Robert L Dobrow, MD – California Pacific Medical Center

Thorough, kind and caring, willing to take the time to listen

I feel obligated to warn others after my bad experience. I made a new patient exam appointment due to some health concerns. Upon my first appointment I was seen by his nurse practitioner and wasn’t told that she was this and not a doctor until the visit was done. After the very abrasive, unpleasant appointment with her was over she said I would need to schedule another one to see the actual Dr who was not in that day. Was scheduled to come in to meet him which took 5 minutes and was a huge waste of my valuable time. I am unhappy with my overall treatment and felt like they thought I was a drug seeker which could not be more wrong. Now I am dealing with their inadequate billing office sending me $ 50 late fees monthly that arrive after the billing due date that was paid in full. NOT worth the time OR hassle OR money. Boo to you Dr. Dobrow and your mean nurse practitioner. Have some heart and be a little caring towards your patients. I felt like an unwanted, unhonest paycheck for you to earn. When what I really needed was simply some medical guidance from a caring doctor

Excellent and caring!

Dr. Dobrow has been my primary care physician for 18 years. He is kind, caring, compassionate, proactive and he has always taken the time to fully understand and address my health issues.
Dr. Dobrow has an outstanding ability to diagnose an underlying problem and to be able to offer solutions.
Dr. Dobrow has an extensive network of specialists to refer one to when an issue is beyond the scope of his office and he is highly respected.
Dr. Dobrow remains involved in ones care even after being referred and remains an available advocate and resource if a need arises.
I find Dr. Dobrow goes out of his way to be available. His staff is friendly, very helpful and extremely accommodating.
Dr. Dobrow’s commitment to quality care of his patients extends to how one is treated by his office staff and his colleagues.
I highly recommend Dr. Dobrow.

I was referred to Dr. Dobrow by another doctor downtown. I never got a chance to meet him b/​c I was put through his nurse practitioner Kay Kugler. Upon meeting her, I let her know that one critical thing for me is that my primary care doctor is open to also working with my naturopathic specialist. Kay said she was, but didn’t follow through as she said she would on an important blood test I needed to get — she has just completely ignored the request and the rationale for them (she asked for the latter which also took another 2 days for me to get). I can’t figure out if it’s intentional or their online system isn’t working. Anyway, I’ve sent a few emails with zero follow up as she had promised. I’m also annoyed I never got a chance to meet Dr. Dobrow. They positioned my first appointment with Kay as just a first office visit but then it appeared I’d be doing the future visits with Kay as well. It felt like a dishonest bait and switch. Anyway, I’ve found another primary care doctor. I’m giving 3 stars b/​c it looks like Dr. Dobrow rocks and I don’t want to hurt his Unilocal score too much, but seriously, be honest when you do the bait and switch.

Dr. Dobrow is very patient and kind. He is a good listener as well. I like him very much. I am happy to have found a good doctor. My only issue is that if his office had prescribed me the Z-​pak originally as I had asked, my acute bronchitis would not have lasted 9 weeks. I asked for the prescription over the phone, and they wanted me to come in. Fair enough. I don’t want a doctor like Kaiser who just throws anti-​biotics at you without thinking about it anyway. But the first time, I went in, he still did not prescribe me the Z-​pak. He prescribed me something else. It didn’t work. I understand that doctors don’t like patients who self-​diagnose, but don’t we know ourselves best? So, I called in after the first prescription of whatever that ineffective drug was and asked for them to prescribe me the Z-​pak. He agreed, but he said if that didn’t work I would have to come in. Well, the Z-​pak worked like a charm for me, of course. He also prescribed me a sample Advair inhaler. I read online that General practitioners will do this sometimes, but Advair doesn’t even start to work until about 2 weeks in, and you have to keep using. The sample only covers 7 days. So I chucked it (didn’t tell him) and I’m really glad I took my own advice. In fairness to Dr. Dobrow, it was the first time he met me, because I had been seeing his nurse practitioner before that, so I understand. I still think he is a very kind man, and I will continue to see him. The lesson from this is: 1) Use your doctor in conjunction with your own research and always take into account your own medical history which we ourselves know best.

My husband and I have just left the Brown and Toland coverage area and will no longer be lucky enough to have Dr. Dobrow as our general physician. It is a huge wrench for us to leave him after having had him caring for us – and I mean that term in all senses of the word! – for about 25 years. He is patient, kind, thorough, engaged, and we feel exceptionally lucky to have had him for our doctor. My husband has had a series of very weird issues over the last ten years, and I think that we were very lucky that Dr. Dobrow was our doctor. Unlike another reviewer, we never found that Dr. Dobrow put money matters before our health care. We also felt like we were people that he genuinely cared about as well as being patients to Dr. Dobrow. And as travelers, we were happy that he was a resource for all travel issues as well. Finally, his office manager, Emily, is super-​efficient and sharp as a tack, and his medical assistants are well-​trained as well. Bottom line: how often do you LOOK FORWARD to a medical appointment?

Dr. Dobrow is punctual, thorough, polite, expansively knowledgeable, and generally amazing. Somehow, he still manages to be understanding and patient. I am consistently impressed with him.

Hands down the best doc in town–
He’s been my primary doc for years and is a class act! Very accomodating, and good bed-​side manner.

Dr. Dobrow is patient, kind, and exceptionally thorough. I have never, ever visited a primary care physician who takes as much time getting to know his patients and who takes such a detailed family medical history. Dr. Dobrow seems genuinely interested in the health and well-​being of his patients. He really DOES call to follow up with the specialists he refers his patients to! Also, after carefully examining my partner and going through a detailed diagnostic work-​up, he was the first doctor to properly diagnose a spinal condition my partner has suffered from for nearly 10 years. This doc is on top of his research and very detail-​oriented — the makings for a great diagnostician.
Yeah, the office isn’t all that shnazzy and his receptionist isn’t the most personable woman around, but that doesn’t matter when you take into account the caliber of doctor that Dobrow is. In an age of hurried, impersonal doctor appointments, where 1 minute is typically spent with the assistant taking your BP, 8 minutes are spent waiting in the room (dressed in a paper gown, no less), and only 1 rushed minute is spent with the doctor, it is astonishing to know there’s at least one doctor out there who still gives personal attention to his patients. Seriously, when was the last time you had a doc take your BP, not a nurse or assistant?
I have recommended him to several friends, and each has agreed he is wonderful.
Some of those Kaiser drones could take a page out of Dobrow’s book.

Go here if you want a doctor that:
1. doesn’t value your opinion
2. constantly worries about his time with you
3. is more worried about the costs of the tests than if you need them
4. seems disinterested.

Dr. Dobrow is the most thorough and caring doctor I can imagine, and his nurse practitioner is equally professional and personable. The entire office staff, for that matter, is on their game. I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to have found this gem of a primary care physician in the Brown & Toland group.