Justin P Fong, MD

It just so happened that I went to Unilocal and read what others say about the best doctor we’ve ever found. We feel that he is one of our greatest blessings. He is not only so good, kind, considerate, knowledgeable, passionate in helping his patients but a doctor that truly believes in God for guidance. I cannot believe some people commenting and ridiculing how he incorporates small prayers as part of his doctor-​patient relationship. It is so sad for some unbelievers to be offended by this gesture but Dr. Fong will always ask first if we want some prayers and we always do. We truly believe that Dr. Fong was anointed by our Lord to cure patients as he is a true believer of God’s miraculous healing power and Dr. Fong is just a messenger. I am speaking through my own experience. I was in a very critical period when my blood pressure was uncontrollable stage of sudden up and down and other medical concern but through his expertise and prayers my blood pressure was stabilized and felt much healthier ever since. My son who is autistic has changed dramatically with his help. His treatment is so personalized that my son loves him so much. His staff are so accommodating and his wife is a wonderful/​friendly lady who makes you feel at ease in the Drs office. I just pray to God that he will be in the practice for more years to come as I know we will not find any other Dr. Fong (god’s anointed doctor)

I am the real Dennis Y who is writing this review. I was accused by a female voice from Dr. Fong’s office several weeks ago for writing a negative review from another Dennis Y, but that is a different story altogether.
Dr. Fong has been my primary care provider for about twenty years now and it has been a fantastic experience. His concern and professionalism is second to none and yes his mini prayer session can be viewed by some to be different, but I viewed it as another extension of his care toward his patients. There is no such a thing as a perfect doctor for all, but Dr. Fong sure comes close for me.
I don’t need to say anything about the staff for they take their lead from the office manager. There is nothing that I care to say that wasn’t already said. I was taught if I don’t have anything good to say, that I should not say anything at all.

My husband and I have been seeing Dr Fong for many years now, and yes at times there is a wait, however it’s because he really does give you the time you need. You don’t feel rushed, he’s so thoughtful, kind and really cares. I think he’s a wonderful doctor and a great person as well.

I found Dr. Fong to be a consummate professional, and his office staff easy to work with & pleasant to be around. The office itself is a unique old house in Merced Heights, with a waiting room that makes you feel right at Home. As a primary care physician, I cannot recommend Dr. Fong enough!

I’ve been with Dr. Fong since the 80’s. He’s always been a great doctor. He takes time with you if needed. The wait may be long because of this. I feel like he really cares and he does.

I don’t even want to put a one star on this one but I have to in order to post this review. This is by far the worst doctor I ever had. I’ve never wrote a review before but I had to do one this time. First, the wait time was Long. I had to wait for an hour one time to see him. When I compliant, he asked me to reschedule the appointment. He will make you go see him every time you want to get refill or to get your blood test result when there was nothing wrong or to discuss. I am looking for a new doctor because I don’t want to waste my time on this one.

I had an appointment and I waited an hour and a half. I was late picking up my kid. They don’t take credit card. What office don’t take credit card?
Dr. Fong is one of the nicest doctor you’ll meet. He does really care. The workers there are great but it’s the office. Things need to change or they will start losing patients.
Who wants to wait that long when you have an appointment. Time management needs to be improved, there is chaos as everyone is running around, there system is slow just to get me my printed receipt. I can go on and on… man I miss kaiser and that is saying a lot.
So if you want to wait and see weeds grow, this is the place to go.

After reading the bad reviews here, I am intrigue to write how people are just simply «complainer».
This doctor is simply A NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK.
Reporting him to insurance company ??? really ?? why? do you really think insurance company got even a slightest thought about you or how you feel ?
I work in doctor’s office, dealing with different insurance co. I know this for a fact, insurance company dont give a **** to anyone other than policy makers in Washington.
This is a free country people. He has the right to show to people that his practice is a religious one. Just like anyone has the right to say no when he ask to pray after the visit. Get used to Freedom of Speech. That’s the reality.
If you haven’t had any experience about how other countries practice their «democracy» or «freedom of speech», better stop complaining. Because at this point, this country has the best freedom on earth.
I am not saying it can’t be improved. but this is as best as you can get for now.
So be grateful for godsake. that there’s one doctor there who put an importance of your time, in which you knew that he treat other patient the same, that’s why the waiting are sometime long, BECAUSE HE CARES.
Who am I? I have been with him for 12 years.

So a letter comes from Dr. Fong, «An unauthorized third party may have gained access to some computer records after an unexpected accidental separation of an information storage system from the practice». In other words either someone stole it or a hard drive is lost.
I’m very sad and very disappointed.

I think he’s a decent doc. But honestly, the whole religious thing just creeped me out! So I dropped him as my GP and went to someone else. Going to the doc is stressful enough without having to deal with a religious freak at the same time.

While I am convinced that the Dr. is caring and hard working, I am afraid that the staffing structure of his private practice needs some adjustments in two specific areas: One, the doctor’s time with patients needs to be scheduled better as to minimize unnecessary interruptions during sessions. Our last session was interrupted no less than 4 times. That does not create a good patient experience and does not spell professionalism. Second, the supporting staff needs to be more customer-​focused in their interactions with patients on the phone, in person and with written documents. A genuine smile and thorough follow up on patient’s inquiries will go a long way of creating positive patient experience.
I hope that this private practice can take some proactive actions to manage it’s growing pain. Due to the aforementioned reasons, my family and I will be seeking a different doctor relationship.

It’s amazing how a good professional like Dr Fong can be so misunderstood and wrongly judged.
Firstly, my family have been patients of Dr Fong’s since the late 80’s at least. We have followed him from Taraval Street, to Stonestown, Ocean and now on 19^th Avenue. We even used to ‘commute’ from the East Bay to retain him as our family doctor.
Now, through those years, he has had many, many assistants and receptionists, including his own family. As in ANY business, some of them have been better than others. Also, as in any business, they have off days too. Personally, I have experienced the «rude» receptionist and telephone contact — here as well as many other practices. Dr Fong does not have a monopoly on them. For the most part, they are always friendly and obviously working hard.
As for the whole «Christianity» and «praying» comments… come on people, he’s simply trying to find common ground on which he can stand with you! if you say you are not religious, or not interested, he will drop it … simple. He NEVER insists on praying either. I am a Christian, and I have agreed to pray with him (part of my belief system too), though I have also said ‘no’ on the odd occasion, when I did not feel it was ‘right’ for me.

My father and mother in law were Dr. Fong’s first patients. He cared for my mother in law through her alzheimer’s and death, and through my father in law’s grief. At 95, my father in law has received the best care, best referrals, visits in the hospital, and careful discretion about not subjecting him to unnecessary tests or procedures due to his advanced age.
I’ve been in nursing 30 years. I’ve never met such a brilliant, caring practitioner. Get in his practice if you can… Ignore the clutter. He’s a five star!

I’ll keep this short as Joseph K.‘s review pretty much speaks my sentiments regarding my overall experience with Dr. Fong’s private practice.
About three years ago, I brought my entire family to Dr. Fong’s practice because he had a reputation for providing focused doctor /​patient care which I believe is crucial in determining an accurate diagnosis and working out a plan for future care.
Also, the fact that he prays for his patients speaks volumes about where his heart is focused on with each appointment.
But just like Joseph K., it’s the patient care before or after visiting with Dr. Fong that’s such a big headache…
The follow-​ups are inconsistent and the staff turnover seems a bit high. So even with an accurate diagnosis, it is extremely difficult to really make any progress on solving your health concerns because internal paperwork is difficult to locate and /​or «never received.»
In short, there seems to be little staff accountability…
So I agree that Dr. Fong has the talent and compassion of a great doctor, but until the staffing situation is better, Patient Beware.

Here’s the conundrum. Dr. Fong himself is a capable, caring, bright doctor, whose work by itself is easily worthy of 4 or 5 stars. So why the 2 star rating? The rest of his practice is so disorganized, dysfunctional and miserable that if Dr. Fong weren’t there, it wouldn’t even be worthy of a single star. If you were seriously ill, I’d say you could absolutely trust Dr. Fong at your bedside. If you were thinking of choosing him as a primary care physician, however, I’d strongly advise that you reconsider.
Dr. Fong seems to greatly value doctor/​patient time. There may be a wait for his services, but he doesn’t rush when he’s actually with a patient. He spends that time asking questions, performing tests, jotting notes, and generally doing his best to get to the root of any problem. Because he tends to be thorough, Dr. Fong is actually very quick to get to an accurate diagnosis on a single visit, and either prescribe the right thing or work out a plan for future care.
Dr. Fong did ask me the first time if I wanted to pray with him, but as I’m not Christian, I didn’t take him up on the offer. He remained polite and caring on future visits, and didn’t hassle me about prayer. It seemed a little weird, but it didn’t seem discriminatory, and I suspect that Dr. Fong is just very sincere about his belief in prayer.
It’s the patient care before or after visiting with Dr. Fong that’s such a big problem. Lab test results are routinely lost, and the patient is told by Dr. Fong’s office that they need to follow up with the lab despite the lab’s insistence that the test results have been sent. The same labs have no problem sending results to my current doc. Similarly, transferring records to specialists or hospitals isn’t done no matter how many requests are made. The patient is told by the administrative staff that they’ll get a call back from Dr. Fong when test results come in or decisions are made, but that call never comes — and a call back to the office is met with a denial that any such promise was ever made and an exoneration to be patient, even after days go by.
The head nurse is often very rude and brusk when one calls in to schedule an appointment or make a request over the phone, and a visit to the office results in having to sit in the waiting room listening to her be rude to other patients calling in. Her tone of voice changes the second Dr. Fong walks in the room. The rest of the office staff seemed to be different every time I visited, and I suspect that they have trouble keeping good staff.
The thing that saddens me is that Dr. Fong seems to be focusing so much on each patient that I don’t think he realizes just how poor and problematic the patient experience is when he’s not involved. I suspect that if he were part of a well run practice, he’d be a great doc. In the meantime, beware.

I too am very surprised by the negative feedback about Dr. Fong. He is the best doctor I have ever had and I have recommended so many others that now love him just as much. He has been my primary doctor for nearly a decade and he is always so attentive. There was a Sunday morning that I thought I had Strep throat and couldn’t swallow and my ears felt like they were going to explode. I left him a message and he opened the office to see me Sunday afternoon. I got my prescriptions that gave me the relief I needed asap. He continued to call me over the next few days to check in on me to see how I was feeling. How could there be a better doc? I have passed on praying with him before and I have prayed with him as well. Either way he always respects your wishes. WOW! There are far worse things in life than someone offering to pray for or with you for your health.

A great guy! He’s been my MD for years now. Very responsible. Pro-​active and Pro-​patient. He moved to several locations since I have known him and I followed him to all of them. He would tfight the insurance company to get you the medication that you deserve. He has accomodated me on some of my emergency visits without an appointment. If you don’t want to pray with him then just day no. You don’t go to see him to pray with him so he does not have a problem with that at all. He’s cool.

I went to see Dr. Fong when I couldn’t get in to see my regular doctor at UCSF. I was sick and didn’t want to drive far to get to an appointment, and needed to be seen quickly. I called several offices on the Blue Cross list and Dr. Fong’s office was the one where I got a live voice answering. The receptionist told me she could get me in within an hour.
I got there early and had no problem parking. Dr. Fong’s office is located on the part of Ocean Ave. just off of Sloat. His receptionist was friendly and got me checked in within a few minutes. I waited fifteen minutes past my appt. time while he was with another patient to be seen, but I didn’t mind since I gave such short notice on my appointment request.
During my appointment Dr. Fong was professional and helpful. I notice he didn’t take my temperature, even though I was there complaining of deep cough and malaise which had been going on for a week. He did listen to my chest and ask me questions about whether or not I had asthma or allergies, and whether this illness is a pattern for me (and it is). Within 20 minutes he had diagnosed me, written the prescriptions I needed, and referred me to an allergist for further review.
I thought Dr. Fong’s manner was quite professional and I’m shocked to hear he has asked other patients to pray with him. I would encourage anyone who experiences this to report that incident to their insurance carrier.

NO… Dr. Justin Fong is really a good doctor.
he is been my wife and her family doctor for over 3 years.
he is nice and pro.
probably he is over care to his patient thats why you feel that. but trust me he is different from any doctor that i know in nyc (i came from ny) or in downtown sf.

Easily, the worst doctor visit ever. period.
The whole visit, waiting time plus physical exam, took over 2 hours which surprised me since I was the only patient for the majority of that time. While I waited in the exam room, Dr. Fong spent most of his time talking with his wife in the next room. Most of my time was spent staring at the dilapidated exam room with a futon Ron Jeremy would pass up.
As a new patient, Dr. Fong asked me the usual preliminary medical questions… but into the third question, he started to probe into whether or not I was a Christian. Did I go to church? Do I pray? WTF?! This line of questioning threw me off-​guard and made the visit to Dr. Fong’s office uncomfortable.
The usual battery of physical exam tests followed, but the electrocardiograph was more icing on the cake. The assistant did not even know how to use the machine properly. And Dr. Fong had to interrupt his conversation next door to perform the test correctly. He proceeded to leave and return multiple times, but not to other patients.
But wait… there were more quiries into my religious beliefs and habits to follow the EKG test. And eventually at the end of the exam, Dr. Fong had me pray to God and Jesus with him before I left … wanting those two hours of my life back.
Now I respect Dr. Fong’s religious beliefs, but this was an invasive use religion and wrong on so many levels.
What irks me the most is that the whole visit reeks of religious discrimination. Dr. Fong has refused to call me back with feedback from my exam, bloodwork, and chest X-​ray after I’ve left messages with his secretary and voicemail. I guess that I was not the good Christian he thought I should be then. No, I do not go to church every Sunday. No, I do not pray to God all the time. And no, the good doctor never called me back.
I expected a professional doctor, but what I got was a proselytizer with a stethoscope.
Though finally, I did get something from Dr. Fong today — my bill.