Gary Bean, MD

I wanted to like Dr. Bean and his practice… (I searched high and low for an African American Doctor) But my first visit and then the phone interaction today sealed the deal of not wanting to take my child here anymore.
Everyone is correct about the staff! Rude and dismissive. And the Paid street parking sucks. Office is old. Stairs in front with no ramp for strollers.
The first visit, we were seen by a NP. When presented with some forms to sign about decline of shots, we chose not to sign. Then entered Bean. He and his wife questioned us over and over. Tried to get us to sign then ultimately gave up when we didn’t give in. To smooth things over he stayed in the room and talked with us. However we he called my child «it» … That completely turned me off.
So today I called the office because I wanted to get a copy of my child’s medical records and it was like pulling teeth. The phone interaction made me feel like I was bothering them. They told me dr bean would give me a call.
He called not too long after… he was a bit rude and also had a dismissive tone. (I had a homebirth and needed my child’s med records to apply for her SS #. The SS office said I just needed something with my child’s name, DOB and record number from them. Since I am not doing immunization shots) I let Bean know this and he insisted that I need to draft my own letter to give to the SS office and bring it up to the office and he will sign within 48 hrs. So I would have to go there drop the letter off, wait two day then go and pick it up. Did I mention I live an hour away from the office!
But my thing is why can’t I just have a copy of MY CHILD’s records?! And why do I have to do your work of writing a letter?!
This turned me off even more and said F it! I’m finding a new doctor.

What the doctor bean in office today for my son’s circumcision had a 9:30 appointment got there at 9:05 they sent another appointment ahead of us that was late how does waiting to 10 o’clock still no appointment bad customer service skills bad reception to schools so they get a one star for customer service I wouldn’t recommend any children to get circumcised at Dr beans office

While our interactions with the nurse practitioner and the office staff were great, the office itself definitely needs to be cleaned and repainted.

I was referred to this doctor after my delivery. He has been great since day one. I had considered taking my son to my stepdaughters pediatrician which is only a few miles away from our home– so, very convenient. However, although I feel the office needs a bit of an upgrade, I absolutely love, and feel comfortable taking my son there. The staff has been very nice and Dr. Bean has been amazing with my son and on giving him his shots. My 30 min drive is so worth it! It can be hard finding that perfect doctor for your first born.

Surprise, surprise, I got my medical records in the mail within three days. So much for his «poorly run office.» I believe that he and his approach are the underlying problem and I will not recommend his practice to anyone I come across.

It has been 10 years that we have used Dr. Gary Bean for my three children. He is an EXCELLENT doctor and really takes the time to review all of your questions and I respect his opinion. I have dealt with sicknesses from a newborn with SEVERE jaundice to a sore throat. There is NO more rude staff at the front desk. The new staff is very friendly and helpful. I can always get a last minute sick visit, even if I have to wait a bit longer, but it is sooo worth it. He has great connections at Children’s Hospital in Oakland and when my daughter had to be hospitalized on multiple times he spped up the process for check in. He came to visit her daily while she was in the hospital. ALL of the nurse practitioners are REALLY good. All very friendly and informative.
If you want the BEST care of your child, please come HERE.

Dr. Bean is the best! I have been taking my children there since they were in middle school, and now my daughter takes her children there. Dr. Bean is excellent with the children. He is attentive, and ask lots of questions. His front desk staff needs to be trained on how to treat parents and paitents, but I don’t want to hold that against Dr. Bean. I have been blessed to actually see Dr. Bean on most of my visit. I would highly recommend Dr. Bean to any parent looking for a great, compassionate peditrician.

Dr. Bean is very good with the kids & very patient. He is so polite & will even call the pharmacy in front of you after your appointment to ensure that it can be ready soon. He even answers the phone once in a while! Now how many doctors do you know does this?
His office is a bit old school. No handicap/​stroller access & older medical tables. After reading the horrible front office stories, I make sure I have all my paperwork needed when I sign in & I keep conversations to a minimum. But my husband just went there yesterday & noticed new faces. Looks like Dr. Bean is doing a clean up.
Even with the other reviews of him never being there (which is slightly true since he has another office in Emeryville), another nurse practicioner is always around. She is just as nice & helpful.

For the first few years after we transferred our boys to Dr. Bean’s office, it was fine. This was back in ’05-’06. We didn’t always get him for our appointments, but his nurse practitioners or whichever Dr. was on call. This was fine. When we did get Dr. Bean directly, he was always easy going, kind and comforting for the kids (especially since they’re boys and he’s male). He has jazz photos on the walls which my boys loved and would always ask Dr. Bean about them. Dr. Bean would talk about jazz and seemed very knowledgeable to my boys’ delight.
It wasn’t until I became concerned about my son having issues at school pertaining to learning disabilities and possible ADD/​ADHD that things started changing. Or more specifically his attitude changed. I started getting little snide remarks about my insurance plan, like jokey sort of sarcastic remarks that I just wrote off because I’m thinking «oh, he must be having a busy stressful day», Then, he would be pointed in saying that the office didn’t make copies anymore or getting really sarcastic when I requested that he provide a notice regarding the boys’ health issues pertaining to lead in my apartment (that’s complicated so I won’t get into that). I found out the hard way his stance on lead and children’s exposure to lead in an old apartment building.
I’ve discovered that he supplied my ex with the children’s records around the time that my ex decided to keep the children out of state with him after they were initially going to just stay with him on vacation. I understand that as the boys’ father, he has a right to a copy (heh.) of the boys records, BUT for one, he didn’t bother to check in with me as the mother who had consistently brought the boys in to their various appointments. As of now, I am pondering whether to take this man to court or not. I hope someone brings this review to his attention, because I don’t know if he is really aware of his part in this whole custody mess that is going on now.
Did my family have a lot of issues? I don’t think any more than the average single mother with two little boys. The fact that the boys’ father supplied their insurance and that there might have been issues with that, does not give him the excuse to consistently give me attitude when I had questions, or a requests or when we came in. Nevertheless, the boys have not been back. Maybe his practice is struggling, who knows? But he needs to check himself. Regardless of how he felt about me and/​or my insurance, my family or whatever, whether his practice is struggling, he still makes a lot more money than most of us AND I don’t care how bad a day you might be having my day might’ve been worse but I’m not going to make my patients feel inferior, no matter what.

The hospital where I delivered my daughter referred me to this practice. I was told then that I didn’t need to keep this doctor and could change if I wanted to. Boy, did I want to! On the one hand, this practice is centrally located in a prime area. I quickly fell in love with Save-​more across the street, where I gleefully selected a cloth bag full of delightful foodstuffs to take home after office visits. I wanted to fall in love with the breakfast and coffee houses nearby too had I took the chance.
The office itself is housed in a funny little building up a flight of steps. How parents navigate strollers up these steps is beyond me (I always carried my baby in a cloth sling draped across my body.). This office isn’t handicapped friendly either. The receptionists are hit or miss and seem all about the money. «Cash only» signs are posted in RED CAPS. The doctor is hardly ever present, with nurse practitioners taking up the slack.
I wanted to like this practice, especially after I spied the lovely black and white portraits of jazz musicians lining the walls. I almost felt at home. Unfortunately, my baby wasn’t thriving as well as she could have and there was little communication as to why. No one ever asked me what my feeding plan entailed, nor did anyone explain anything. This charade continued until one rainy morning when something had to give.
I take my daughter to a different practice now that serves our needs. I am getting the breastfeeding support here at this practice that I didn’t get at the practice that I am currently reviewing. Women doctors actually ask me how things are going. They interact with my baby and praise my efforts as her mother. Best of all, my baby is thriving at last. No offense to this practice. It just didn’t suit us at all. I have heard tremendous praise for this doctor otherwise. I did see a softer side of him toward the end. Ultimately, it wasn’t the right fit.