My (adult onset T1 diabetic for eleven years) boyfriend has been a patient of Dr. Thorsell's team…read morefor years, and we have previously been to a number of other endocrinologists in SLO, SF, NYC, and OC. None have been half as competent or caring. Her staff is friendly, helpful, and timely. We've never waited more than 15 minutes to be seen. Refills are faxed promptly to our pharmacy. We are treated with respect, which is unusual in the healthcare realm (what? your patient isn't an absolute moron?!?). They've done more for his diabetes management than any other endo, and on top of that, they can personally relate to type 1 diabetes, which helps immensely. Despite the fact that I love being able to reach them and get stuff dealt with quickly, and I don't want her to become another overbooked SLO doctor's office, I recommend Dr. Thorsell to everyone I meet who needs an endocrinologist.

Dr. Ashley Thorsell is dangerously bad at caring for type 1 diabetics!…read more At my appointment she was condescending and rude! She kept insisting that I do things her way. (Even though I told her multiple times that I had already tried her suggestions and they didn't work for me because they negatively affected my health!) Living with type 1 diabetes for 28 years, I'm not exactly an amateur at managing a diabetic lifestyle and would appreciate not being treated like one. Then to add insult to injury, she kept insisting that I follow her "meal plan". When I told her that I don't have time to do that, even though I made an effort to, she made a comment that she has a 1 year old at home and still has time to eat with that meal plan! (Her "meal plan" causes my blood sugar levels to be low for most of the day which is problematic because I have 2 young kids at home. I don't have time for my blood sugar levels to be constantly low!) Stubborn behavior like that just proves how little she listens to her patients! Because, I told her multiple times that I'm a stay at home mom! I'm "glad" she has the time to eat her "meal plan" during a paid lunch break while she's at work and her child is being cared for by somebody other than their own mother (actually that may be a good thing for the child) but that routine doesn't work for me. Being a doctor she should be a little more open to the possibility that other people live different lifestyles than her own if she wants to succeed. Her office staff isn't any better either! (Maybe there is something in the office water?) For the entire time that I was a patient of Dr. Ashley Thorsell, they showed the upmost incompetence. Never once managing to be capable of a task as simple as handling my diabetes supply order. The diabetes supply company even tried to get them to cooperate multiple times. The inability of the entire office to perform their jobs correctly ultimately led to having to switch endocrinologists. I highly suggest ALL of her type 1 diabetic patients do the same! Word of advise for those considering Dr. Ashley Thorsell as your possible endocrinologist... JUST DON'T!

She listens and takes the time needed not just another number I like her and would recommend herread more

This is entirely based on the non-professional and compassion-lacking staff, as well as the…read morecritical over-referrals. I can't say anything about the doctor, other than that she allows patients to go untreated for 8 months before a 1st appointment. Yes, I know I live in a place where it is difficult to get proper care. That said: I have been waiting OVER 2 months for an urgent referral to even be evaluated to see if she will accept me as a patient on both VA and private insurance referrals. I have been meanwhile hospitalized for the problem. Twice they have been resent the referral, but no one can tell me when/if it will ever be reviewed. And I'm told even if I'm approved as a patient, the earliest appointments are January/Feb 2022. So a minimum 8 months to even get seen the 1st time as a new patient, even on an urgent referral. If you are so short-staffed you cannot adequately care for patients, if you are so booked that it is 2+ months before you even start an urgent referral, *STOP ACCEPTING REFERRALS*. THIS IS BORDERING ON MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE. Since I'm certain I won't get a contact any time soon, I've gone ahead and arranged to drive to LA for treatment at the VA hospital. No one should have to make a choice like this. A 6+ hour round trip for care, simply because a specialist in the community is so horrible at handling referrals. I would say it's a shame they are treating a veteran this way, but from the conversations I have had with them, it seems that they treat EVERYONE this poorly. Do NOT let your doctor refer you to this office if you need care in the next 8 months.

Is It Worth The Wait?…read more When my wife and I moved from the Bay Area to the Central Coast of California in late April 2018, one of our tasks was to find a new set of doctors. For us, that meant a family doctor plus specialists in dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, rheumatology and, of course, dentistry. Moving is not an easy job! Before making our choices, we scoured my insurance plan and various review websites, such as Healthgrades, Google and even Yelp. For my endocrinologist, I chose Dr Knecht who is part of a 2 doctor practice called Central Coast Endocrinology. The first 2 times I met Dr Knecht was in their Pismo Beach location. The 3rd time was scheduled for their office in Santa Maria, but I didn't actually get to see him. Dr Knecht is very knowledgeable about his area of expertise and a nice guy who takes time to explain...something which should not be underestimated. However, he's also a bit disorganized and doesn't exactly watch the clock. His small office in Pismo Beach looked like the aftermath of a tornado. A 40 minute meeting might be good once you get in to see him, but your blood pressure is likely to rise while waiting a long time in a reception chair for the appointment to start. I waited 30 minutes for my introductory meeting...then 40 minutes for my follow-up. After sitting 30 minutes before my 3rd get together in Santa Maria, I just told one of the women I couldn't stay any longer and left. I like a good doctor as much as the next person...especially one covered by my insurance plan...but I've provided professional services for the past 26 years and never had a client wait more than 15 minutes. It can be done.

For the past two years, I've been getting bills in the mail from this Dr. whom I've NEVER seen for…read morea service i NEVER recieved. I've called their billing department multiple times and called the office over and over, trying to get this to stop. The bills keep coming, and I keep throwing them away.

Terrible customer service The office answering machine…read moresystem is a joke. They don't want to help you unless you fit into one of the categories. This doctor's office is actually located in Santa Maria with a satellite office in SLO. I had the NP Set up an entire plan of care based on 11 year-old lab data. I was still charged for the appointment. The medical care on the central coast is rather disheartening.

If I could give it a negative start I would. It's 5 years later from the last review and nothing…read morehas changed. I've been calling for about a month and still haven't received a call back to even make an appointment. I would totally reconsider if there were any other providers close to me that my insurance covered.

When i can actually speak to a real person ill let you know ‍but the AI person speaks very nice ‍read more

Have called several times and they do not answer their phone or return phone calls when you say…read moreyou're going to

We found Samantha to be very knowledgeable and helpful in guiding us on a reduced Potassium diet…read moreand a diabetic diet. (The are opposite). Samantha gave us several useful handouts to take home for meal planning. She also provided an overview of the biology (how insulin works in the body and the impacts of high potassium levels in the blood. We recommend her!

Came in for some help on a low salt / no salt diet for my wife. The diet is necessary to maintain…read moreher blood pressure. While the doctor was friendly it became apparent that she had not a clue about a low / no sodium diets. She provided zero suggestions, even making the comment that we knew more about this style diet than she did. Would not recommend.