physical therapy team recommendations, and the fact she had a qualifying stay. And again refused a peer to peer (doctor to doctor) review of the case.

On the flip side also had multiple patients who developed long term disabilities on top of baseline developmental disability that couldn't speak for themselves, and needed long term services, also denied. It seems they don't discriminate: they're generally bad and screw every patient equally no matter who you are and where you come from. I strongly recommend against this insurance and it's only a matter of time before the company cashes on what they've had as they disband to avoid law suits.

Somehow my PCP was assigned to this group. Since then they have implemented a web-portal interace which they portray as a way to communicate with your physicians and see your records. It has done neither. They also had a bot call me during dinner yesterday to have me take a survey. Avoid this group.

Brown & Toland is the single worst thing to have ever happened to healthcare. My 76-year old mother fell and broke her hip. Everyone on her healthcare team said that she needs acute rehab. They will not approve it, and More Crucially, they will not even allow for a peer to peer medical consult. Do you have family members you love. Do not let them sign up for Medicare with Brown & Toland

Good gawd I wish I'd read these reviews before I switched to B & T (and I wish I was not forced to give even one star). I switched only because my own PCP retired and I chose the new Dr. because she was listed on the Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation as an approved provider (and as an approved provider, my insurance would have covered it). It was not until after my physical with her, and then an emergency trip to the Sutter Urgent Care facility a few weeks later, that I learned that I no longer was part of Sutter and that I would have to contact B & T about where to go. B & T is impossible to reach by phone even during "regular business hours" and this was on a Saturday afternoon.

There were times I'd try to call but the phone would be dead. No voicemail, no greeting, nothing. It would appear that they list physicians on the Sutter website so they can poach patients from Sutter. Meanwhile I'm stuck with a $500 bill. Don't walk -- RUN -- away from Brown & Toland. It's a shame because I really liked the doctor. GRRRR

Worse medical group! Denies care for in network doctors. Trying to get to specialty takes months even with urgent necessity.

I'll get the actual medical care in a moment, but as far as navigating the call center, to use an oft used saying, I would give zero stars if I could. I thought John Muir Medical Group member services was bad, but Brown and Toland service takes the words surly, untrained, dishonest, and incompetent to new heights (or depths). The simplest requests are mishandled, slow-walked, or ignored.

If you can change medical groups, I highly suggest it, otherwise bring a lot of will and persistence with you before you call them. Then if you actually have an energy left to see a provider, make sure you do homework on your condition. You will need to be your own forceful advocate to get a procedure, test, etc. This issue is pervasive with most docs because of managed care and the profit-centric medical industry. B&T adds insult to injury to the whole system.

If Blue Shield HMO wasn't giving acupuncture benefits, I would switch to Kaiser in a heartbeat. In spite of Kaiser's downsides, at least they are organized and you don't need to be a full-time case manager on insurance matters.

Avoid this medical group at all costs. Hands down the worst experience I've ever had. I don't feel cared for. Every visit has been over the phone. They've given me zero help with a condition that's becoming a growing concern. I was sent to the incorrect lab for tests. When I finally made it to the correct lab for testing no one ever followed up to go over the results.

I tried calling the number to the practice within the group and the number routes you to an automated system and once you choose the dept you need to speak with, it puts you on hold then disconnects. There's no way to actually reach someone for a follow up.

Normally I think Brown & Toland are pretty good and have been very helpful so I'm giving them two stars. I was sent to Simon Med Imagining in San Francisco by my doctor, because apparently Brown and Toland patients are no longer able to choose any other imaging providers. There were no COVID precautions, except as noted below. I was not asked any questions about my health and my temperature was not taken.

None of the staff were wearing medical grade masks, but rather cloth masks. When I was brought back by the tech, I observed several staff members sitting at their workstations with masks hanging off their ears. My tech's nose was exposed the entire time my X-Rays were being taken and she came into close contact with me to position me for each image.

The final image required me to take off my mask and to open my mouth while the tech with the nose exposed was close to my face positioning me. I felt vulnerable and afraid and would not recommend people go here for imaging. Demand better from Brown and Toland and from your health care providers. * The only COVID precaution followed was social distancing in the waiting room and receptionists were wearing cloth masks with their face fully covered.

My interactions with this "organization" have been many over the years and always have been bad. Somehow they have ended up being the entity that I need to reimburse me for my flu shot, and every year it has been the same story: I file my claim and wait.and wait.and wait. Then I call, and they cannot locate my claim, so I refile. Now, come a new twist, instead of responding to my complaint, I receive a "secure" message on their website, which I am unable to access (wrong password). They promise a new password. Of course, I am still waiting. By the way, my rating is minus 1 star. One of the worst organizations I have ever dealt with! David J

Avoid this company. No way to get rid of their emails. They need an unsubscribe button.

A horrible nightmare. For some awful reason Alta Bates has put them in charge of their billing. They get everything wrong and are completely unreachable. Shame on Alta Bates for not taking care of this stuff themselves.

Worst physicians office I've ever experienced! They never answer the phone, you have to leave a message and hope to get a call back. I left 2 messages 4 days ago and never got a call back! I'll be selecting a new PCP that cares about their patients.

Because Oakland went into curfew, Brown & Toland's free testing sites near Lake Merritt/Centralized part of Oakland are now shut down. Today I called to determine if there were any sites available for a walk in or a scheduled appointment. The call center rep who picked up (Carolina) conveyed information with an incredibly unprofessional tone. It was jumping over multiple hurdles to extract information on alternative testing sights that were both walk in and appointment based.

I am surprised by the phone call this morning and escalated this to the next immediate supervisor who did not actively listen to my concerns. I simply ask for better and effective communication so that it helps reduce the amount of hurdles people like us have to jump through to get the right information. "You can just look online. I only know one that's open." It was an ungrateful tone, as if I ruined her morning with my questions.

Keep in mind I was firm, polite and professional in my tone. I conveyed my concerns and hoping they can iterate their scripts/communication styles so that the next old person that calls would not get so upset or frustrated.

The doctors associated with the group are terrible. They do not call you back, they do not bother to follow up on the tests done. I had to call the doctor so many times and still could not get hold of someone who could answer my questions. Stay away from this group if possible. I have changed to another group. I wish I had done this earlier.

Obstructionist agency featuring bottom of barrel service providers and sullen uninformed employees. This is a near scam operation you should avoid at all costs. Alta Bates used to be a decent group until B&T bought them. This is corporate malfeasance. Note 53 reviews on Yelp specify the pain this corporation causes - ranking 1.5 out of 5. Google reviews are inaccurate. We need a corporate accountability review group that we can post complaints to.

I have Dr Johnathan Lee. I've had many doctors in my life never have I ever had Dr as kind, caring and as knowledgeable as him. He is truly the best of the best. Further more Dr Gary Rust same thing best of the best. If you get blessed to get the Doctors your receiving top of the line care all my family goes to the true rock stars of the medical community. Earl Davis

I love Brown & Toland. I have had them for over 35 years, and I never had a problem. I have seen some great patience, friendly, knowledgeable physicians over the years. Most recently, my daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed, and everything went very smoothly. Even during my wife's pregnancy and up to my daughter's birth, they made sure we had appointments almost every week to monitor my wife.

My daughter came out perfectly fine without any complications or health issues. I really don't want these small clinics to go away. I would hate for something like Kaiser to take over. There are far too many horror stories from Kaiser: such as misdiagnosis or extremely late diagnosis. Those lead to lost loved ones or a permanent change in one's life.

This is a phenomenal group if you are 100% healthy and never have to go to a doctor. We have had to fight with them for coverage because we went to an emergency room when our son was not breathing while we were traveling but because we didn't get prior authorization they would not pay. To try and find out who is covered and what they will cover ahead of time is a joke as they just read what you can find out on the web site so calling for more clarification is a waste of time.

Bottom line, a lot of hops have to be jumped through in order to get to the correct provider, once you jump through those hoops coverage is not always covered. Anything outside of normal is most likely not covered.

What's worse than having to deal with insurance? Being limited to ONLY be able to use a tiny sub-set of specialists! It makes the terrible healthcare industry experience we have all come to know into a nightmare. I can never get into any of these offices, there are too few and they are understaffed! Awful.

I received excellent care from Brown & Toland Physicians when I had my baby. I felt like the doctors cared about me and were able to get everything approved quickly. There was not a lot of hassle even though I have an HMO.

I could not imagine worse care than I have received. I can not believe they are allowed to take money from anyone. If you care about your health stay as far away from this organization as possible. They force doctors to practice "conservative" medicine which means if something is truly wrong you might even be killed. Often drugs are less expensive than the copay they collect. Complete slime balls

This was copied from my review on Google. May 2017: Check out Brown & Toland's Yelp reviews. 34 1-star ratings out of 46 reviews. Nov 2017 Update: In my experience, Brown & Toland's customer service, doctors and staff's ability to deny/delay services, push expensive alternatives, and make you feel like their profits are more important than you and your loved ones pain and suffering -- is unparalleled.

This is a prime example of why our For-PROFIT healthcare system is terrible, and at the same time, the most expensive in the world. PS - Brown & Toland has gotten five more reviews on Yelp since May -- all 1-star ratings. The Yelp comments speaks volumes about their "business model" and "administrative services". Brown & Toland, thank you for your response [on Google review]. It's very similar to your customer service's useless and unhelpful, BS DoubleSpeak. When you sign up with a healthcare insurance company, make sure it uses Brown & Toland's "administrative services", to get Much More of the same!