Friedman Jamie, MD

Dr. Friedman is the real life «House». He cares so deeply about his patients and their wellbeing that it sets the bar so high for any other doctor to come close to the care that he provides. He has helped my family on numerous occasions, including bedside advice when my Dad had a stroke and through his rehabilitation. He is truly a consultative type doctor and doesn’t assume that your symptoms are «the norm». I give Dr. Friedman my highest recommendation.

I can’t recommend Dr Fiedman — while he may be technically competent, the incompetence and unprofessionalism of his office receptionist «Nicky» was on full display today, very alarming and a complete turn-​off. My wife had an appointment with Dr Friedman and when I called over an hour later to ask whether she was done with her appointment, «Nicky» emphatically told me that my wife had left the office, which I questioned since my wife would have called me (or asked the office to call me). I then went to the office to find out what was going on, asked for my wife and «Nicky» emphatically repeated that indeed my wife had left. I then insisted that she triple-​check and lo and behold, the office manager (who seems to be the only one with any competence in that office) confirmed that my wife was still at the office. If I had not insisted I would have been set off on a wild goose chase. «Nicky“‘s unprofessionalism really makes me question whether this is someplace I can trust my medical care and financial information. Oh and by the way Dr Friedman called my wife later today to threaten her and tell her that I was rude, that was the last straw. Way to circle the wagons and accuse a potential patient of being in the wrong.

I hesitate to write this review because if too many people learn how smart, dedicated, knowledgable, hardworking and caring Dr. Friedman is then it may become more difficult to schedule an appointment. Dr. Friedman was a journalist before he went in to medicine and it is apparent in his keen ability to listen to a patient, ask the right questions and then provide thoughtful medical advice. He has handled some very tough medical issues for my family members and he has incredible knowledge and access to the best medical minds and resources in our community. He is a humble and frugal doctor; don’t let the 70s office décor scare you off. He is one of the best internists in Seattle.

New patient. Left my ID at home, foolishly. I offered to go and get it, and gave them a credit card with my picture on it in the meantime.
Sat and waited for an hour.
Friedman strode in looking harried and asked «What are you here for today?» with a puss on his face.
Before I finished answering, he interrupted with «Look, I can’t see you without an ID.»
I said «I told the receptionist I could go get it. I live about two blocks away.»
«If you’re not happy with the care, you can go somewhere else.»
So I did.
Very strange and unpleasant interaction.
My fault for not having an ID, but what an A-​hole.
Best I can figure, I was labeled suspicious for not having my ID and shown the door.
He also wouldn’t give me my chart when I left.
Not recommended.

The Pros: Dr. Friedman is good and friendly face to face, and he knows his stuff. Don’t go to him if you want to hear a bunch of B.S. because he gets right to it. It is GREAT to have the same doctor everytime you have an issue.
The Cons:
They are pretty inefficient. Even if you have the slightest question, they won’t begin to give you a guess as to what it might be, they always want you to just come in. This probably makes them overbooked, and makes me wonder if they are just in it to fill their schedule/​make the most cash. Sometimes I want to call and hear, «it’s probably a flu… If you still feel awful two days from now, you should come in for a visit.»
He could be a better empowering doctor, rather than trying to handle everything. Patients need to learn how to take care of themselves, and not be told that it is the job of the doctor to take care of you. We need to make progress to have a partnership with doctors, and be empowered to take control over our health, rather than handing the doctor the reins.

The last time I’d classify one of my doctors as «good» was when I was a kid and my family practice doc was a marvel. Engaging, patient, unhurried and knowledgeable. Sure he once broke both legs jumping off a boat into 4′ deep water and getting medical advice from a dude with giant casts on both of his legs was a little suspect, but I digress.
Since that doctor I’ve had a long string of managed care zombies. Every single one has made a snap judgment based on the first symptom or two they heard and hustled me along. I had one doc say «You need to lose some weight» based on my BMI, not bothering to note that I was at the time a bodybuilder with single digit body fat (his advice would be correct nowadays, but again I digress).
Dr. Friedman, who I chose totally at random as the nearest doctor who took my insurance, has been an unexpected joy. He’s very kind, listens to his patients, doesn’t rush you at all and seriously knows his stuff. He has also worked in the area for a very long time and has extensive connections in the local medical community. I’ve gotten a couple of referrals from him and they both worked out wonderfully.
To be fair his office is a little dated-​feeling and could use a facelift, but that hasn’t affected the quality of care I’ve received at all. I’d much rather have a great doctor with a 70’s-feeling office than a mediocre doctor in a state of the art facility, which seems all too common these days.