Atlanta Spine and Alternative Pain Management Center

I see the doctor once a month and get charged almost $ 600 for urine sample. Other Dr’s only charge $ 52 dollars and take samples by surprise. You get charged each time of the visit. I never had a previous balance before going here

Beware this place. My mistake was not reading the online reviews before making an appointment; all of the reviews that I found across sites are negative. Looking it back, it is no wonder that they were able to get me in so quickly; the demand must not be high.
In a nutshell, the web site for this place claims to work with patients who have chronic pain (e.g., fibromyalgia). When I went in seeking pain management assistance, instead of asking me questions, Dr. «C» wanted to focus on making negative statements about all of my other doctors. (Anyone who has had chronic pain knows it takes thousands of dollars and many different doctor visits to get a proper diagnosis.) I went to this place for help, utterly exasperated after doing just that over the course of the past three years, and this guy shoved me right out the door after spending NOT EVEN TEN minutes with me. (And this was after a nearly 2-​hour wait.)
I got no exam, I got no diagnosis, I got no prescriptions, I got no referrals (except one to a psychologist too far away), and I got zero compassion from this guy. Sadly, I paid for the visit when, in reality, they should have PAID ME for wasting so much of my time away from my job. This Dr. «C» seems to be offended or intimidated by patients who actually want to participate in the conversation, be an active participant in their care and actually ask questions.
Yes, questions! A patient asking questions of a brand new doctor never seen before! Perish the thought.
For example, I asked him specifically about cognitive behavior therapy, and his response was to insult my (very excellent) orthopedic doctor for «throwing that idea out there.» He carried on about that point for more than I felt it was worth. I said, «But he told me to ask my new pain management specialist – you – about CBT, just to see if it’s something that might work for me.» Whoa! A question. In response, this so-​called ‘doctor’ actually ARGUED with me, and repeated another THREE times in our extremely brief meeting that «all these other doctors» (read: «idiots») go around «throwing ideas out» about things they know nothing of. I was sitting there in shock thinking, «Why are you wasting my time bad-​mouthing other doctors instead of actually putting some effort into helping me and DOING YOUR JOB that I’m paying you to do???»
I beg to differ with this man’s narrow vision. Medicine is just as much an art as a science, and for people with chronic pain, the ability to think outside the box and consider alternative therapies (when all other attempts to relieve or manager pain have failed) is essential. This «doctor» didn’t ask me ONE SINGLE QUESTION about my previous therapies. Or allergies. Or history of pain. Or my emotional state. Or my current medications. Or my hope for treatment. Or why I came in and sat there for TWO HOURS to see him. OR ANY VALID QUESTION Instead, he retaliated when I asked questions and condescended to me when I tried to describe my current pain to him. He actually took issue that I’m fully knowledgeable of the difference between disc related pain and muscle pain and, furthermore, insisted that I not speak in those terms again (meaning speak in such a way that I think I know what I’m talking about).
After less than 10 minutes and no exam, he literally walked out of the room without writing down a single note or responding to the very least of my needs, which is a need for compassion and understanding – a need to know that my doctor cares and wants to help. He literally put ZERO effort into building a relationship with me.
All of this was after a nearly TWO-​HOUR wait. I kid you not. They left me in that exam room without any contact for a FULL HOUR. This was after 45 minutes in the waiting room. One of the unbelievably rude and defensive «assistants» (or whatever her role) actually argued with me (despite being in the wrong) about my records, which I’d had sent over two days previous and she claimed she didn’t receive. She’d received them all right, just failed to put them in my chart. It was much worse than that – she actually blamed ME for the LONG wait in yet another way – she said it was because I showed up too early for my appointment! I’m not making this up, people! I was the first patient there at 08:00, and I was NOT SEEN almost 10:00AM. I got no apology from this woman, even when she found out she was in the wrong.
Worse, I was literally escorted to the front door (after this doctor evidently walked out on me) by this amazon creature who looked like she hadn’t smiled once in her adult life.
Trust me, chronic pain patients, stay away from Atlanta Spine and Alternative Pain Management Center on Peachtree Rd near Piedmont Hospital. It was an utterly demoralizing, horrific experience. Maybe they have other doctors who actually have compassion. But not this Dr. «C.» Stay away.