Orthopaedic Specialists Of North County

My sister Marie recently had knee surgery and was so pleased with Dr Erik Stark. She said, «A special thanks to you, Dr Stark and your team, for making my knee surgery a pleasant experience. From the start to the finish I felt well taken care of. It was a job well done.»

Dr. Moazzaz and his assistant, Debbie, LITERALLY saved my life. After 3 botched spine procedures by another doctor, I happened along Dr. Mozzarella. He is very kind, sweet, good sense of humor, super professional, and knowledgeable. He and Dr. Aliens along with their trusty robot fixed me up (4 crushed discs, blown vertebrates, pins, rods, screws, and a fusion). After 9 months of surgeries and an insane amount of narcodics, I found myself in an extremely bad space. I called for help because I couldn’t eat or drink anything and have lost 45 lbs during my 9 month excursion to hell. Dr. Mozzarella and Debbie sprung into action and got me the all the help I needed. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they saved my life and I will be forever great full. You have to try and have patience with the office staff, they do work hard and are not there to torture us! Give him a shot because he’s my hero!!!

Expect to wait and wait! They expect you to arrive 30 minutes early, but not be seen for nearly an hour and half past that. On 2 separate occasions and 2 separate doctors this was clearly the norm. The bedside manner leaves a lot be desired by the elderly. I would not recommend this location if you value your time.

Dr. Moazzaz is very attentive and really listens to your concerns while explaining things simply and to the point with care. He understands what you are going through and is compassionate about what you should choose to do/​options available.
The office personnel are great at getting back to you even though they are a busy office, they call you back on time and take care of everything on their end efficiently. My appointments are always taken on time as well.
Thank you

My appointment was at 1pm with Dr Bobick, I waited 2 hrs to be seen by him. Entering the room, it was odd that Dr. Bobick didn’t apologize for the long wait. He didn’t want to hear my concerns, appeared annoyed, rushed, and seemed to have a narcissistic (god like) attitude. The office is poorly run and appears to overbook appointments and run people thru like cattle. BEWARE OF THIS NARCISSIST!!! He has no compassion or empathy and is very patronizing.

It’s been 10 weeks since my Rotator cuff, Bicep Tendon repair and I feel amazing! I went back to work in 6 days as an Auto Technician (with a helper). My pain diminished within a few weeks and I was back on the golf course and riding my Harley after my 6 week check up. I attribute this speedy recovery to the fine work of Dr. Stark. His young age scared me on my first consultation but based on results I’m very happy I stuck with him. This is my first surgery ever so after listening to all the horror stories I was ready for many months of recovery. Dr. Stark and his super friendly staff get my 5 star rating.

I highly recommend the orthopedic surgeon who operated on both of my knees, Dr. Norman Kane. He practices with the Orthopedic Specialists of North County group (Carlsbad). He is a thorough, thoughtful and experienced surgeon with a sports medicine specialty. He’s practiced 43 years, and is an established leader in San Diego orthopedic circles. And a rarity: he has a tremendous sense of humor and engages his patients on a highly personal level. One advantage is that the group he is in works closely with their in-​house physical therapist staff, making PT referrals and consultations quick with minimal administrative delays. Their physical therapy facility is well-​staffed, all equipment professionally maintained and their therapists focused on recovery programs that extend into the post-​release period. 5 Stars!

Getting my dose of Physical therapy. Awesome place to recover and rebuild. Reid, Claudia, Fred & Alicia are awesome therapists. The whole team is great and they will get you right if you put in the work.

If you want to sit in a waiting room for over an hour to see a Dr. for 5 minutes this place is for you. If your problem isn’t surgical, they have no interest in you. Physical therapy with them is the same. Whatever your appointment time is they have you arrive half an hour earlier to fill in 5 minute paperwork. Then you can wait 25 minutes beyond your appointment time or more for someone to tell you to do 3 sets of whatever exercises you have while they go fold towels. Later you might get a hot or cold pack and electrical stimulation – all while you lay on tables 2 feet away from some other person! Don’t know about you but seeing and listening to someone else moaning in pain right next to me creates stress! You are literally lined up in rows like an assembly line. Save yourself some money; go once (be prepared to waste a lot of time waiting!!), get whatever exercises your need and do them at home or at your gym. Get a heating pad and electrical stimulation from the store and do yourself. Or find better physical therapy.

I would not go there again. The surgery center and the office are well staffed and run smoothly, but the surgery on my wrist was a DUD. I went in for DeQuervain’s pain and ended up with removal of a bone from my wrist by Dr Daugherty. It was supposed to be healed in three months, according to the all-​knowing doctor. It’s been ten months and I still have pain and the numbness has never subsided. (He supposedly didn’t cut the nerve, but just «moved it over».) Unfortunately, I’ll never know because I was out and no one is going to tell me the truth. The splint his technician designed was a nightmare! It hurt my thumb and I couldn’t keep it on. They would not listen to me. Every time I went in after the surgery they trotted out one of their paid employees, who supposedly had the same surgery, to tell me how quickly hers had healed. Dr Daugherty DOES NOT LISTEN. HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE PATIENT. He’s too busy talking and making his sales pitch.
Said he used to be in the military. Figures. Military doctors are never held accountable for their failures. This time he might be.

This is not a review of the surgical abilities of anyone here. I have never given a business anything but 5 stars. If I don’t like it, I am sorry but I do not post. I am posting to clarify that this place is not for sports medicine, in my opinion.
This place may be good for surgery, just not sports medicine. If you are in pain, don’t wait for weeks to get into a doctor for something that may not be surgical. This is a surgery practice, not a sports medicine practice. The surgeon may have good surgical abilities in a specific and common area, but may not have a good understanding of the causes of problems of the joint, or effective solutions. Waiting in pain for a doctor you think may have the answers is not a good idea. I made that huge mistake! If the doctor cannot help you, you have to start over.
I needed a sports medicine doctor– not a surgeon. I needed solutions. I need a doctor to review my films and take time to discuss what was going on. I waited weeks to get in with a shoulder doctor, but his focus is in surgery– not sports medicine. My visits here unproductive, and the most frustrating experiences I have ever had because I was in so much pain and needed an explanation of what was going on and how to fix it. I had expectations that were not met.
If I would have understood the focus of the practice was surgery and not sports medicine, then it would have been helpful.
If you are surgical and know a good doc here, then this might be the place for you. There are some really excellent surgeons here and an outstanding hip PA.
If you are unsure about your condition and need sports medicine, problem solving, patience, and knowledge about possible conditions of the area, I would go elsewhere.
Concerns:
Scope of medicine is too small= not enough sports medicine solutions.
In the case of shoulder doctor there, surgery driven or get out!
Misdiagnosed shoulder problem.
No «digging in» to find the problem or solutions
No understanding that C5, C6 is directly related to the shoulder. If you have a shoulder problem, you may have a pinched nerve or pain in your neck. (I had MRIs showing problems with C5, C6 but I am not a doctor and did not make this connection. That is what doctors are for… They are suppose to be able to connect the dots.)
No referral or suggestion to revisit the spine or neck doctor– just to «see»
If you have a shoulder problem, you may have a neck problem. Please see a spine doctor. If the spine doctor is too limited in the scope of practice, then see someone else. You will learn a little bit from each doctor you see. Do not give up!
Other concerns:
Form driven. Impersonal. Each time you come in, you fill out another set of questions. (If you have a wrist issue and this is hard for you or you in pain, this does not matter.
The medical assistants must get this form from you. This place is an assembly line. Medical assistants must take your paperwork from you, even if you would like to discuss what you wrote with your doctor or have questions.
X-​Ray driven. They are told to take your x=ray before you meet with a PA. I already had x=-rays and wanted to discuss this. If you ask questions, you are treated as a problem.
Very long wait times. (I don’t really mind this.)
Scheduling– While I was there, I saw people who thought they had appointments but there appointments were changed to another date or from a doctor to a PA. This happened to me on 2 occasions as well. My appointments times were changed without notice to me. Appointments were changed to PAs from the doctor. I wanted to see the doctor because I thought the doctor would have the most information and be the most up to date about the joint.
Medical assistants not calling your insurance to get MRIs scheduled. I waited 2 weeks and called. (My insurance did not require approval. It would have taken a 5 or 10 minute phone call at the most.)
My positive opinions about OSNC:
Front desk lady in Carlsbad– Director of First Impressions = 5 stars
Phone personnel in Oceanside= 5 stars
Rachel, PA for the hip= 5 stars
Dr. Moazzaz, Alleyne and Hartman have excellent reputations for surgery from reputable sources. These doctors are also nice.
In summary, this place was not a fit for me. There are positive things about this practice. I am writing to save someone else from going through my situation. If you need a sports medicine doctor– go elsewhere!!! If you are sure you need surgery, then you may have success!
I have doctors that I highly recommend. After I am all fixed up, I will post the names so maybe someone else will benefit.
Good luck!

Definitely no. Scheduling is a joke. They change your appointments and don’t tell you. Long wait time. And don’t bother unless you know it’s surgical. That’s all they care about.

If yourself or your child has the option to choose Dr. David Daugherty, WHATEVER you do, no matter the case, DO NOT choose him. This man is THE most: unprofessional, rude, disrespectful, impolite, inconsiderate, condescending A hole I have ever met in my life. This man at my appointment yesterday, did not treat me with disrespect but the way he treated my mother and spoke to my mother is unfathomable. The extent to which this man disrespected my mother drove her to the point of tears! Do you know what it’s like to sit in a doctors room and have the doctor talk to your mother so uncouthly that it perpetuated my mother to break down and cry! So WHATEVER YOU DO PLEASE DO NOT CHOOSE DR. DAVID DAUGHERTY!!! I put 5 stars so more people would see it but I give him zero stars and granted I LOVE OSNC Oceanside just not that doctor

I cannot say enough good things about OSNC and Dr. Moazzaz. I was treated for a back injury and Dr. Moazzaz performed a L5-​S1 microdiscectomy in August 2015. From the second I met him it was obvious how competent and professional he is. Not only that, but he is extremely polite, punctual, and caring. While he is the star of my experience, every single interaction I had with the office was beyond all expectations. His office manager Toni is incredible. She was able to expedite my insurance approval, and I firmly believe it is because she took ownership of my care — she saw how much pain I was in and made all efforts to help! I also want to commend the nurses and appointment staff, they work very hard and made everything as simple as possible.
I am not sure what all the negative commentators are talking about as I could not imagine a more seamless experience.
Dr. Moazzaz gave me my normal life back, but I wouldn’t be compelled to write a review if he only did that. He and the people he represents truly delivered exemplary and compassionate care. I feel a bit stupid that the only thing public thing I can offer in return is a review on Unilocal.I only hope Dr. Moazzaz and his team understand (and see) what they did for me. It is something I will never forget.
Much respect and admiration.
Thank you.

Dr Amory is very professional and knowledgable. Haven’t seen anyone else here. Took both my sons for different issues. He was very thorough and helpful.

The worst medical office I have been to. It took me 2 months to get an appointment. Dr. Helgager demonstrates lack of concern in patient’s needs, pain, explanation. He didn’t even examine my knee except to read the reports and couldn’t find my X-​rays on his computer system. It took 2 more months to get an authorization for Simvisc treatment as I was waiting in pain. The Simvisc was unsuccessful; he was not kind when administering it; didn’t give any post treatment instructions or advise me that it may take a month to take affect and my knee was 10 times in more pain after that. I called the office several times; couldn’t get seen for over a week, said I couldn’t have a cortisone shot to alleviate the pain, didn’t call me back… This was the worst medical care I have received from a doctor and the medical staff needs improvement in their efficiency. I changed my orthopedic group.

Have visited the Carlsbad location three times. Would not recommend this group as it is difficult to see a physician — the PA, Rachael was professional but reluctant to do much. The scheduling desk over the phone mistakenly told me I would see a doctor on the third visit. when I got there they had no record of this. Also, twice I called for help getting pain meds to get me over the hump of a bad flare of back pain. First time they did not return my call. Two weeks later I called again but was told I had to go to the office to get a few codine pills but that it would have to wait til the PA was back in the office, three days from now. They refused to phone in a script. When will medical providers learn that patients are customers. I am moving on.

I was referred to Orthopaedic Specialits by my ER doctor and so I made an appointment. I thought I broke my ankle!!! Leann Tarr took great and special care of me and helped me out tremendously as it was NOT broken after all! Just a sprain. Everyone from the front desk, xray tech and even Irene in billing was so great to me! I hope that I do not have to go back again actually but if there is ever a time of need I will definitely be going back there and I moved out of town yet I had a great experience with them! They are very organized which I like, personable and professional. I give them great KUDOS! The only thing that was a drag was having to get there early to fill out all of the paperwork. I advise if you do go to print out the forms beforehand and fill them out at home and bring them with you to save time. Other than that it was a great experience.

Left a message Sunday letting them know I broke my hand and needed to make an appointment asap. Called at 8:00 am on Monday morning and spoke to Noemi (sp?) And let her know I broke my hand and needed to get in asap. She said she could get me in with Cooperman on the 18^th. (Today is the 9^th. Think she missed the point that my hand is broken…) then she said she could see if the other doctors could get me in sooner. She took my name and number and said she would call me back. They didn’t call me back until 3:15 pm… I ended up calling Dr. Padilla ’ s office in Encinitas about 8:30 am and they squeezed me in at 10:00 am because they understood the urgency of a BROKEN hand. Don’t waste your time. Call Dr. Padilla instead. Terrible customer service by front desk at Orthopedic Specialists.

Long story short: it took them two weeks to do five minutes of paperwork. Well, after two weeks of trying to get them to do the paperwork (with no success at all), I gave up and switched doctors. If you want the details, read on.
I came in with a knee injury that I’ve been dealing with for a long time. The staff was friendly, the office seems well equipped, the doctor was nice and listened well, it didn’t take too long to get an appointment, everyone seemed competent, etc.
So five stars, right? Wrong. The doctor recommend an MRI and I was hoping to get one ASAP. My knee hurts, I was having trouble walking, I really wanted to get it fixed. So they told me that they would request authorization for an MRI from my insurance company. They said it would take 7 – 14 business days! I was upset, but I figured it must be the insurance company.
So I called the insurance company, the medical group, orthopedic specialists of north county, etc. to try to get the process expedited. Long story short, someone at orthopedic specialists of north county had to go online and fill out a form that takes about five minutes. Then the medical group would need a day at most to authorize it. But the people at orthopedic specialists just couldn’t find time to do that. I called and called and got voicemails and «I’ll look into it» and «ill call you back.» After a week they stopped calling back. After two weeks, they still hadn’t found five minutes to submit the request.
Are you kidding? I switched doctors. They seem like lazy, incompetent people. If it takes them weeks to do five minutes of paperwork, I want nothing to do with them. I highly recommend going elsewhere. If you want your medical needs handled in a timely manner, GO ELSEWHERE.