For various reasons, I rarely do medical reviews, but there are exceptions, such as this one…read more
Dr. Stewart is a warm and friendly fellow with a great bedside manner.
Dr. Stewart is part of this ENT group which is in SLO near the airport. While it can be a challenge to get in since many specialist are rare in our county and one always has to deal with the rules of any given HMO or PPO, in general this group has come through for me. Unfortunately, I have this chronic nagging problem with impacted ear wax that happens every few years or so. Sometimes, it can even result in an infection, and PCP's do not have the equipment nor skill to deal with it. ER's & Urgent cares are useless as well and can make it worse by trying to irrigate with a syringe when you really need a tiny suction device with the skills of a good ENT.
Even though I have had some prior more painful disimpactions done, this one did not hurt a bit. He also used some water to rinse a bit and then prescribed some antibiotic for that ear, and some topic steroids for Otitis Externa.
The front desk people & office manager also helped alot with expediting everything and could recognize that I was suffering, so the compassion was very welcomed.
Also upon further thought, I asked if somehow we could set up recurring appointments, in the future, at about 11 month intervals, and they said it would not be a problem. While this condition has been happening to me for about 30 years, this is the first time, this option either occurred to me, or was offered. Since I do not see moving again, this is a viable option now, and will prevent the problem before it becomes really severe & urgent again.
Over one's life... with moving, job chances, insurance changes, and such, it is really hard to think about reoccurring appointments with some providers...so this is really welcomed.
I not only would recommend this MD & ENT group for locals, but for others to think about reoccurring appointments for things that they may have not thought of before.
After all, quite a few Optometry or some dental offices keep at you for future care, but few others do...except for one local GI MD that I have...which was an inpatient invasive procedure, pre-vaccine, & not welcomed. It is often hard or impossible to tell the difference between greed and caring...or sometimes it can be both. Who really knows in what proportions?
Of course, the pandemic made a already dysfunctional pseudo-system worse, and few if any HMO's nor PPO's really care about real follow up care....even if it really saves them money in the long run. For them, they just raise the rates or cut/limit care, or even that you will change to another insurance...so as long as they make a profit...even if they are pseudo-non-profit.
In any case, this experience with this MD & this group was stellar.
I thank him & them for displaying compassion, kindness, & for being helpful.