Gateway Urgent Care

OUT OF NETWORK for most insurance companies including Blue Cross Blue Shield but as they collect your copay, they do not inform you of this detail. The Tahoe hospital IS in network for BCBS. Receptionist is rude.

We weren’t able to get in quickly to our local provider for my husbands sudden back issue so we went and saw Dr. Chez. The service from the Doc was okay, but the follow up for the ordered MRI and paper worker need for our insurance was horrible. After that debacle the billing process was confusing and difficult. After finally settling up and writing a big check we still had bills sent. Lisa was the only real helpful person there when it came to problem solving the billing issue, thank you Lisa. Next time we will just go to the ER.

While I was seen quickly (no one else was there) Dr. Chez couldn’t determine what was wrong with me. I complained of a sinus infection and feeling very lethargic– and somehow he wrote me a prescription for an inhaler. He also mentioned that I might have strep but then he didn’t even test for it. I’m going to see a real Dr. on Monday and I highly recommend you do as well. Don’t waste your time or money.

I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. Dr. Chez is kind and gave a simple, detailed explanation of what was going on. I had an overall great experience.

This review is specific to Gateway Urgent Care’s business practices, not medical care. While the care Dr. Chez provided was fine, the business and service leaves much to be desired. Here’s our story.
In 2012, my husband saw Dr. Chez for a back injury. At the time, the office manager advised they would bill our insurance and let us know if there was a remaining balance. Great! Off we went. Fast forward to 2014, we had another injury requiring care on the weekend in Truckee. We arrived and were advised (with attitude) that we had an outstanding balance of $ 281 they needed to collect before Dr. Chez would see us. We were surprised because we had never been contacted by the office about an outstanding balance. No invoice mailed, no phone call, no letter, nada. Fine. We are happy to pay what we owe and so did and received care.
Six months later, both my husband and I have a collection on our credit report for $ 81. First of all, I never received care there, my husband did, and I am merely the primary subscriber to the insurance THEY NEVER BILLED. Somehow, they converted my being the primary insurance subscriber to my being a joint account holder. Fraudulent.
I called the office to resolve. The office manager referred me to the collections agency. I objected to being tossed to the collection agency since I knew we had already paid the account and that Dr. Chez’ office would need to advise the collection agency of such. The office staff was unable to answer questions about why I had also be brought into the issue with my credit affected, how I could receive a letter of satisfied debt I could share with credit bureaus, and more. She agreed to look into the situation and call me back. As expected, no phone call back. I called a few days later requesting to speak with her, and a very rude office attendant advised she would not be in the office until four days later and hung up on me. No offer to assist. Nothing.
Next, the collection agency contacted me and said they knew the debt was paid but the $ 81 debt reported to both my and my husband’s credit was due to interest accrued over the previous 2 years. There was no point in arguing with a collector that a business that never attempted to collect a debt AT ALL (laziness!), should accrue interest. At that point, you don’t care about the stupid $ 81 dollars, you just want the problem resolved and your credit restored. Fine, paid.
Bottom line, Dr. Chez’ office staff demonstrates incompetence, laziness, and rudeness. They prefer cash up front (don’t we all) and don’t want to be bothered with insurance. I guess the business is doing well, and let’s face it, when you are in pain and need medical service, you’re willing to tolerate sub par service and so they can get away with this type of practice. However, I would advise you think twice before patronizing this group because while perhaps you will solve your immediate physical complaint, you may well gain another set of issues (you won’t even find out about until 2 years later).
Dr. Chez, please get a professional office staff that is capable of managing insurance and billing appropriately. You owe it to your community.

Grateful for this Urgent Care! We were in and out in 20 mins, after an X-​ray and with a prescription! Excellent service, and even though they don’t take our ins, they file the claim for us. Wonderful, and while I’m hopeful we don’t ever NEED to come back, if we do I’ll feel better knowing they are there for us!

My experience at Gateway was a few years ago, but I was reminded of it today.
After I hurt my knee skiing, the doctor not only misdiagnosed a torn ACL, but was seemingly more concerned with his clinic’s marketing efforts and my Unilocal review than anything else. Instead of focusing on patient care, the doctor repeatedly asked ‘how’d you hear about us?’ and ‘how would you rate your experience.’ Three years later, here’s my answer.

What in the world? When my husband and I first moved to Truckee, we both became insanely ill and both chose to visit this «Urgent» «Care»…and I use both of those words very loosely. My husband and I went on different days, so I can only say of his visit what he shared with me… that it was «pointless». My visit, on the other hand, went like this… I was the first one there at 9:01, and although the place was technically open, the doctor and his dog leisurely strolled in about 45 minutes later, 20 minutes after that, I was asked to come back into the care room. Now, I’m a dog lover… but a dog has no place in what is supposed to be a sanitary environment. The rooms are small and this beautiful pup was panting heavily and scratching while the doc was looking in my throat, ears, and taking strep swabs. His patient care is poor and his business practices seem to share the same lack-​luster. I get that Tahoe has a reputation for being laid back, but please don’t sell yourselves short when it comes to medical treatment and the standards by which your medical facility should operate. Now, his response to me may be something along the lines of… well, this is my business and if you don’t like it, go somewhere else. And I respect that… and so, I have taken my business somewhere else.

A bit frustrating because the outgoing message on their voicemail said that they’d be open at 9, but when we arrived the handwritten note on the door said they’d open at 10. Urgh! We came back about 10:30 and there were already a few other people waiting. We waited about 30 minutes (got skipped for a kid who needed stitches). The lobby dog was entertaining. :) Doctor was friendly and quick and nice enough to my sick kid. Nice that they bill kaiser, so no out of pocket for now. Woohoo!

Great Urgent Care experience! Our 15 year old daughter was in excruciating ear pain due to an infection. We stopped in and Dr. Chez quickly and effeciently diagnosed and prescribed antibiotics and gave her a ‘wonder’ shot of Toradal to ease her pain. Additionally our daughter had suffered a concussion while snowboarding a few days prior; Dr. Chez reviewed her situation and assessed her based on what we told him as well as how she presented. His experince and knowledge eased our minds that our daughter was on track to being back to good health.
I would have no hesitation to go to the Gateway Urgent care if a need were to arise.
Thanks!
Joyce B

I’ve been to Dr. Chez a few times and my daughter has seen him once. When I’ve gone, there has been no wait and he’s very quick with treatment.
For simple upper respiratory infections, he’s fast, checks for strep quickly and treats appropriately — antibiotics if indicated and a pain medicine if needed. My daughter had a UTI and again — quickly seen and quickly treated.
Another time I had a more complicated infection that required some minor surgery. I wasn’t particularly happy with the results and I didn’t feel that the surgery was done properly to drain the infection, which continued to ooze out of a different place than he had cut. Additionally, he charged a large fee for an extremely short (less than 5 minute) follow-​up visit. And I ended up getting the infection finally managed effectively with a different physician. During these visits, despite nobody else around, he still behaved in a very hurried fashion and didn’t really have the best bedside manner.
Pluses: Fast, good treatment for the things he sees a lot of. And probably many other things too. Nice dog. Excellent availability.
Minuses: Expensive compared to other doctors I’ve seen in the area. He did a textbook treatment for my infection, but it wasn’t effective on what I had. Can be hurried even when there isn’t need to be. Not the best at describing things and discussing treatment.

Nobody likes to be sick while on vacation… but Dr. Chez gets patients through his office in a friendly, efficient way, does a thorough job, goes the extra mile to make sure you get what you need in a timely manner and the front office staff also takes care of the billing end accurately, thoroughly and quickly. He was able to perform chest xray and nebulizer treatment right on site and sent us the two blocks to the hospital for additional labwork to make sure we weren’t dealing with something more serious. Thankfully we weren’t.
The breathing treatment and meds he gave my husband did the trick to get our vacation back on track. And now just a couple of short weeks later we’ve got one summary bill (excluding hospital labs) and are delighted to see most was covered by insurance. Bonus: Dr. Chez’s cute dog will keep you company in the waiting room, and two pharmacies to choose from right across the street.

What an amazing experience. I broke my leg skiing at Donner and the staff there recommended Dr. Chez. The office was once a house. The waiting room is the living room. How comforting in time of pain to be gently greeted by a labrador in a house like setting. I was wheeled straight into an examining room, given a pain shot, gave them my insurance card and then the PA went to work. She showed me a detailed drawing of the inner workings of my ankle and lower leg and her suspicions, then got the doctor. Then I was wheeled into the Xray room. 5 minutes later it was confirmed that I had a fracture of the fibula. Back to the examining room for my boot and crutches. Sat in the waiting room with the beautiful gentle labrador while my husband filled out some paperwork and got my prescription. 25 minutes from walking in the door we were across the street ordering a pizza. No joke! Everyone was so nice and pleasant.

Wow! What a great find in Truckee for last minute health care needs. Easy to get in and out for those urgent unpredictable heath care needs. The staff is friendly and the doctor is accessible and friendly. This place is all about healthcare at a reasonable price. Get in, get what you need and get out. There should be more places like this in the bay area.

Fantastic. Dr. Chez did an excellent job taking care of a nasty cut, providing immediate service and top-​notch surgery, on the spot. It would’ve taken hours to be seen at the neighboring snooty ER hospital, whereas Dr. Chez focused immediately on getting me on the table, stitched up (all 50 of them), and back on my feet. Don’t let the exterior of the building dissuade you — it looks low-​rent, but it’s all about professional service. If I ever need assistance again (hopefully not, knock wood), this will be the only place I go.

I’m reviewing cause I saw some mixed reviews. My son and I went to Dr. Chez today jan 2012. Both of us were extremely sick. They are quick, nice and friendly. Aros the dog is awesome. Dr. Chez is older, so he’s not your new age doctor, he’s straight to the point, he listens and he gets his job done. The girl (lady) up front was just fine, nice and helpful. I would go back anytime. I’ve been living part time up in truckee, so it the first time I’ve had to visit a doctor, but I’d go back.

Another stellar review for Dr. Chez. I fell hard on my elbow chasing after my dog but didn’t feel like spending the whole day in the emergency room. I came in on a Sunday morning with no appointment and saw the doc immediately. He took some X-​rays at a fraction of what Tahoe Forest’s E.R. would have charged, outfitted me with a sling and a script for physical therapy to treat the hairline fracture in my arm, and I was out the door in under 30 minutes. He also has a friendly dog who will ply you for treats in the waiting room.
If you injure yourself on the slopes at Squaw or Northstar, I highly recommend you come to Gateway instead of languishing down the street at the hospital for hours.

Best of the best! After two weeks of sinus infections and bronchitis plus two different courses of antibiotics, I waltzed into Dr. Chez’s office and asked from some help. One high power antibotic IV laced with a syringe of anti-​inflammatory, and three prescriptions later, I was out the door and well on the way to recovery. This guy does not screw around.

Great experience, in and out for a friend who broke a collar bone snowboarding. No wait, he got a shot for pain, quick x-​ray, set the bone, figure 8 strap, prescription and we were out. I got back to the mtn, and got a few more lifts in, when I thought the day was shot.
My buddy saw a couple surgeons to see if he should put plates/​screws or let it heal on its own. They said that the Doc who set it, did a great job, and that he should let it heal on its own.

Awesome! Convenient– nice Doc. We were skiing for the week and there was no Kaiser facility in the area. Husband got a hella bad ear infection. We were in and out in minutes with a prescription for antibiotics and pain meds. Thanks Doc!