Fitzer Tim MD Berkeley Family Practice Medical Grp
Categories: Internal Medicine, Acupuncture, Family Practice, Physical Therapy [Edit]
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area2636 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 841-1647
- By Appointment Only: Yes
11 reviews
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
"Dr. Selle is a gem. He is there for you 110% - especially since my boy and I seem to always get sick on the weekend or Christmas day...…" read more »
13 Reviews for Fitzer Tim MD Berkeley Family Practice Medical Grp
I have been a patient of Dr. Fitzer for years. He is a great person, excellent sense of humor and very willing to go the extra mile to figure out what ails you. I do have the same argument as some about the staff. I was having a horrible urinary tract infection and they actually "lost" the urine, and instead of fessing up an saying so, they just filled out a form to the doc saying my urine was normal, when I know what I peed out, (pardon the description) looked like cranberry juice. I think they just aren't well supervised, and maybe spoiled. Every office staff needs turnover every so often and this one needs polishing, for real.
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the staff and doctors here are very nice, and are able to see you same day if needed.
however, as most are very young and fresh out of med school, they can only diagnose you if you are a textbook case of something. my doctor was so busy that when she did see me, we had only 15 minutes and then she had to go. she would look over my files later that evening, and call me back the next day.
it was the next week after me calling the office three times that I finally got to speak with her. she would need more tests to figure out what was going on with me.
two more weeks later, more tests later, $200 of co-pays and labwork later...she needs to refer me out to another doctor because the whole office is unsure of what to do.
if you just need a same-day quick fix, these could be your people. but if you want to establish a good relationship with a doctor that will take care of you down the road when things get serious, strongly consider going elsewhere.
Dr. Fizter is a crackup (not a crackpot)!
Like another reviewer before me, I have more than once been completely overawed by his attire. The man has a wardrobe that *works it*, if you know what I mean.
The nitty-gritty: the man is patient, kind and very good at explaining what is going on with you. He doesn't flinch when pointing out that the ailment is your own fault, but he is not unkind about it. I've seen him a few times, my husband has seen him several times more, and overall we both are fairly happy with him and his office staff, who are always polite and courteous.
My only complaint is the waiting room. It needs some attention, oh yes. It isn't filthy, just old and hodgepodge.
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They've been adequate for the three years that I've been coming here, since I don't really get sick, and when I do, I can generally diagnose myself. "I have a UTI." "Great, here are some antibiotics."
But I've had a bad knee for about two years that I've been constantly asking them about, including Dr. Fitzer. I've been asking, every six months, "Is it a torn ACL?"
Nope, nope and nope. Finally went to Berkeley Orthopedics to try some physical therapy and OH WAIT, I've had a torn ACL for two years! Now I have to have surgery, and a year of rehab, that I could've been totally done with by now if they'd diagnosed me correctly when it happened! Two years ago!
Never, never going here again.
I entered the waiting room, the only one without a wheelchair or crutches.
I filled out the paperwork with relative honesty.
I got weighed, measured. I didn't look.
I waited in the room...
then
he
entered.
Dr. Timothy Fitzer wears an iridescent purple silk shirt with black pin-stripe pants that, by no accident, feature thin stripes of the same shade of purple running subtly down the length of each leg. In his left ear glistens a well-polished diamond, tribute to his true baller nature.
Long story short I have poison oak and it sucks. Fitz was as good as any other doctor I have seen and gave me a prescription while explaining exactly why I look like a freak of nature. It was quick and painless and easy.
Dr. Fitzer is fine.
Dr. Fitzer's outfit is fyiiiiiiiiine!
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Ive been a patient there for about 6 months and I realized today that I wouldn't send my dog there. They return important calls 4 to 5 days later and require patients to make office visits in order to have medicines re-filled, which adds up to quite a bit when you consider the co-pays for both. More about making money than making people healthy. No wonder the health care system is in trouble here. What ever happened to good old service and fair treatment?
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Dr. Timothy Fitzer has good sense of humor and very accomodating, I was running late by 10 mins and he was booked for the day but over the phone he confirmed that its not going to be an issue. I did my annual check up and he made sure that everything gets checked. I on my side also made sure that I do the labs and follow up as well.
I will definately recommend him.
I agree!!!
Dr. Timothy Fitzer wears an iridescent purple silk shirt with black pin-stripe pants that, by no accident, feature thin stripes of the same shade of purple running subtly down the length of each leg. In his left ear glistens a well-polished diamond, tribute to his true baller nature.
.
I saw Dr. Fitzer because of these reviews. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. My first visit was okay, he has a very friendly bedside manner and is kind of sarcastic, which always puts me at ease with a doctor (weird, I know). During this first visit, he didn't seem to be in a rush, but he didn't really probe me with any questions about my health. [I went into anaphylactic shock from taking 2 antibiotics at the same time several years ago, and he suggested I not get an allergy test to find out.] When I mentioned something that I wanted his opinion about, I felt uncomfortable, like I was being whiny. He gave me a referral for an x-ray. Not a perfect visit, but decent.
My second visit was only a few weeks later, because I had gotten very sick. I couldn't see him so I saw one of the NPs - a VERY sarcastic woman, biting, but okay. [When she asked about my allergies and I told her the deal, she was extremely shocked that Dr Fitzer had suggested I not take a test. She felt it was extremely important and that I wouldn't be able to take any antibiotics if I didn't find out.] I got a lot of "Wow, that's weird" while I was telling her what's wrong. This visit was also uneventful...she didn't really say much beyond commenting on how strange my symptoms were. A nice thing about this 2nd visit is that this nurse MAILED me a referral for an allergy test. Nice surprise at the end.
Now, the office staff is where I take away the last 2 stars. Much worse than the first 2 "eh" visits was the after-math. I felt like I had a UTI during the 2nd visit, so they tested me for that. They called me about 3 weeks later telling me that my test came out negative, no UTI. [However, they left me a message and I called back 10 minutes later...gave them my name, told them why I was calling....and it took them 20 minutes to figure out who called me and why. This wasn't very painful, just annoying.] They asked me to come in for a follow-up test...."a follow-up test?" I ask. "But it came out negative, and I've been feeling fine for 3 weeks now." The girl who called kind of stammered, then told me to come in anyway. After a lot of back and forth, I said "sure" and just never went in.
There is one woman who works there that does the insurance and billing (don't know her name). I have spoken with her a few times because I'm having problems with my insurance. This woman has to be one of the meanest people I've ever spoken to. I spoke to her very respectfully and apologized a lot for asking so many questions and told her that I was very very confused, but any time that I reiterated what she just said, to make sure that I understood, she said "YES! I just told you that!" despite me explaining, several times, why I was reiterating. I'm sure that it was annoying her to be talking to someone who really had no idea what was going on, but she was disproportionately rude. I even asked her at one point to just bear with me, and I explained very clearly that I know that she's told me things, but I just want to make sure that I understand because blah blah.... At one point, I told her that she was making me feel bad and asked her to stop being so impatient and mean. She kept scoffing and exclaiming things like "how come you don't get it?" I still don't get it. Fortunately, there will be no more phone calls like that for me!
I've since sworn off western "medicine" and am going to go the holistic route.
To be honest, I've never seen Dr. Fitzer in my life. However, I've been going to Berkeley Family Practice for several years and am thrilled by their service. My doctor is Dr. Goo, who is a totally sweetheart and knows her stuff. I can always get an appointment the same day I call, and because they're also an urgent care clinic, they have Saturday and evening appointments! This is really important to me, as there is nothing more frustrating than having some sort of non-emergency urgent ailment and having a doctor who never has appointments available less than a week in advance. I had to switch away from Berkeley Family Practice for a year for insurance reasons and was miserable as a result. I was just finally able to switch back and I've never been happier!
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I've only ever been in here twice, both times to see Dr. Fitzer.
First time: My first trip to Chiapas. Two weeks after coming home I finally went to the doctor b-c the hubby pointed out that the kind of stank I had going on in the bathroom couldn't possibly be normal. Fitzer's travelled a bit, and he's down with parasites. He told me mine wasn't impressive, but gave me a scrip and my world went back to normal. I'm eternally grateful.
Second time: Peace Corps physical. This wasn't really fun for either of us, but he got me in on time, got it all filled out *correctly*, and sent me on my way, where I eventually got to spend a lot of time living with a lot of impressive parasites in my gut...
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Dr. Fitzer is my provider of choice as well, though I haven't had terribly bad experiences with the other practicioners.
Dr. Fitzer is always patient and thorough with his exams and unlike most doctors who glaze over your diagnosis, he sits you down and makes sure you understand what's going on with your body. He's politically correct [e.g. he always refers to my "partner" not my bf], lay-person friendly [uses metaphors to convey the symptoms of your ailment], and professional.
I've come here on PPO and HMO with PacifiCare and haven't had any problems. They have extended office hours and Dr. Fitzer is often in in the evenings, so that's pretty convenient if you're working.
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It's been around for years and years, so I guess one has to forgive the utter dingyness of the waiting room. What's not so forgiveable, however, is the unhelpfulness of the staff. I was shocked by the exhorbitant $150 fee for a simple office visit for my daughter, particularly as a Blue Cross member. (BC negotiates rates with its providers and I assumed I would be paying that--not the full, overpriced fee.)
I assumed right. Two weeks later, I get an "explanation of benefits" letter from BC that informs me I've been overcharged by $70. According to Larry at the clinic, they always charge the "full rates" because they don't know what each patient's negotiated rate will be. But I don't buy it, as it doesn't make any sense. The definition of a "negotiated rate" is that it's standard for a variety of procedures. Blue Cross will pay $X for an office visit, $Y for this particular lab test, and so on.
To top it off, in order to get the overcharge back, I have to mail Larry my copy of the Blue Cross letter and then wait for a check. Very irritating.
That said, we saw a terrific nurse practitioner who followed up Chrissy's visit with a phone call. We like her. We just don't like the billing practices, which strike me as more than a little shady.
Dr. Fitzer is awesome.
The rest of the doctors/practitioners in there... errrr... not so awesome... Seems like he's the only guy in there that actually knows what's wrong with me... others, just seem to think that a patient is his 20s is a pushover.
Go there ONLY to see Dr. Fitzer!
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