Alan Moelleken, MD – Spine and Orthopedic Center

I been trying for nearly a week to be seen by Alan Moelleken, MD his staff is very unprofessional and never returns call, when you do reach someone they say give them 10 minutes and they will return your call three days later, you still don’t get a return call. Sadly this provider was recommended by my doctor who i trust with out question. however I think her office needs to do better background checks on the medical offices they recommend.
My name is Chris Hecker feel free to contact me anyone.

Dr Moelleken gave me about 5 minutes of his time… as a new patient, he walked into exam room, (after I had waited 2 hours and fifteen minutes) and first thing out of his mouth was
«Do you want surgery or therapy?» I said I’d first like to be diagnosed. He quickly scanned my MRI, barely even looking at it, which I had brought and said «I’d recommend surgery but you can do what ever you choose» I asked him to discuss what my options where and I could tell he was really not interested and in a rush to get done with me… that was with in about four minutes. He again said surgery had no promises but he thought it would be best. Then he grappled the door Handel and said, the receptionist will give you names of some physical therapist. 5 minutes, 250 bucks visit and that was all he gave me. Terrible.

Excellent experience. Bertha one of the staff is outstanding .
Highly recommend Dr M and his staff.
Very happy with my treatment
Thank you

Dr M is a strait forward guy. Tells me what my issues are with my injury and what can be done. Doesn’t delay with his opinion or try to soften the delivery of any news. I like the guy. A stand up Dr.

Doctor Moelleken is very knowledgeable, ethical, experienced, very detailed and precise in his approach to the type of treatment needed for relieving pain and improving the quality of life for the patient.
He communicates extremely well, allows for questions to be asked and gives me time to make a decision to explore all options with treatments and recovery.
His staff is courteous and efficient, well educated on the subject matter and honest in the course of their duties.
I have seen many spine specialist after my injury in 2009 and I would highly recommend the doctor and this medical office to anyone with simular orthopedic issues.

If I could rate 0 stars, I would. This was the only doctor I could get into on a moments notice. He was not on my physical therapists list of referrals, but again, could get me in. After a 45 minute wait, a PA came in and told me the doctor left and couldn’t see me so he was going to see me. I had been very specific about seeing a doctor only since I had been in terrible pain. It is unconscionable for this office to do a bait and switch. The PA could not diagnose my pain problem (I had both MRI’s and an Xray) and suggested shooting me up with drugs to manage the pain. WOW! They can’t figure out the problem, so they mask it? They turn their patients into junkies so they can continue to bill the insurance company? Great scam these guys are running. I will find a real doctor to work with on getting to the bottom of what is wrong with my back.

the doctors are good but they are over book so.
after your initial few visit you will be sitting in the office for 3 plus Hrs the Santa Maria office is the worst for wait times.
SB office is better but be prepared to sit for a long time and tons of repeat visits for things that could have and should have ben check all at one time
good doctors and PAs but to many patients ant to many offices for them to keep functioning at one time you will get lost in the crowd as a patient

My first impression of the Spine and Ortho Clinic was similar to Cheryl K. It seemed like bad news but I’ve been a patient for 18 months on 3 different injuries and quickly came to a very different conclusion. First, I think all of the doctors and PA’s are top notch. Dr. Pires has given me relief from a long standing and debilitating neck injury. Unneeded tests? I haven’t experienced this at all. My wife is also now a very satisfied customer with a low back injury currently undergoing treatment. I think what people see with his crowded lobby is the result of a truly caring doctor who could easily sit back with a posh office and upscale clientele as his colleagues do in Santa Barbara. Dr. Moelleken instead has opened his practice to most insurance, work comp and Medicare/​MediCal to serve a hidden and underserved group of people who hurt just as much as «we» do. This has a side benefit of generating revenue he uses to hire and retain very well qualified staff. The S&O Clinic is a real winner and I’m glad to have found them.

I can understand the previous reviewer who said the office schedules a lot of repeat visits, orders many tests and prescribes lots of treatments. There are probably two ways of looking at these facts, though. I have to thank Dr. Moelleken for ordering an MRI last year that showed a severe disc herniation in my lower back and explained pain that other doctors had failed to properly diagnose because they were reluctant to order an MRI. I’m glad he decided to get to the root cause of my problem, even if it meant higher costs. However, a subsequent epidural injection provided only about five days of pain relief, so the expensive procedure was largely in vain. But not entirely — It helped provide the diagnosis that the targeted disc was in fact the pain generator.
The problem is that the tests and procedures were far too expensive. I could only afford them because I have good health insurance. The insurer simply rejected a big chunk of the bill for the injection as being unreasonable. That’s not a good sign.
By the way, when I went to this office a year ago the staff were very friendly. Either something has changed or the previous reviewer just had a bad experience that can’t be generalized. I don’t know.
The Spine & Orthopedic Center is a business. Let’s not forget that. That’s part of a national issue though, and this office is not alone in trying to make money in health care. I’m still grateful to Dr. Moelleken and his team for finding the cause of my pain and trying to treat it.

The doctor is okay, I guess. Wasn’t really the right specialty for us, but my God, that office and staff! I kept waiting for a 60 Minutes crew to come through the door to do a piece on medical fraud mills. This place just reeks of unethicalism, and yes, that should be a word because it really describes this office. Frightening. Several patients even left without being seen, I assume because they had to wait so long. The Physician Assistant was nice and seemed competent, as did Dr. Moelleken, however be guaranteed that you’ll be given more tests than you could dream of, and many multiple unnecessary repeat office visits. Stay away from this «clinic» and go to a reputable medical office.