Alfred J Rothman, MD

Dr. Rothman has been my primary care physician for many years. During the last eight years, I’ve moved seven times, from the East Bay to San Francisco to Oakland to Walnut Creek, and I’ve also retired and become eligible for Medicare. It’s been tricky trying to continue seeing Dr. Rothman, but I’ve managed to do so because he’s just so good! He never makes me feel that he’s more interested in keeping to a schedule than doing the best that he can for his patients. He’s always on time, pleased to see me, and thorough with his exams. I consider myself lucky to have him as my physician.

I have been a patient of Dr. Rothman’s for over 30 years. I brought my father, mother, wife and many friends to him, and he has given consistently quality care over the years. Both my parents were close to end of life care and he treated them with compassion. My wife and friends all have been very happy with Dr. Rothman, as have I. He is also well known and well respected in the medical community locally (all my doctor and nurse friends say so!)
I would not hesitate to recommend him. My only fear is that he will retire soon and I will never find another family practitioner like him!

Dr. Rothman has no idea who I am, and never has.
In my three years as his patient: He’s called me twice to give me the same lab results he’d given me the day before. He’s told me that he wanted to start me on a prescription when he’d already started me on it a week prior. On two separate occasions he told me that he would have his staff mail me a prescription, only to let it sit on the receptionists’ desk for a week until I called to find out where the hell it was.
«Oh, Dr. Rothman said you were going to pick it up, it’s been sitting here all week.»
Fantastic!
The final straw? I sent him a secure email about my prescriptions lapsing that his office didn’t bother to open for almost full month. A MONTH. And that was only after I’d called twice to follow up:
Listen, I’m sure Dr. Rothman has a lot of patients – all doctors do – but in my 40 years I’ve never had a primary care physician who was so consistently confused and out of touch, so terrible about remembering who I am and what treatment he’s providing me, and so absolutely oblivious to his most basic duty as a physician: communicating with his patients.

I’ve been with Doc Rothman for about 25 years. Excellent skills, excellent bedside manner (Arlyss too!) Highly recommended.

Dr. Alfred Rothman and Arlyss Anderson are both excellent primary care physicians. They were recommended to me by my Urologist. Competent primary care docs are hard to find in the Berkeley area, so I feel fortunate. They sent me out for appropriate lab tests, X-​rays and an MRI, ultimately referring me to a physical therapist. Things have been working out well. They are good.
jw

Dr. Rothman was the first PCP that my Blue Cross PPO suggested when I moved to Berkeley in 2008 — and I’m so very glad he was. Dr. Rothman is genuine, unpretentious and heartily interested with ANY of my questions and concerns. I’ve never had a problem getting an appointment within 48hrs, and am always seen promptly and efficiently.

I have been to this office and have been seen twice by Arliss Anderson the Nurse Practitioner, once for something very minor and then recently for a full physical. Arliss immediately puts you at ease with her warm manner. She is patient, reassuring, kind and efficient as well. The other folks in the office that I had contact with were friendly as well.

Please notice that some of the reviews below were about Dr. Luong, not Dr. Rothman. I have been seeing him for 30 years – just about the time he started practicing. He is a very careful and conscientious person and I have been happy with him and would worry if I had to switch to anyone else. His wife, Arliss, is the nurse practitioner and she is great too. He is available, he takes his time with people, and he will talk on the phone – and he will say if he doesn’t know something (i.e., the person who mentioned the rash and who needed a dermatologist). Isn’t that what a general practitioner is supposed to do – refer people to a specialist if it is out of his/​her area? I don’t usually write reviews for anyone, but I was lazy and looking for his phone number and this site came up. btw, he answered the phone when I called.

Zero, Nada, nothing! That’s the diagnostics you’ll get when going to Rothman. How has he been practicing medicine for this long? I thought I’d go see him because I had a rash and wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything to worry about, he looks at it and say, «I don’t know what that is, I’ll give you a referral to see a specialist.» That’s it. No assurances that it’s not contagious or what to use on it. When I asked how long before I hear from the specialist, he says 7 to 10 days! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Maybe I should have wiped it on him, I bet cha he’d know what it was then!

Simply put, Dr. Rothman made my bf super-​hot. Also: much more healthy, but let’s not forget the hotness. J had been seeing another MD for years whose style had been more laissez-​faire about how overweight J was. I found Dr. Rothman on Berkeley Parent Network because of a woman who said she sent her stubborn medical-​appointment-​resistant husband to Dr Rothman and had good results. After seeing Dr Rothman and not only being told how important it was for J to lose weight for health and cholesterol levels AND actually have been given a plan to lose the weight and track cholesterol, J has lost 45 pounds and has better cholesterol levels. J said he liked Rothman’s low-​key, earnest, informative style — not judgemental or critical, just helpful! I am so thankful for Dr Rothman because now J is both healthier and hotter than ever!

Dr. Alfred Rothman and Arlyss Anderson have been my health care providers for well over 20 years. I love both of them They are kind, wise, very good listeners, and excellent advisers on health care issues.
After a painful fall, I called and was given an appointment with Dr. Luong, that same morning. She was very helpful, cleaning a cut on my face, and checking my arm and knee injuries.
I was sent for x-​rays, given advice on possible scarring, told to take a specific painkiller to prevent bleeding, and also told that my arm could be broken or sprained, and that she’d let me know. She showed me some movements to keep the injured parts flexible, stressing the importance of doing so.
When the x-​ray results were unclear, she referred me to an orthopedist, finding me an available appointment for the next day with a doctor covered by my health plan. She called me at 8 P.M., at the end of her very busy day to check on how I was and again the next morning to give me the referral. She was the sole physician in the practice that week, so was working late and early!
I thought she was excellent in every way: kind and gentle and an excellent communicator, even though English is not her first language.

I have been going to Dr. Rothman since 1997, with a 9 month hiaitus when i changed jobs and therefore had to change insurance, but i’m FINALLY coming back! I LOVE Dr. Rothman — he is incredibly personable and gentle, and I never felt rushed. He has always been sensitive and attentive. I’ve had him deal with delicate issues, and the run-​of-​the-​mill stuff too, and always been treated respectfully by he and his staff. If you have had a problem at this clinic, ask for Dr. Rothman!

I went to this doctor’s office because I was having stomach/​digestive problems and ended up leaving without being treated for this but having gotten a 15 minute lecture about abstinence… I mean, I could see if I was 13 but sorry guys, that ship has already sailed.
I was seen by Dr. Luong. She was pleasant but she immediately jumped to the conclusion that my stomach pain/​intestinal pain MUST be an STD. I practice safe sex, get tested regularly, and also am familiar with intestinal/​stomach problems (I’ve had them chronically my entire life). Most of my symptoms were associated with gastrointestinal issues (I won’t go into detail as I don’t want to TMI you dear reader). The only symptom she was basing this on was the intestinal pain. I’m no doctor, but Dr. Luong was WRONG. Even more frustrating is that MY STOMACH STILL HURTS!!! Dr. Luong was unwilling to help me with my presenting problem.
Don’t waste your time. Find a doctor who will actually listen to you and treat you accordingly.

We were recommended to Dr. Rothman by our primary care physician who retired. After a car accident on the freeway, my husband made an appointment to see Dr. Rothman. Instead we saw Dr. Luong. Though she was very pleasant, she refused to prescribe pain medication. I am frankly shocked. I understand addiction to pain meds is a serious problem, but when one is in an accident on the freeway going 50 miles per hour, you would think pain management might be a concern of the doctor’s. I was in an accident last fall and needed them for close to a week. Needless to say we are dropping Dr. Rothman as our new doctor. He has received great reviews, but I would not risk getting Dr. Luong again.

I’ve been seeing Dr Rothman since 2002 — Best GP I’ve ever used — down to earth, spends time w patient, does not overbook so no long waits, excellent staff. He even found a colon polyp that a specialist missed!

This is a charming-​seeming small medical office near Alta Bates – one doctor, one nurse practitioner, a receptionist, and one nurse. Very Mayberry. I went there for 7+ years and recommended the office to others.
I won’t bore you with the details, but after the physician misdiagnosed my husband, my husband chose to seek care elsewhere. And since a series of billing problems (on their end) have taken about 8 good hours of my time over the past several months, I may well do the same.
This office does have a fantastic nurse practitioner, Arliss Anderson. She is kind and competent. If for insurance or proximity reasons you must see someone in this office, see her. And be extremely proactive with regard to payments and billing.