I have not yet had an appointment, but this is for his office and the person who answers his phone. I called recently to sign up as a "new patient" after seeing all the Yelp reviews. His website stated he is accepting new patients. The person on the phone was extremely rude, did not even let me finish my statement. Here's how it went: me:"Hi, I'd like to make an appointment, is Dr. Kawano accepting..." Dr's office person: "No he is not" me: "OK, but your website states that he is...." Dr's office person: "Uh huh, yes it does" me: "So..." Dr's office person: "No he is not" me: "is there another doctor in your practice who is accepting patients?" (since several doctors are listed at the 1 Baywood location) Dr's office person: "no we are a single person practice" me: "OK... You should change the..." She hangs up on me This was at the beginning of the day, so she was not tired or stressed already. What the hell? There are lots of doctors out there, perhaps Dr Kawano needs to review his office staff. read more

Kawano David, MD - His website says he is accepting new patients, but his rude office staff refuses this when you call. - Family Practice Near Me - San Mateo, California

Dr. Kawano has been my doctor since I was born. He's seen me grow up and has helped me with every medical concern I have ever had. I thought all doctors were like this because he was the only doctor I really ever associated with. But when I moved down to San Diego I realized what good of a family doctor I really had. I can trust this man with my life, he's patient, honest, KNOWLEDGABLE, unbiased, thorough, pays attention to detail and a whole bunch of qualities doctors should have. He's always been able to diagnose everything I had and gave me the proper level treatment. Heart and skin problems are just a few of the things he has helped me with. To be honest, he helped me with my skin condition way better than a dermatologist I recently went to did. And for the things he doesn't have the capability to help me with, he would refer me to great doctors that would definitely be able to help me. I'm sure he has a wide range of doctors through his network. Anytime I have a medical concern, he's the first person I would go to because I know he will be able to help me in one way or another. I read the reviews on yelp and the reason why some of them are bad are because of the customer service. Honestly, It's probably because they called outside of business hours. Dr. Kawano has some kind of call center that takes calls when the front desk is unavailable. The call center is questionable but the lady at the front desk is very sweet. Ive never had a bad experience with her and she's always been nice to me since I was a kid. If someone has had a bad experience with her, I would give her the benefit of the doubt because she truly is a good person. read more

Wonderful Physician! I have been a patient of Dr. Kawano's for over 25 years, he is wonderful. He is the most thorough doctor you will ever meet. He has the best bedside manners and truly cares about his patients. He calls after house to make sure you are feeling well and even goes the distance to send a thank you card personally hand written if you give him a small token of appreciation over the holidays for the wonderful care he gives all year long. If you want a caring family doctor, see Dr. Kawano, he and his staff are wonderful! read more

Dr. Kawano has been my primary for over 20 years. He is thorough and considerate. While he seems to move quickly between his patients he is never in a hurry - always plenty of time to talk through things. He's also resourceful - providing common sense solutions to common medical problems, or reminding me of the value of getting to know our pharmacist. He has a dry sense of humor which I do appreciate - and I feel like he knows me as a person and cares for me. He has referred my family to other doctors and has a good network of providers that he can refer his patients too. Charolette in the front office seems to know me by first name even though i'm only there once a year or so - always with my charts within arms reach. Several times she juggled his schedule to fit me in - no problem! I have referred several of my friends to Dr. Kawano and they too thought highly of him. He has an old-school style but manages to stay on the edge of the ever-changing fields in medicine. read more

A friend had called me about a review he had read on Yelp about Dr. Kawano. To say the least I was beyond surprised, and felt it would make sense for me to offer another perspective based on some life-saving experiences my family has had with Dr. Kawano. He has miraculously detected bladder, testicular, and thyroid cancer across different members of my family. This early detection, in all cases, put each person in a strong position to successfully treat these awful diseases. The different doctors at UCSF involved with each treatment have expressed how amazed they were that Dr. Kawano achieved these early detections, and that they rarely see a family doctor this thorough and relentless in chasing down the potential signs that led to the ultimate diagnoses. I would add he also detected a serious heart issue with my friend who was in his mid-forties. To this day however, he gives the credit to the EKG doctor who decided to run a second test based on slightly suspicious results. In our experience Dr. Kawano is analytical, thoughtful, an excellent listener, and keeps incredibly thorough notes. These characteristics are what allowed him to achieve the positive, life-saving results mentioned above. In closing, I would absolutely recommend Dr. Kawano. My family feels so fortunate to have him in our corner as it relates to our health care. read more

The absolute worst doctor in San Mateo. I was brought into the world by Dr Norton Benner, an amazing family doctor. He was patient, intelligent, very old school type, who truly cared about his patients. In the late 80's he retired, and was forced by his medical partners to give up his patients to a new heir apparent; a young Dr David Kawano. He was very brash, cocky and arrogant. He didn't listen to his patients and their concerns. A year later dr benner reopened his practice, quietly, not to disrupt Dr Kawano's practice or retain his patients. However Dr Kawano lost many patients to Dr Benner, simply because Benner was a much better doctor. My family were happily served by Dr Benner again. Upon Dr Benner retiring again, we were happily served by De Benners son, Robert Benner. He was like his father, a great doctor, until his retirement a handful of years later. By this point I moved to Los Angeles and sought my own doctor. However my parents still lived in San Mateo. My parents asked for recommendation from friends. However they only found aging doctors, not accepting new patients. They had no choice but to become Dr Kawanos patients again. For the past few years my parents have constantly told me of stories of their visits with the arrogant Dr David Kawano. They would tell me how their appointments always included being spoken down to and problems always being left untreated. My mother was 74 when she developed a walking problem. Her muscles seized up making it difficult to get around. Dr Kawano said she just needed to walk around. She asked him for a handicapped placard. He said there is too much forgery and he didn't want to fill out the paperwork. I sent the doctor a truthful letter, asking for him to please treat her for her lack of mobility and to reconsider the handicapped placard. He agreed to the placard on the condition that I don't waste his time by sending letters to him. My father told me how practically every check up the doctor would come up with a new medication he would want my dad to take, saying he would risk his health should he not take them. My dad refused to fill the prescriptions. And he is now 84 and with healthy levels in his blood and etc. It becomes obvious that dr Kawano believes in over medicating his patients. That practice is normally done by doctors that get kickbacks from big pharmaceutical companies for writing their prescriptions. Coincidental? I cannot express how unprofessional he is. And every horrible experience i have had with him has been notated and can be proven. I can only now write this review as my parents have changed their primary physician. If they hadn't, i can guarantee he would mishandle my parents care. I not only hope he quits his practice but the AMA strips him of his license to practice medicine. He is a menace to society. If you treasure your health and well being please take your business elsewhere. read more

This is one of those rare times where someone has such a negative experience they had to make a yelp account. I read the other reviews about his rude receptionist, I was unprepared. Not only was I not expecting for her to be SO rude, I was not expecting to ever talk to someone so rude. Our conversation lasted less than a minute and left me wondering how he ever gets patients. The conversation went as follows: 9:30am Wednesday morning: She answers the phone and says "hello", so like a normal person I respond hello back. She immediately continues to repeat hello louder and angrier over and over. I am thinking my connection is bad so I ask if she can hear me. After she had berated me with hellos she responds, I kid you not, "Yes I can hear you. What is it, lets get this over with" in such a vicious manner I began to wonder if I personally offended her somehow. Stunned, I ask if their accepting new patients and I'll let you guess what her answer was... "uhh no" followed by an abrupt hang up. Words can describe the tone of her voice. I felt like I just got off the phone with the receptionist love-child of Professor Snape and Gordon Ramsey. She HAS to be related to the doctor in some way to be able to act like that and maintain employment. I'd hope not his wife or else I feel bad that poor Dr. Kawano has to go home to her as well. On the plus side, he must be one incredible doctor if people are willing to deal with her to get to him. Hopefully some sick child sneezes straight on her face during their next visit. read more

Good friend, good person, good advisor and great doctor ..... but damn it, what shampoo are you using ? I'm younger than him and he has lots of hair ! read more

After reading all the Yelp reviews from before, I was reluctant to call but I just called as a new patient and spoke with Charlotte, who was extremely friendly, helpful, and cheerful. I have to say, she made me feel very comfortable and I'm looking forward to my appointment. read more

Dr. Kawano has been my physician for more than 25 years. He sent me for a brain scan on Saturday morning, and he called me that same afternoon telling me everything was clear rather than having me wait until later in the week to hear the news. Dr. Kawano has been a tremendous help to me over the years and he, his office manager, Charlotte, and the rest of his staff have always gone over and above the call of duty whenever I've needed help. I've been extremely well taken care of by Dr. Kawano. read more

I was with Kaiser for 32 years before switching to Dr. Kawano. I find him to be as good as all the primary care physicians I saw there combined! No joke. My wife had been seeing him for seven years before I started--she also finds Dr. Kawano to be the best physician she's ever had. We appreciate and trust him so much, we brought our new born to Dr. Kawano to be our pediatrician. Have never had any doubts or regrets about that and the boy is over seven now. The thing I love about Dr. Kawano is how thorough he is. If he feels you need an important test; he makes it happen. If there's a specialist he believes you should see; he sets it up. He asks questions that a doctor should ask and more importantly we never leave without him making sure he's answered all of ours. Like an old school doctor, the man will call you at home to check on you when the need arises, even on a Saturday. We love his staff to. They've always been a joy to work with and feel a strong sense of caring whenever we're there. I bet someone would read this and think it's exaggerated, but it's simply our experience with Dr. Kawano in well over a decade of care at his office. read more

Dr. Kawano has been my doctor for over 25 years. He's a brilliant doctor who I trust completely. His receptionist is a knowledgeable and caring woman who sees that the office runs smoothly. I have referred many friends to this doctor and all have told me how happy they are with him and his staff. read more

As What's in a name stated, his female office staff rudely interrupted me as I was explaining as to why I needed to see. Then asked whether I was a current patient and said "no" and hung up on me. read more

I had the same experience as "What's in a nam e" did. Incredibly rude receptionist who cuts you off and hangs up on you.

I was a patient of Dr. Kawano for over 20 years I think he is the very, very best! Unfortunately, my insurance changed and Dr. K. is not in that network. I will definitely strongly refer him and will still go to him. As for the receptionist, she's never been anything but nice to me! I will always think of Dr. Kawano as my doctor!!! read more

Good doctor, but apparently I'm not the only one who has experienced the rudeness of Charlotte the angry-at-the world curmudgeonly receptionist. The face of a business shouldn't be so unpleasant. read more

I've been seeing Dr. Kawano for over 15 years and he is by far the best physician I have ever experienced. His office is a bit dated and definitely not high tech, but that's not what I am looking for. The most important thing is that he is very thorough and will spend whatever time he needs to take care of you. He is genuinely a nice guy and gets right to the point. If you have a specialized problem, he will refer you to a specialist as needed. If I have a non-emergency question I can call his office and leave a message and he ALWAYS calls back after work around 5:30-7:00. The only negative thing I can say is that I can't read his writing. He writes notes to you on the copy of lab results that he reviews before sending you a copy. Sometimes I have to ask the staff to translate it for me. Minor detail that does not take away from a 5 star rating. read more

I'm a retired physician. My wife and I have been patients of Dr. K's for over 20 years. I cannot begin say enough good things about him and his office. Kind, considerate, conscientious, knowledgeable. He called me twice to reach me one Friday evening in returning a call. When I didn't pick up, he called me Saturday! Find another doc with this level of dedication, I dare yeh! With office manager Charlotte at the helm for many years, the office almost always runs smoothly and efficiently. I consider ourselves lucky to be a part of his practice. read more

Dr. Kawano by far is a treasure in the medical field. I am a woman and I have seen Dr. Kawano on and off for almost 10 years. He has been the Dr. to the Father of my children for many, many years and in knowing how thorough he his, I always return to him for second opinions and advice when I know I can totally trust him. He is truly a wealth of knowledge and combines holistic approaches to health when applicable. I am well into my forties and always seeking out a 'female' physician but keep returning to him because I truly trust his care and advice!. None of these posts are exaggerated. If you want a Dr. who will genuinely care for you and check to make sure all of your questions and concerns are answered, then he is your man. Dr. Kawano takes his time with you and you never feel rushed. I suffer from anxiety and he has always been kind and gentle with me. I ADORE this man. His front desk secretary, Charlotte, a gem as well. She is truly a reflection of a beautiful practice. read more