San Carlos Center

Very unprofessional. I had the appointment for MRI Cervical Spine with and without contrast, but once I arrived at the site the technician told me they were going to do only the one without contrast because radiologist was out for lunch. This was my last chance to get this important examination done before the end of the year, but unfortunately I lost the benefits for the high deductible plan and this will cost me much more now. Premium cost for very very poor service. Also very rude people at the front desk when try to call for the radiologist report, which I've never received.

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews here about PAMF San Carlos. I usually visit once a month for blood draws and every few months for doctor visits for the past 7 years. The lab is great. Wait times are quite reasonable and results available through My Health Online within a day or so. The care I’ve received has been very good, though things have changed since Covid. It seems like there’s been a change in how Sutter bills so that the poor docs are really pressed for time and patients can’t discuss more than one issue at a time without the doc having to file more paperwork with separate billing codes, etc.

Before I visited the location, I received an estimate that my visit would cost ~$110. After the visit, I was shocked to receive a bill for over $700. I noticed there were coding errors (time spent, complexity of the matter, treatment required). I contacted billing, and they did a thorough coding review, and acquitted themselves of any errors (shocking, I know), and demanded that I pay the full amount. If I had known that the visit would cost over $700, I would not have made the visit. Their "estimate" is probably better described as "highway robbery", "bait and switch", "scam", etc. I expect an estimate to be in the ballpark of the amount i would pay-- not in the stadium on the other side of the continent. 0 accountability, 0 empathy, and 0 responsibility. EDIT: I have received a partial refund which brought the overall bill to a much more reasonable range of the estimate. As such, I am bumping up this review by one star. If it weren't for the horrible experience I had with Sutter's billing personnel, I would have considered removing this review entirely.

Be EXTREMELY careful before getting any services from this provider. Double or triple check with your insurance. I was charged $800 for a single 45 min PT appointment alone with my insurance only covering $50. That’s on top of being charged $166 for a question I asked my doctor during my annual Physical and a soon to hit over $1300 bill for other services. This place will brankrupt you if you’re not careful

I am very disappointed with the experience I’ve had with the PAMF billing office. My husband has dual insurance coverage, and PAMF is covered by his secondary insurance. Despite this, we kept receiving bills and even threats to send our account to collections. I called the billing office repeatedly—almost daily—to understand why the secondary insurance had not paid, only to later discover that PAMF never billed the primary insurance first as required. It took many phone calls and a great deal of stress to resolve something that should have been handled correctly from the start. This has been a very frustrating and time-consuming experience, and I hope PAMF can improve their billing communication and coordination in the future.

I'll give the hospital two stars because my doctor was great, but after a 30 minute visit and a few blood draws, I'm getting a bill for $2,300. I've had similar processes done with other medical organizations and the cost is maybe $250. I would beware to go here as none of the charges are explained and apparently the doctor can mark you as a "severe" case without your knowledge (I'm not), thus increasing the charges. Currently trying to get a hold of somebody who can help, but all I'm getting is threats of being taken to collections over my bill.

The waiting time was more than 1 hour!!! My appointment was 10am, and I did not see the doctor until 11:15am.