Er-Kai Gao, MD - Er-Kai Gao, MD, Inc - La Mesa, California

Michelle T.

I had an incredibly disappointing experience with Dr. ER-KAI GAO. The office where we were seen was a mess, which set a bad tone for the visit. When we finally got to see the doctor, things didn’t improve. He barely acknowledged my mother and I during the appointment, spending most of the time staring at his computer screen and typing away without any real conversation or eye contact. My mom expressed her concerns about her symptoms, but instead of offering reassurance or a thoughtful response, he seemed irritated or bothered by our questions. It honestly felt like I was inconveniencing him just by being there. He basically kicked us out. We left the appointment feeling completely unheard and unsatisfied. It's upsetting when you go to a healthcare professional for help, only to be met with indifference. I would NOT recommend Dr. ER-KAI GAO.

Hannah N.

I used to like this neurologists office and how they treated their patients. However, recently there have been a lot of issues with them that I cannot overlook as a patient. First, my last four appointments they have been so extremely late that it go to the point that I had to call their receptionist and make sure that my appointment was not skipped. Second, I have had multiple issues with them actually putting in refills for my prescriptions. Third, every time I call to try and fix issues with my prescriptions not being put in to the pharmacy they don't answer their phones. Because of this, I have been without one specific migraine medication for two months. Fourth, they have decided to make all appointments in person and get rid of all video appointments with the excuse that Covid is over, new laws have been passed preventing video appointments, and my insurance no longer covers it. This makes zero sense as the CDC still says that the Covid pandemic is ongoing, new laws have been passed to expand access to video and telehealth appointments, and my insurance continues to completely cover video and telehealth appointments from all health providers. As a result of their blatant lies and inability to put in prescription medication for their patients, I will have to seek out service from another neurologists office that actually puts patients first.

Cris B.

I can easily say this was the worst appointment I’ve ever had.
It was referred by my provider for a recurring migraine, he video called for 5 seconds before I was even able to lift my phone from my lap and hit answer, and hung up.
During the entire video call, he never looked at me once. Instead, he aggressively typed at his computer the whole time.
He doesn’t let you finish your sentences, cuts you off, tells you your symptoms don’t mean anything.
Only when I resounded to him in tone at the end of the call, did he actually quickly glance in my direction for a split second.
Needless to say 1 star is a generous review.

Michelle S.

Not seen at your actual appt time, provide did treat me and is resolving my issue but the hold time is unreasonable almost all the time 7-10 pts then it just kicks me off over half the time! They don’t respond the emails. Very frustrating experience. They are using my secondary insurance without my authorization as well!

Ashley M.

Awful. Was there early to my appt, was finally brought in to Gaos office 1.5 hours past my appt time. GAOs office was disgusting. Like it’s never been cleaned before. Cluttered, dusty, bloody tissue left on the ground under the exam table. I left after I saw the bloody tissue, no thank you. I left very upset without even seeing the doctor and an allergy attack. Have more respect for peoples time, the parking meter is running.

Cristol F.

This office is very unprofessional and cancels / over schedules / gives incorrect information and drags out all of their patients.

My grandmother had stressfully taken her patient here with misinformation - getting the run around. Very unprofessional. Your patients are not doctors, you need to not give them misinformation and giving them the runaround.

Chun Chow, NP is who she named

My grandmother had doctors fax them all the information that they kept changing that they needed - they finally “received all the information they needed” and after the third time seeing them after telling them they had ALL THE INFORMATION- they said make appointment thank you and then they denied her again after wasting all of her time and giving her the green light.

Very unprofessional office. Had my grandmother waste $600 in transportation fees for her patient.

I wrote two stars so they can’t get this review removed.

Angela M.

I had a telehealth appointment with Dr. Gao yesterday. Im an RN and I could say he is one of the worst doctor i have ever met in my entire nursing career. He was 15mins late in our appointment, called me via facetime, my phone rang 5secs and I didnt have enough time to answer, shortly after called me over the phone, Rudely asked for my information, no greetings whatsoever, and reprimanded me for not answering the facetime call, and I explained that it only rang for 5 secs, and started to argue and say “i called you and it wasnt 5 seconds you didnt answer.” And I firmly asked for him to try again, apparently I was having a wifi issue and he was upset about it. He would cut me off mid conversation, and not let me finish what i am trying to say. Because he is typing, and will not let me talk because he cannot type and listen to his patients at the same time. He asked about my social history I responded “I live with my spouse”, and he looked at me in a demeaning manner and asked if it its a “husband or wife?” and I work in healthcare and I immediately felt biased as part of LGBTQ community. Mind you, I only needed a neurologist to refill my migraine meds because i relocated, new insurance etc i have been having relapse because i ran out of meds, and he doesn’t want to listen to what I have to say and only allowed for me to speak when he asks questions. He tried to recommend medications that Ive never heard of that I have refused, because I have 0 headaches with my current regimen, again, I just ran out of meds. And the reason I was referred to him was to do botox injection that he strongly refused to resume due to billing issues, and his reason being is that insurance wont reimburse his practice. And lastly, I asked to get a drs note for clearance and he refused and said “I dont know you” i was like what? And he responded “Like I said I dont know you, I am against patient whos on stimulants” —— and that was it, I just shutdown and I knew it was pointless like talking to a wall. I didnt hung up because I have a good manner despite the situation. Thats my story.

JENNA M.

I recently started seeing Dr Cheng this year and he is absolutely wonderful. He took his time explaining everything to me in depth and I felt confident that he could help me; with that said his office staff is awful and I am shocked this major issue has not be corrected considering majority of the negative reviews are on just the office/ reception staff. I have been waiting almost two months now for pain management and have called more times that I should to get this taken care of yet they still can’t seem to do their job and help me or call me back when they say they will. This is extremely disappointing because I really like Dr Cheng but his staff is ruining his practice and reputation.