Posted by A patient of Newkirk (206.100.14.128) on May 18, 2001 at 14:38:16:
In Reply to: a good neurologist in california posted by mary on February 18, 2001 at 21:14:44:
I'd like to comment on Mary's posting regarding Dr. Newkirk. I was a patient of Dr. Newkirk. While he has an excellent reputation, my experience with him was less than stellar.
As a patient, I only saw him once for about ten minutes (which incidentally cost $350). The majority of my visits were with either the nurse practitioner or the physical therapist.
Beyond never seeing Dr. Newkirk, his office staff is horrendous. They rarely return phone calls (even in the case of a severe drug interaction). They consistently gave me / called in the wrong prescription. Furthermore, they are rude and uncooperative. While I only had experience with one of his PT staff, I also found that therapist to be sub-par.
After three weeks of PT and Rx treatment, my migraines had not improved whatsoever. I found the entire experience w/ Dr. Newkirk and his office to be so frustrating and time consuming, that I cancelled all further treatment. Dealing with that office added another dimension of pain to my headaches.
I ended up going to another (far better) PT, where after two visits, my headaches were substantially better.
I’d recommend finding another doctor if you are able.