I have several issues with my heart & have been followed by cardiology since age 12 at UCSF. I wanted cardiology closer to home. Saw Tin Botzler he said nothing was wrong & no follow up needed. I went back to UCSF where I see cardiology yearly with a yearly echo & cardiac MRI every 2 years & medication. Definitely worth the drive to save my life. read more

Perhaps 3 and a half stars at this point. I had asked for a referral to Dr. Ploss, who works out of this office (it turns out he also has hours in Fortuna, which will be more convenient, yay) given some rather alarming results of tests recently done at St. Joe's for my 24 year old son. So, here's the run down: We (dad, me, patient, who is nonverbal) arrived for our 2pm appointment at 1:45. Great, in time to proffer needed insurance cards and id cards and other cards and fill out the paperwork. The setting: what seems to be a converted house, nicely appointed with skylights and interesting windows, nice art, very "it's like grandma's house" furniture, little woodstove (or pretend woodstove? It wasn't on), big island of desk for the receptionists, and a little square of corridors that one could wander in search of the restroom, and eventually...very eventually...to one of..maybe 4 exam rooms. The receptionist had an alarming, deep cough. She told someone who queried that she was just starting to feel better. I glanced nervously at my son and hoped that no flu bugs were wending their happy way to his lungs. I wondered why on earth a receptionist at a heart specialist would be a work with...bronchitis? flu? bad cold? Well, gosh, maybe she doesn't get sick leave, don't know. So..paperwork. Usual stuff, no big problem. And then the wait...and the wait, and the wait. I had time to go through an old Time magazine with my kid, and to listen to the nervous woes of another patient, who, hearing we hailed from SoHum, wanted to interest us in some greenhouse glass. She was thinking of going all 215 to help with her debts. I heard all about the death of her daughter, the difficulties of her son, her various properties, her health issues, her little doggie, and so on. She asked if she could phone me later. God help me, I did give her my phone number. My partner says I have a kind face, what can I say? So, nearing on a hour later we were guided to exam room one by two...medical assistants, perhaps? One was on her first day of work, bless her. My son thought she was pretty, all was well. Weight, bp, electrocardiagram. More paper work. It looks to me like the office is still midway to electronic records conversion (they were taking paper notes and puzzling over the computers). It was well after three when we got to meet Dr. Ploss. My partner tells me I was initially a bit hostile, but warmed up (I didn't feel hostile, exactly. I mean, why would I be hostile? I'd specifically asked for Dr. Ploss because he was well recommended. But the situation of facing a report that said my kid had MEGA heart problems that should have killed him by the time he was around a month old...well, yeah, I was edgy). I like Ploss. He's informative, careful, non alarmist, and straight forward. I'm glad he's part of our team now. He admitted to some mystification about our kid, but...we're working on it all. I appreciated his honesty and his ability to communicate (and the nifty model of a human heart he used to explain better what might be happening). Ploss himself would get 5 stars from me, no question. He spent ample time with us, so I forgave the wait. But that cough in the front office...I don't know. And folger's coffee in tea bags with hot water and styrofoam cups? No, really??? *is a coffee snob, even when dealing with life and death issues* read more

Apparently, this practice pays money for the website to take off the negative reviews. I have seen some one star reviews on this office and they were removed. My mother's visit to this office was terrible. The wait was 2 hours with no explanation. One of the staff sneezed on the paper work she handed over to me and did not wash her hands afterwards. You hear the staff gossiping that was amusing. Come on, this is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Anyway, after 2 hours wait, we finally go to see the doctor. He did apologized being late, but no explanation. He was a little inpatient when my mother was complaining about the discomfort on the pacemaker area. Well, my mother is over 75. What do you expect? My mother mentioned one of her friends who was a patient of Dr. Ploss' former partner, now is seeing Dr. Lock and liked him. Dr. Ploss' face completely changed and started getting irritated. He kept saying "I am not sure that is a good choice. He is just ok. Make sure your friends do not get unnecessary exam. "Blah, blah, blah . Anyway, the checkup was quick only took 15 minutes from the time we entered the room with the Medical Assistant and leave. But 2 hours wait is too long and the gossip is not professional. Maybe I should have asked if the rumor about his former partner was true. read more

I have been going to Pacific Heart Group for two years now ever since i have moved up her for college for the maintenance and treatment of my pacemaker. The office staff is always supper welcoming and interested in everything i do which makes me feel like the staff really care about me and the other people in the office. They are always flexible with me which is extremely important for me due to my being a student. My pacemaker check through the metronomic technician are a true pleasure and i enjoy and even look forward to going in to see the staff at the office. and Dr. Ploss is absolutely amazing. He always shows and interest in everything that i do and is supper helpful when it comes travel plans and working around my chaotic schedule. In short, i adore this office and the staff here, this is the best cardiologist that i have ever come to... and i have been in the care of cardiologist since birth so that is saying something. read more