Dr. Patricia Galamba
Really Disgusting
I also had a weird Dr. Patricia Galamba experience. I went to her office and tried to open the door. It was locked.
I was a bit perplexed, so I knocked, gently (there is no sign to tell you what to do or if you are in the right place) and then sat down.
I had a short conversation with the woman next to me about whether or not this was Dr. Galamba’s office.
She agreed that it was, and that it was weird to lock the outer door.
Finally, someone else walked out and I stood up to go in. The receptionist said “oh, I didn’t know you were out there.”
I said “I knocked, but maybe you didn’t hear me. Why is the door locked?”
She said “oh, we don’t want sick people waiting in here.”
The office doesn’t look as if it is cleaned all that often (there are hairs on the floor and it’s kind of dusty – more dust that you would normally see in a medical services office, that’s for sure) so I guess that’s why they don’t want sick people in there.
But I couldn’t help thinking “you are in the wrong business if you don’t want sick people waiting in your outer office.”
I had an ear ache and the doctor came in to see me. She prescribed some medication and then we proceeded to talk about my general health.
“How much do you weigh?” she narrowed her eyes at me suspicious.
I told her, and then I told her that I was running about 10 lbs over my normal weight.
She did some little tricky trick where she kicked the scale out from under her chair and said “well, you look like you weigh more than that – let’s let the scale have it’s say.”
I had just weighed myself that morning, so I had no problems with getting on dirty snotty fat lady’s scale (and she really shouldn’t be commenting about other people’s weight if you ask me), and what does it say…? My my, exactly what I said I weighed even though I am FULLY DRESSED with SHOES ON.
I don’t mind quirks. I’m quirky. But rudeness and locking your office door? That’s just too shady. I have a MUCH better doctor now, a very nice and sensitive lady with a clean office. CLEAN. NO HAIR. And they let you wait in the waiting room – quite a treat.
I’m glad that some people are happy with Dr. Galamba, but once was more than enough for me.
And Doctor, if you’re reading this, please clean your office. It’s really disgusting.
Totally careless, no empathy. Go elsewhere.
Yes, her office is kind of a different set up. When you show up for your appointment, you have to knock on a locked door and wait for it to be opened.
Her office is not the problem, Dr. Galamba is the problem. She misdiagnosed a serious condition I had and treated my with no care and sympathy.
As I expressed my fear of what was wrong with me, Dr. Galamba scolded me by saying, “Oh, please, you’re not dying….!”
Also, she, or her receptionist was supposed to get back to me on a Friday with some test results that were very important. She never got back to me. She went home for the weekend and I was left to wonder for two days the results.
Dr. Galamba is slow and always takes forever to get an appointment.
Dr. Galamba is slow and always takes forever to get an appointment. She also doesn’t do credit cards unless it is over $30, which makes my FSA credit card useless.
She never returns my calls, always has the office assistant do it but the assistant can’t give me the test results and such. It is very frustrating to go see her. Readily admits she doesn’t like sleeping pills which is great for her cause she’s not the one that has insomnia.
The inner office door is closed and you have to stand outside to announce yourself. She also commented about my weight when I am only 10lbs over my ideal weight. Very old fashioned.
BEWARE of Dr. Galamba.
Beware of Dr. Galamba. She is part of the Blue Cross HMO network and boy does it show! I have been to her about five times, while I was on an HMO plan, and with each visit I thought less and less of her and her assistant.
Originally I went to her to have simply to have some prescriptions written – I knew what I needed (just refills) and needed to have a Dr. write them for me. The next visit I went to her because I had a terrible sore throat and wanted a throat culture so we could rule out strep, which was ruled out.
Yes, and the dog was present in the office, having a run of the place (he seems more important than the darn patients)! The scruffy little thing running around as he pleased (I later wrote a letter to Brown and Toland Medical Group to let them know this is how she runs her office.)
As if that wasn’t enough, chart were lying on the counter by the receptionist (where everyone can see patient names on the files and some of them were even opened, clearly a HIPPA violation))–this was especially disturbing since EVERYONE who sees Dr. Galamba is greeted upon arriving to her office at this very counter where his/her copay is demanded up front (cash only) and receipts are not offered, they must be requested.
As soon as she realized i was calling back she hung up on me again.
I picked that doctor because she’s awoman and i feel more confortable with a woman as a doctor and she’s close by. Aside from having a quick referral, that’s about all the good i can say.
Yes, i remember the dog, but what i remember was that i actually had to close the window and the blinds to keep the people from outside seeing me undress. Not only that ,but the good doctor re-opened saying that people don’t really look and she gave me a look that conveyed i was just being silly. I went for tests. It’s been two months and still no callbacks from the doctor.
Don’t get me started on the sevretary. Don’t mention teh word stupid to her or whe will accuse you of calling her stupid and hang up on you. Not only that, but she will not even pick up after a few days. As soon as she realized i was calling back she hung up on me again.
It's not Disneyland, but you're more likely to lose your wallet at the one down south.
After reading the other reviews, I have to put a word in just so I feel better about myself. Nobody likes the hallway waiting room, but there are enough magazines to keep you busy.
I’ve gotten apointments when I needed them, quick referrals due to Galamba’s contacts with the hospital across the street, and prompt care. Though the receptionist doesn’t exude cheer and happiness, she and the doc take care of business.
I had medical issues cleared that other doctors dismissed, including minor surgery done right. It’s not Disneyland, but you’re more likely to lose your wallet at the one down south.
I could hear her through the door talking to me.
***Yes! Her office is a cluttered pigsty: stacks of mail, country kitchen-style kitch, rag dolls, toys, and dusty crap everywhere. It was ironic that I first went to see her for allergies and had an attack from all the dust and dog hair in her office. I love dogs too, but how sanitary is that?
***Yes! Her lisping goth receptionist is rude and makes you sit outside in the hall. I was a few minutes late to an appointment once and she didn’t answer the door! After 15 minutes of knocking and sitting, I called the number on my cell phone and she answered. I could hear her through the door talking to me.
***Yes! You have to pay in cash. To boot, she looks at you cross-eyed if you ask for a receipt. Once I was $2 short on a $20 copay and she invoiced me. For $2!
***Yes! Dr. Galamba made me change into a short gown and wait for her in the examination room, only I had to wait for more like 20 minutes for her to return. And she left the window and blinds WIDE open for all of SF to see my bare ass. Freezing and embarassing!
I trust more than any doctor i have ever seen.
Dr. Galamba saved me from back surgery with an orthopedic surgeon. She was able to help me after 6-months of physical therapy from another doctor that did no good. She knows how to navigate the workmans comp nightmare we are all stuck with. I trust more than any doctor i have ever seen.
The infection was close to his sinuses...which are close to the brain.
After 3 weeks of dealing with a skin infection in his face and 5 visits to other doctors, Dr. Galamba diagnosed his skin infection as the SuperBug (MRSA) and gave him the proper nuclear blast of antibiotics to beat the infection. Prior to his visit to Dr. G, he had seen 2 doctors twice (a different GP and ENT),
had been prescribed 2 courses of antibiotics (Z-packs) and had a visit to the emergency room before his infection was properly diagnosed by Dr. Galamba. The emergency room Dr. gave him antibiotics for skin infections and took a culture, but my husband never got the results back. He seemed to get better after the emergency room visit, but 2 weeks later the infection came back with a vengence.
That’s when I convinced him to see my GP, Dr. Galamba (Dr. Number 4 in this saga). After listening to his history (NOTE: Dr. Galamba is a great listerner.), she told him that it sounded like the superbug. We finally had a diagnosis and a course of action.
She took a culture, started him on super-powerful antibiotics, and called a couple days later to confirm the culture results. The infection was close to his sinuses…which are close to the brain. He was very sick man until he saw Dr. Galamba.