In 2010, my G.I. physician, Dr. Kwon noticed my liver numbers were elevated; after an abdominal MRI and another round of blood work, she referred me to Dr. Ostroff at UCSF for a diagnostic procedure called an ERCP. After the procedure, Dr. Ostroff and his team (also highly qualified professionals) determined I had a rare biliary liver disease and determined the course of treatment. Needless to say, I was relieved we had an answer; a quick phone call to my cousin, also a (GI doc at Temple University) confirmed I had someone who is considered an expert in his field. Her first words were, "you are in excellent hands, he'll take great care of you". I also have Crohns disease, it has become controlled while under his care. Some reviewers have mentioned Dr. Ostroff is brisque and a poor communicator but I disagree; he is an extraordinarily busy man with a large amount of responsibility, he publishes peer-reviewed papers (in addition to conducting research at a busy teaching hospital) and doing procedures, both adult and pediatric. While it does take a little time for him to warm up, I don't expect him to hold my hand and be my therapist, that's not what he's there for! Others have mentioned that they were not fully sedated prior to the scope being inserted but after dozens of ERCP and colonoscopy procedures, that has never been the case for me. I've always been completely under sedation prior to the procedure. A few qualities I appreciate in Dr. Ostroff are that he's impressively intelligent, straight forward and highly-skilled. He also gathers professionals on his GI service and office staff (like Karen Bagatelos) who share the same qualities. In all aspects of treatment, I have found him easy to talk to, forthcoming with answering my questions in a straight forward manner, using language that was easy to understand. Dr. Ostroff is professional, talented and highly competent. I highly recommend him. read more

I have been a patient of James Ostroff MD since May 11, 2018 when he performed my pre-operative studies for a hiatal hernia repair. He is a solo practice UCSF Gastrointestinal specialist with 41 years of experience. When my surgeon told me I needed the work up, I asked him for a direct referral to the best G.I. doctor at UCSF. This is the man. His staff has been with him in his office for 21 years. But tells me he's a wonderful boss. This man is a highly respected specialist by his UCSF medical peers. He has taken excellent care of me since my September 13, 2018 surgery. I highly recommend anyone who has concerns about your visit at his office, to speak with his staff directly Or to contact Ucsf Patient Relations. I have upmost confidence in this doctor and his team. He's the best of the best and I'm very grateful for his care and compassion in my case. His Nurse Practioner Karen has been with Dr. Ostroff for many years and is on top of the patient Communications. I trust her professional judgment. Dr. Ostroff and his team are fantastic. read more

I am fan of dr. Ostroff and Karen bagatelos. Yes, bring a book. I've never been seen quickly, but I admire the team and honestly started here in 2005. He treated me for ten years before ultimately having a pancreatectomy. He was always kind to me. So, take it as you will. I was deathly ill and he did what he could for me. Karen is a gem. I love the staff here and feel that he helped me through a horrible illness and if you need an ercp, he's your guy. Don't go to a doc in the box of you have a pancreas problem. I was referred here by a gi in the east bay due to my condition. Anyway. I haven't anything bad to say about him. He's a busy man so you do have to wait forever....but it's cause in demand and few are as capable as he in pancreas abnormalities. Best wishes to anyone who has to go. read more

Dr James Ostroff has truly saved my quality of life for now and my future. We have been at it over 2 years, which started with procedures every 4 weeks and are now up to every 4 months. My esophagus and stomach were damaged when I was given poison (lye) to drink. Five other doctors said I had to have my esophagus and top of stomach removed and they would use my large intestine to create a new feeding tube for me. I was sent to Dr Ostroff for the pre-surgery screening by a young GI doctor in Lodi who said, "if you were my mother I would want you with the team at UCSF yesterday or sooner." Dr Ostroff said he thought he could help me while keeping my esophagus - and he has! Yes, as others describe, I was in pain still for the first year and a half with him. I don't believe in pain medication so was not bothered that he didn't offer medication for pain. I have had many procedures. My initial appointment with him was over 3 hours late (and I had arrived over an hour early so was in the office about 6 hours), but the others in the waiting room assured me he was worth the wait. His bedside manner is not the best -- he is a man of few words. I never needed him to talk to me. I only ever needed to be repaired so I could function like a normal person again without losing any body parts. He has done that. It took time for him to get my body to the level it needed to be for him to actually do any fixing (my esophagus was quite narrow when we started due to the damage.) I now can eat most foods without them getting stuck in my esophagus. I do not have chronic 24/7 pain in my chest from costochondritis aggravated by my spasming esophagus and stomach any longer. I have my life back. If you truly want to be fixed - your body damage repaired - I strongly suggest you simply trust that this man knows far more than you can ever know about the workings of your body. Trust that he can and will do everything possible to get you back into working order. Understand that he isn't a big communicator and leverage the nurses for more insight into what is being done. Plan for extra time with office visits and often with procedures too because when someone has an emergency he is often the doctor called to save their life. (If it was you having that emergency, you would want him to make his appointments wait so he could save your life too.) I highly recommend Dr James Ostroff. read more

I was under Dr. Ostroff's care for over two years. During that time, my chronic abdominal pain was never properly diagnosed or treated. My condition was hard to diagnose, and it was only after I switched to another doctor that I got a proper diagnosis. While under Doctor Ostroff's care, I got a completely unnecessary gall bladder removal surgery done which did nothing to alleviate my symptoms. I am sensitive to the fact that my condition was hard to diagnose, but my biggest complaint with this doctor is his policy of consistently overbooking his patients and having them wait for several hours for their appointments. All these times, the staff never called me ahead of time to say they were running behind. On most visits I had to wait over two hours, and on one visit I had to wait over three hours while suffering waves of nausea attacks. Every twenty minutes or so I would rush to the restroom, vomit, and then have to come back and wait. Inexcusable. Since switching to a new doctor, I now know that I have a chronic condition known as SOD (Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction), which was properly diagnosed by him in about six months. I am now on medication that successfully treats my condition and I have been able to stop taking large amounts of Vicodin, which was necessary before my new doctor found the proper treatment and diagnosis. read more

This is of course based on my personal experience. Supposedly Dr. Ostroff is a leader in his field. But as far as interacting with the patient, their family, acting like he cares, he's far from effective and far from sincere. Dr. Ostroff's tone and the way he worded things made me feel demeaned and unimportant. He came across as really cocky and a bit sleezeballish, like he was doing little naive me a huge favor. My colonoscopy prep and the procedure itself were the most uncomfortable I've ever experienced, and I've had several! Good riddance! read more

As others have stated...yes, there can be a wait to see him. because of his knowledge I would wait any amount of time. My first visit he took the time to answer all of my questions as well as any questions my mom had. I have been living with pancreatitis for 10 years or more, had given up hope of getting any relief. It is to a point that the pancreas does not even produce enzymes properly so blood work does not come back indicating an episode of pancreatitis. so, after answering questions and quick exam he tells me ...we are going to fix you. Have had several ERCP procedures. They help. If I have questions or concerns I can send email and always get a response. I am very pleased with him and his staff and feel very fortunate to be under his care. Just wish he was closer. read more

This was one of the most disrespectful wastes of my time in all of my dr visits. About me: I have been trying to track down a health issue for 18 months. I have had dozens of drs visits and over a dozen procedures with no answers in sight. I was referred to UCSF in hopes of finding out different answers from what is arguably one of the top hospitals in the United States. When I called to make my appointment I was given an appointment 7 months out. yes, I waited 7 months for this appointment. Upon arriving the front office folks were nice albeit a bit slow. I waited for 52 minutes after my appointment time before my names was called. I was brought into a room and waited another 45 minutes before a NP came in. She spoke to me for about 6 minutes. Every question I asked of her I received no real answers just telling me that what I was saying was very unlikely and rare. I explained that after 18 months and over a dozen other drs not able to figure it out maybe what I had was indeed rare. she just wrinkled her forehead, ignored the statement, and told me the dr would be in soon to talk to me. 45 minutes later, yes 2 hours and 17 minutes after my original appointment time the dr Arrives. Let me stop here for a second, for nearly 3 hours (including the time I was early for my appointment) I watched the dr visit 6 patients. I could hear most all of the private conversations. Discussing this persons chest rash and that persons acne. I would say he averaged about 15 minutes a patient discussing "things". Continuing, the Dr sits down asks me a couple non medical related questions to build rapport. He then makes some statements based on notes the NP had written. feels my abdomen. Listens to my heart. And says, OK. We are going to try and make you feel better and writes 2 things down. He asked me zero clarifying questions about my issues and had been in the room for 180 seconds. I asked him "so, what are you thinking" He said I want you to have these two procedures. He explained that I had already had those and you have the outcome which was normal. His comment was yes, but I want to see what we see. I then asked if he had any guesses. His guess was a very basic generic diagnosis. I then proceeded to ask if it was that, why doesn't this and that exist. why does the myriad medications I have taken for that already not only not help but make me worse. He literally said nothing. He was in the room for 4 minutes. I waited 7 months to this appt. Nearly 3 hours waiting in this building as a patient referral for a 'challenging" case and all he could muster was 4 minutes, order a couple invasive generic repeat tests and could not be bothered to discuss my concerns that this diagnosis may not fit. I am not returning to this office. Disappointed is not a strong enough word because this was really a last shot. I do not know where I go from here. One final note. Based on the 3 hours of conversations I could hear I do believe Dr Ostroff is indeed a nice man and cares about humans. I just don't think he is willing to spend the time for a patient like me to get all of the information. read more

Echoing what others have said. A complete and utter lack of communication and the gate keeper Karen Bagatelos is not very helpful. Ostroff won't even respond to our primary care physician at UC. But once you have him assigned to you, no one else can even order any GI related tests which is frustrating. He may be a recognized expert at surgery but it's all he does and all he wants to do. He didn't even meet with me or fill out an after visit report after my husband's procedure. read more

Dr Ostroff needs to retire. My husband had m endoscopy and told them he was not yet under but they just continued to jab the tube down his throat. Wtf. Wait a freakin minute for the anesthesia to take, will you!? I mean, my husband did wait months for the appt and then 3 freakin hours after his appt time. Done... read more

I was called and offered a cancellation appointment for 2:30 pm, so I grabbed it because they said the next one would not be until January. I arrived at 2:15 pm and was put into a room, and the gal said "He is not in yet, but will be here soon." I had reading material with me, and after an hour, I opened the door and asked what was happening. The gal said he was with another patient and would be right in. After another half hour, MAKING MY TOTAL WAIT TIME NOW 1-1/2 HOURS I opened the door and stood there watching. Another patient came out and I asked him what time his appointment was and he said 3 pm. SO WHY WAS HE TAKEN FIRST? I was fuming by this time and finally Dr. Ostroff came in and patronizingly apologized. Dr. Ostroff is not offering video appointments and my issue could have been handled by that method. read more

Dr. Ostroff was highly recommended to me by a coworker, and I had quite high hopes that he could help with with some chronic disgestive issues. After waiting over 2 hours beyond my appointment to see Dr. Ostroff, I could not have been more disappointed. Essentially, he gave me about 5 minutes of his time, where he BS'd about my job, did a 15 second examination, and asked to schedule an upper endoscopy (EGD). Hoping that he would be that good to know just exactly what to ask for, and what to do, I went ahead with it without much challenge. Worthy of mention is that I had clearly mentioned, multiple times, that I was experiencing severe, and constant discomfort (my reason for my visit), and he did not offer to prescribe anything (the EGD was about 1 month+ away!) - I had mentioned that I had a preference for treatments that did not involve (or minimized) drugs, and he must have thought I was happy suffering. After the visit, while scheduling my EGD appointment, while he was going by, I asked him if there was anything that could be prescribed to help in the meantime, at which point he just filled a prescription. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this prescription only helped for a few weeks, possibly because he never looked for, nor found the root cause of my problems. The EGD went smoothly, however he never provided any feedback afterwards (in my previous 3 EGD's with other doctors this never happened), and the office never sent any reports (I had to call the office after a couple of weeks). The report did indicate something unusual (I presumably had 'free reflux', even though I was taking proton pump inhibitors he prescribed, which should eliminate reflux), but I never received any follow up, nor was any interest shown (I had to write emails about it, with follow up questions, which were answered by someone else at the office, which went nowhere). In summary, I would not recommend this doctor to anyone - he just does NOT care. I wish I had gone to Yelp prior to going to him, as I have experienced some of the same disappointment others have already experienced. read more

Although the wait time in the waiting room is very long, I am still giving Dr. Ostroff and his staff the five stars. One and one-half years ago, two 'doctors' (they call themselves "specialists" and "internists") at Hollister's Hazel Hawkins Hospital diagnosed me with Chronic Pancreatitis. They told us, "She shouldn't have drank so much alcohol in her lifetime - even though we vehemently told them I have drank almost nothing in my lifetime; they told me I had six months to one year to live. "Take her home, get an appointment with a pain doctor, and try to make her as comfortable as possible," they told my daughter. She argued with them, showing them on her phone this new enzyme drug called Creon; they argued back, saying no such thing exists, and I was going to die soon. She insisted they give us a referral to Stanford. I guess they thought they were playing a good joke on us, referring us all the way to UCSF; Stanford is so much closer, and is supposed to be the best. Nope, I lucked out being sent to him; Dr. Ostroff and his staff are wonderful, caring, thoughtful, and kind to us beyond compare; never are they condescending or in any way rude to us! Oh, and they assured me, there are many people with Pancreatitis who have not used alcohol at all, did not cause this to happen, and are in no way to blame for this; they also told me I can live for many years - it is indefinite! Every time we go up there, Dr. Ostroff himself sees me, takes time and much care for me and my whole family, and even interacts with my grandchildren in a respectful and kind manner. This patient is extremely grateful for being a patient of Dr. Ostroff and his wonderful Staff!!!! THANK YOU; CentralCaliGal read more

This is proof that you can only give Yelp reviews a suggestion of the experience you will have with a physician. We only waited about 20 minutes to see the doctor and received passionate concerned care from him. He is going to do everything he can to determine what is ailing my wife. And we will gladly endure the 7 hour drive to return for the tests read more

I have been seeing Dr. Ostroff for fifteen years, ever since he diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis. I am doing well with my disease and living a relatively normal life, thanks to his expert care and management. He has always been professional and caring with me. I have had about seven colonoscopies with Dr. Ostroff, and thanks to his skill and expertise, I have never had any discomfort. The prep is awful, but it is the safest prep on the market, and it gets the job done. I have recommended Dr. Ostroff to several of my friends and they have all been happy with him as their doctor. read more

I agree whole-heartedly with a few of the reviews. Dr. Ostroff's bedside manner is far and away the worst of any doctor I've seen-- and I've seen plenty. Many people are willing to put up with a cold, arrogant doctor if they are highly skilled in their field of medicine. Unfortunately for Dr. Ostroff, his skills don't merit this consideration. When he could not determine what was causing my illness, he determined that it must be self-induced. For if he couldn't find the answer, surely one did not exist. I then found a new, well-respected GI. He was able to determine the route cause of my ailment. Unfortunately for me, scar tissue build up from multiple, unnecessary procedures had transformed my acute pancreatitis to chronic pancreatitis. It's the gift that keeps on giving. I recognize that each patient has his or her own needs. Each person has his or her own personality. Perhaps others take comfort from doctors that have the "god complex." If only he had the skill to match his delusion. read more

Dr. Ostroff and Karen Bagatelos NP truly saved my life. After spending 10 years searching for a diagnosis, they both immediately knew what was wrong and were able to offer a therapeutic procedure that gave me my health back. Regarding appointments, there is always an hour + wait, but if one recognizes this upon entering the situation, it can be easily tolerated. Their practice is busy because they are wonderful healthcare providers. Dr Ostroff spends the entire day in the OR, then sees patients until 7pm. This isn't difficult to figure out. If you're waiting, it is because of an emergency or a procedure that ran over. read more

Dr. Ostroff is a Genius in his field. He takes care of my wife, and he is observant of every facet of her health. His treatment of her is nothing but kind, and without his help we would have no one to turn to. I trust him completely, and would run to him in an instant if I ever have need of a gastroenterologist. He takes his profession seriously and personally, and this is a rare trait in today's world. He truly is the Great and Powerful Ostroff. read more

How disappointing! I had waited for months to get an appointment with Dr. Ostroff, who was rated by his peers in an online article as being in the top 1% of gastroenterologists in the bay area. As it turned out, I should have looked at the Yelp reviews to actually see what some of his patients felt about their experience with him before deciding to make an appointment to see him! Although Dr. Ostroff may deserve that exalted ranking in terms of his medical expertise, his patient interaction skills (at least from my experience) do not deserve anywhere near a high rating -- far from it. The truth is that my visit with him was one of the worst experiences I have ever had with a physician! I found him lacking in empathy, respectfulness and listening skills. After waiting for an hour and forty-five minutes to see him, Dr. Ostroff finally came in and without even a hint of an apology for the excessive wait, he simply asked me what was it that brought me to his office. He had to realize that I was anxious, especially after waiting for nearly two hours, and yet said nothing to put me at ease. (BTW, there was no one else in the waiting room when I arrived [I was there 15 minutes prior to my scheduled appointment] and it certainly appeared that his schedule was on track!) And after the lengthy waiting period to see him, I only received 15 minutes (if that much) of his time and during the last several minutes of my brief visit, he appeared eager to end the session. Since this was my first visit to his office, I expected at least a 30 minute session (as I've experienced with many other doctors during an initial consultation). I had prepared a list of questions that I wanted to ask (as recommended on the UCSF Medical Center web site) but I felt so rushed when I started asking some of them that I was unable to even get close to finish asking all of them. I also felt that he didn't give serious consideration to the questions that I was able to ask. I also prepared an easy-to-read spreadsheet listing all of my GI surgeries/procedures which I attached to the office's medical history form (which only provided a few lines for surgeries/hospitalizations). Although the list I provided was much more detailed and more legible (typed) than the office form (with hand written entires), it appears that it was not reviewed (if so, certainly not adequately) by the medical staff, esp. Dr. Ostroff. I was asked several questions that were actually answered in the document that I previously prepared, but apparently it was not referenced. Although I had a very unsatisfactory experience with Dr. Ostroff, I was quite pleased with his office staff and his physician assistant. The lesson I learned from this experience is to not just pay attention to "peer reviews", but to seriously consider the views of patients!! read more

Dr. Ostroff is a very busy doctor, took me a month and a half to schedule my non-emergency appointment. Busy practice is a GOOD sign, for you do not want to eat in a empty restaurant, why would you want a doctor that is not busy? I arrived on time for my appointment, but Dr. Ostroff was still performing a procedure for another patient across at UCSF and came in about 30 minutes later. The staff at the office are all very friendly and professional. This was my first visit with Dr. Ostroff, so I have some paperwork to occupy my time. When it was my turn to go in, I was greeted by Karen, the NP. She spent over half an hour going through my records and addressed my concerns. I thought she was another M.D. in the practice until she handed me her card. She is thorough , knowledgeable and carry herself like a MD. I am impressed by her professionalism. Contrary to other negative reviews, Dr. Ostroff is a friendly, no nonsense fellow. His knowledge is vast and impressive. He spent time aplenty with me, enough for me to go through my personal-questions-for-doctor "check list". In conclusion, I have no reservation recommending Dr. Ostroff to my family and friends (the ones that I like). read more

I agree that Dr. Ostroff won't win any prizes for his social interactions. But he and his nurse-practitioner Karen Bagetelos were very helpful to me and my problem. Karen is excellent and responds right away when I have questions. However when Dr. Ostroff does get to know you, he is better at interactions. Of course I have a Ph.D. so I'm sure that helps. But bottom line, they helped me when my regular GI doc was clueless. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Ostroff for about 3 yrs now. I have an unusual pancreas problem and he is the best in the country at the ERCP procedure necessary to open my pancreatic duct. My illness is troublesome, and Dr. Ostroff and his team have never been anything short of kind to me. They have all been supportive and empathetic, and Dr. Ostroff has helped me with my health very much. I just wanted to give him kudos from my perspective. I have never left his office displeased with him or his OR staff, or his office staff. read more

Yes - I am a fan and felt very well taken care of by Dr Ostroff, his staff and his nurses in 2009. I am sorry to see the mixed comments on this site - because I had nothing but great service - so taking the time to comment. He came highly recommended and I was happy with the results - healthy. I am very experienced with doctors - so I was comfortable with his direct / no nonsense style. He is efficient - and slows down to answer questions when needed. He is not a hand holder - get it scheduled, get in, get it done. I had no complications and will see him again in 10 years. I am having my husband go into see him too. The only negative - he is in demand and over-booked sometimes - so have to be patient throughout the process. read more

Don't waste your time going to this Dr. or anyone in his office including Karen Bagatelos-Nurse Practitioner. Not even worth one star. My appt was at 2 p.m and when I arrived there was no one in the waiting room. They led me into a small room to wait for the doctor. I waited 2 hours before a Nurse Practitioner came in to see me. She recommended 3 nuclear medical test and said Dr. Ostroff could perform two surgeries; this is before the Dr. came into see me. I asked her what the procedures were for these tests. She had no idea-she sorrily summarized one of the procedures which turns out it was completely different than what the Radiology Department told me. I asked Radiology about the information the nurse told me and Radiology said ask your Dr. I tried to ask the Dr. but Karen Bagatelles governs all communication and is the gate keeper of all information and communication. I asked to speak with the Dr. and she disallowed it. Dr. Ostroff does not return e-mails when the facility offers My chart. Karen the NP acts as if she's a doctor herself and then gives incorrect information. I could go on and on but just know there are better options out there then making an appointment to go to this specific office. I had the same experience as the other people who reviewed this office staff but didn't take it any further knowing that the result would be just as poor as the first visit. Turns out, I didn't need any of these medical tests or surgeries for that matter; my insurance would have probably approved it but they are just ordering out these tests haphazardly. Scary heh? read more

Dr. Ostroff came highly recommended and is a very well respected member of the professional community. What a disappointment it was to receive an incredibly sub-standard treatment. The procedure he performed went well, but the problem was obtaining the results. I called his office repeatedly, but to no avail. I could never get past speaking to his nurse. This practice is just too busy, and he obviously can't manage it. It doesn't matter how good a doctor someone may be, but if a patient cannot speak to him to get the test results after an invasive procedure, there is something really wrong. I am now pregnant and have developed severe complications for something that could have easily been avoided had Dr. Ostroff done his job. I would not recommend him to anyone. read more

This guy scares me. I had to have an endoscopy and my regular doc couldn't dp it, so I ended up with Osteroff. I never saw his face. He never spoke to me. I ended up in great pain after the endoscopy and had to return from Pacifica. I waited all night in the ER and had a CT. I was admitted to the floor for about 10 hours and medicaterd for pain and then sent home. It wasn't until 2 DAYS after the procedure that I asked his nurse for the results of the CT. All of a sudden I had PANCREATITIS and should get bafk to the ER immediately. How come no one ever checked out the CT before I asked his nurse? I don't have a car and live in San Mateo, so I refused to go in that night, because I knew I would spend the whole night in the ER and be admitted the next day. When I asked his PA why they let me go home with pancreatitus she turned it on me and asked me if I had wanted to go home. It was my fault that I had unattended pancreatitis.! read more

i am surprised at the ratings listed for dr ostroff. my son has pancreatitis, chronic and is 19 years old. living in los angeles, i had assumed we would be able to receive diagnosis and treatment in our area. having gone to UCLA, Good Samaritan and Cedars Sinai, no one would touch my son because his condition is unusual at his age, and even though his quality of life was reduced to sitting/laying on the couch with pain levels of 7-8, spiking to 9-10 20 minutes after anything, snack or meal, he ate. this having been his day for 13 months, having to withdraw from college and at a time when he should be going out with friends and living life a little. dr. ostroff performed his ercp, which we had been told and referred originally to cedars sinai to receive 12 months prior as our diagnosing hospital did not have capabilities for the procedure. attempting to receive the procedure at 3 different hospitals to find the cause of his pancreatitis was fruitless, no one would do it because of his age and adopted a wait and see if it resolves on its own attitude. dr ostroff performed the procedure quickly, based on it being of emergent nature. the cause of the pancreatitis was learned the first ercp within a week of our referral to dr ostroff. he had anatomical reasons for his pancreatitis, which required multiple procedures, all performed by dr ostroff, to resolve. he will require yearly procedures for maintenance the remainder of his life. while there may be long wait times, i understand that he performs emergency procedures and may not know what he finds once he is inside of a patient. i would much rather he focus on my son when he is performing a procedure rather than trying to speed through it, worrying about his office patients having a wait. when you are the top 1% in your field, you will have an extremely busy practice. one must also be proactive in their care. have a list of questions for him, he will answer them all. you cannot expect him to read your mind. if you dont know or understand things about your condition, tell him so, and he will explain it to you further. if you left his office feeling as if you didn't know everything you needed to but didn't ask him to explain further, you bear the responsibility for that. dr ostroff is a problem solver, and not a band-aid giver as the physicians we had seen in los angeles who prescribed him a daily regiment of 12 different prescriptions, most of them pain medications. if you are in pain and it is an intolerable level, you must ask for pain medications, or express how it is affecting your quality of life. many physicians nowadays will not prescribe pain medications unless a patient requests it due to federal laws. one person who indicates they have pain may be fine with the pain while another person who says they have pain may find their life unbearable. he cannot know the difference unless you tell him. and again, he does not know what he will find inside of a patient undergoing a diagnostic procedure, and if it is something he can fix, i would rather he fix it then rather than scheduling the patient for an additional procedure undergoing all of the risks inherent to the procedure a second time. this may be in the best interest of his office hours, but not the best interest and safety of the patient on the table in front of him. when you are on the table yourself and he is able to fix things while he is in there, you dont care about the patients in his office, and probably would be offended if you knew he could fix it while he was there the first time and you had to undergo a second procedure with the costs a second time and the risks a second time. a cancer patient is going to receive priority over an acid reflux patient every day. if you are the one with cancer, you appreciate that. persons coming to the office of a physician in the top 1% of his field should anticipate that patients need to be seen based on their conditions. they also need to understand that he is going to be busy, being in high demand as the top 1% in his field. worrying about his office hours is like the pregnant patients on the ob/gyn office who complain that they had to wait to see the dr who is at the hospital delivering a baby. those same women would have a huge problem if when it came time for their delivery the dr told them they couldn't deliver their baby because they had patients in the office. there is a big difference between poor bedside manner and the experience and knowledge to quickly know what is needed. i will take the dr with different bedside manner who drs and nurses will choose than the ones who bs and explain things but dont solve the problem. you have to be able to bs your patients if you dont have the skills to help them, which is not to say there aren't great drs with great bedside manner. again, if you ask a question, he will explain it, and if it is not to your satisfaction, ask again. i love and appreciate dr ostroff. read more