Novak Medical Clinic

Seriously. this place is crap. First off, the place is a little out dated. Who still uses an ear thermometer to take temp? And a scale where you have to slide the lever?! Yeah get a digital one. I feel like this place is all about «natural remedies» if I wanted a natural remedy I wouldn’t be at a doctors office in the first place. Second, the wait time! I expect a wait at a doctors office but not an hour past my appt time!!! And I kept on hearing the ladies in the front say «oh yeah she’s very booked today she’s running late. «well why did you over schedule patients?! So annoying and very unprofessional. I will not be coming back here. If anyone is reading this and knows a good doctor please let me know! I’m desperate!

I usually hate going to the doctors but now I see Pam the FNP for all my medical care and she is amazing. She listens and is very caring. When I have gone without an appointment she squeezed me in with an an hour. I am very happy with the care I am recieving at this facility. Her appointments sometimes run behind but she is worth the wait.

There is no way on God’s green earth I can consciously recommend this clinic to anyone.
The staff (both medical and administrative) demonstrated disorganization and patient disrespect on a regular basis while I was a patient there.
When the doctor forgot to write a prescription during an appointment it would take a month or more to finally get it written.
At one point when I was in there, I had an ear ache and told the MA/​RN that before she took my vitals, and asked that she be careful when taking my temp using a thermoscan. Instead, she jammed it in my ear and had the audacity to be annoyed when I jumped.
I had an urgent matter that I needed guidance on but when I called to find out if their office was equipped to handle it there or if I needed to go to the emergency room the front desk continuously sent me to the nurse’s voice-​mail, which was full! The front desk was unable to tell me what their office could handle, they refused to transfer me to a live being who could tell me what to do, and they refused to allow me to speak to the practice manager. After 3 hours of back and forth, I finally called my insurance company who simply told me to go to the ER (the issue could have been life threatening, thankfully it wasn’t). When I spoke to Dr. Novak about it at my next appointment, he suggested I seek care elsewhere and told me they can’t provide Cadillac care on a Volkswagen budget. Having a staff knowledgeable in best practices shouldn’t be considered «Cadillac».
The front office and even the office manager were regularly disrespectful and disregarded patients (not just myself). The office manager flat out lied and told me she’s the practice manager (they’re two different roles) and refused to allow me to speak to the practice manager.
If you’re going to have a patient load like this office has, you really need to have a qualified staff to support them with practical guidelines and procedures in place.

There are exceptionally few physicians which I am willing to refer any of my patients to. Most are far too closed minded regarding nutrients, diet, herbs, or anything besides drugging away the symptoms while the underlying conditions get worse. Dr. Novak is on my very short list of good, progressive open minded doctors. If all you want is to drug away your symptoms than don’t bother to choose a great practitioner like Dr. Novak, but if you will do your part to help improve your health, he is one of the few worth going to.
David Getoff, CCN, CTN, FAAIM

I recently moved to PB and was looking for a PCP in the area. Novack Medical Clinic took my insurance and I could get an appointment easily so I went with them and I am very glad I did!
I saw the Nurse Practitioner, Pam Ferolie and she was an absolute delight! She looked a little frazzled when she walked in, but she took the time to get to know me a little bit and to really understand my needs. I liked that she told me to get something over the counter instead of writing a prescription. Her «bedside manner» was great and I felt like she took time for me, rather than rushing me in and out.
Why I didn’t rate them with 5 stars? The office was clean on the inside, but the outside of the building doesn’t look very nice. I think there was some graffiti by the door so that made me a little leery at first. It’s also a tad hard to find if you don’t know where it is and I had to park on the street. I’m not sure if they have parking other than street parking. Other than that, everything was great and I will definitely go back.

So Ive never posed on Unilocal before this.
Dr. Novak started out really well. He fit me in, treated me, and sent me on my way.
Now, to see Dr Novak I have to set an appointment (assuming its not Friday afternoon because he is closed) to see him. Not an issue at all, but its not normal to have to wait 30 – 45 mins to see him in a waiting room with an apointment. It takes forever.
Next, he saw me for a simple issue said its not a big deal at all just take some «fish oil» and sent me home. However when my long term disability insnurance provider called him to confirm Im healthy he told them what I had and they put a hold on the ins comverage. Now I had to do a follow up apointment for the ins comanay (took 2 weeks to get in), have to get the results from the doctor (still waiting 18 days later), left him messages (because they dont pick up the phone) and still no call back.
Im looking for a new doctor now because;
1. I cant wait 40 mins to be seen for a lunch hour doc apt.
2. I dont feel he has given me the real awnsers to my problems. Just fish oil’s…
3. Total lack of communitcation and personal touch you would expect from a doctor.
But he seems nice…

I was very happy to see Dr. Novak initially, even willing to maintain his office as the family PCP after moving 25 miles away. I changed that status after being told that I could not get an appointment for 3.5 hours when I was in significant pain with a facial infection. When I spoke with my insurance, they said I could go to an authorized urgent care facility.
As I was going through the check in process, the urgent care facility contacted Dr. Novak’s office, who said they would not authorize any treatment provided as they (Dr. Novak’s office) were open for business. I challenged them to verify that they were saying they were going to have me spend hours in pain, when I was given the approval from insurance to visit the urgent care. The offer was repeated to come in at the original time as my only option.
I proceeded with the urgent care and paid out of pocket.

I had an allergic reaction last week. I waited for hours and filled out pages and pages of info at the Family Clinic in Mission Beach before they told me that my insurance wasn’t a kind that they accepted.
So, I looked up Dr. Novak’s Clinic a few minutes away. They saw me right in no problem. The nurse practitioner was the one who actually saw me but she was the nicest, warmest, with the most friendly personality. She explained everything to me and made me feel better. Yes, the medicine was the key but the fact that she cared was great.
They also took my blood for testing with no hastle either. I was expecting to explain myself but it was fine.
I’ll be going back regularly.
**Update, the nurse practitioner has one of those positive uplifting personlities. No matter what, she inspires hope.

Although I have never been treated by Mr. Novak, I have seen the same nurse practitioner every visit. She is very thorough, kind and spends time explaining the issue at hand and how to solve it (I often feel like I need to pull info out of my past Doctors to understand what the illness is). They are usually able to fit me in the same day I call and all the staff is very nice and helpful.

Okay, here’s the thing. After my last review, I did move over to a doctor at Sharp instead. And just like when you dump a boyfriend because the grass looks greener, and then remember all the qualities that drew you to him in the first place, I found regrets. The doc at Sharp doesn’t believe in alternative medicine. And when I say alternative, I’m not talking about chanting a mantra or leeches or even acupuncture. I’m only talking about prescribing Armour Thyroid (if you are a thyroid patient you have probably heard of it) or using bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Nothing radical, but she said it was «controversial» and didn’t dig it.
SO — I went back to Novak Medical and NP Pam Ferolie because they specialize in «anti-​aging» medicine and will prescribe Armour Thyroid, Nature-​throid, etc. They now dispense Nature-​throid right from the office. They will test Free T4 and Free T3, and for antibodies if indicated. They recognize that TSH is only one indicator and will prescribe by symptoms. They also offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for peri– and menopausal women.
A lot of doctors claim that they listen to their patients’ opinions, but Pam actually does (I’ve never seen Novak but I presume his philosophy is the same). As I said before, the support staff is irregular, and usually there’s a long wait at appointments. But I guess if I want the kind of treatment for my thyroid disorder that is based on what makes me feel better and not what is in some crusty medical tome, I am going to have to put up with the downside.

I’ve been with this office for about 3 years. They are just ok. I’ve never seen Dr. Novak always one of the nurse practicioners or other docs in the office. They seem to want to do a good job and recomend preventative measures.
They are definitely over loaded. There’s alway a bunch of old people in there getting medicaion and check ups. I feel like they’re just your typical get’em in and get’em out office. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recomend them to anyone but I also don’t think any other place would be any bettter.

Novak Medical Clinic was the only clinic willing to see me on the same day. I was extremely sick and they opened their doors. The only problem is the place seems very dirty and worn out. It looks like no decent cleaning has been done in years and the whole building is just worn out. I felt I was in a third world country when I walked in.
The good thing– I was able to see Dr. Novak and he seemed very concerned about me. I might give him another try again but I would not want to recommend anyone until I get to know him better and until they do something about their facilities.
I am thankful to them for seeing me.