Michael Y Chang, DO

Terrible doctor and terrible office. I suffered acute lower back pain after Christmas and was referred to Muir Orthopedics Brentwood Office, all doctors were booked 3 weeks out and this doctor was the first available. I waited 45 minutes in the examination room without being seen by the doctor. When he did finally arrive, he was literally in the room 6 or 7 minutes without even looking at my back or doing a full exam of my range of movement. He said to me, well, keep doing what your doing taking anti-​inflammatory medication and pain killers. If the pain is still there in 10 days, come back and see me. That was it… no recommendations for exercises and he hadn’t even reviewed the xrays that the Urgent Care doctor had sent over. Two weeks later I receive a bill for the consultation for a total of $ 400. Are you kidding me? For 7 minutes and no help whatsoever? DO NOT GO TO THIS OFFICE OR SEE THIS DOCTOR!

I had such an incredibly awful experience at Muir Orthopedics today that I felt I had to write a review.
I have had back pain for over ten years. Four years ago I went to one of Dr. Chang’s colleagues, Dr. Qureshi, who took x-​rays and told me I had mild scoliosis and a pinched nerve. He arranged for me to get an epidural steroid injection and told me if it showed relief, he would recommend doing minor surgery to relieve the pinched nerve. I got the epidural and it seemed to relieve some pain. When I went back for my follow-​up visit, I met with Dr. Qureshi’s PA, not Dr. Qureshi. He was not at the appointment.
The PA told me Dr. Qureshi was recommending disc replacement as the solution to my pain. I questioned this diagnosis but she was adamant that the doctor felt that was the only way to fix my problem. Since the doctor wasn’t even at the follow-​up appointment, I couldn’t question what she was saying.
That seemed very extreme and nothing I wanted to do so I left the appointment and over the last four years I’ve gone to a chiropractor, acupuncturist and a sports medicine doctor to try to relieve the pain and figure out why I have back pain.
At my last physical, I told my doctor about my ongoing back pain so she recommended I see a physical therapist. I did that for a few months and my back seemed to get better off and on but not permanently so my doctor said I should now go to a physiatrist as he would evaluate my back but not recommend surgery which I wanted to avoid at all costs.
I didn’t realize at the time that she had referred me to a doctor in Dr. Qureshi’s practice but figured that would be helpful as they would have the files from my visit four years ago.
So today I had an appointment with Dr. Chang or so I thought. Instead of Dr. Chang, however, I met with a man named Nelson who came into the room and put up an x-​ray from my visit four years ago and said I have scoliosis and they aren’t experts in that field and my PT person had diagnosed me incorrectly with SI joint dysfunction.
I asked him about my previous visit with Dr. Qureshi who said I had a pinched nerve and had recommended disc replacement. He told me Dr. Qureshi does everything to avoid surgery and he didn’t see anything on my x-​ray, maybe a slight irregularity, that would suggest that kind of surgery.
So I asked him if he had my files from my last visit and if so, could he look at them. He said he was going to do that while he sent me off for more x-​rays.
When I returned to the room, he came in and handed me a report that said that I was right that Dr. Qureshi had recommended surgery. He then seemed to get quite defensive when I asked if I was going to see Dr. Chang during my visit. He said «clearly you’re upset so I’ll get the doctor but I want you to know I’ve had back pain every day for 40 years and I just live with it.»
Then Dr. Chang came in and basically said there is nothing he could do for me. He told me of course Dr. Qureshi would recommend back surgery, he’s a surgeon. He agreed that I would have pain in my back due to the scoliosis but didn’t seem to make any suggestions about how to alleviate the pain.
So I asked if that was that and Dr. Chang, said, oh no, you’ll be back in five or so years, as this is degenerative and it will only get worse.” So I asked if there were exercises or anything I could do and he he told me he could order some more therapy sessions and that would probably be a good idea.
So quite a while later, Melinda, the nurse I had seen when I arrived, came back and handed me a therapy order for PT. But I didn’t have any follow up with Nelson or Dr. Chang or any kind of conclusion on how to deal with my back pain.
My experience at Muir Orthopedics has been very, very disappointing.

After waiting weeks for an appointment and an hour at the offices, a PA was substituted for the appointment. I didn’t realize the person was a PA until I got home. I signed up for a consultation/​meeting with Dr Chang, a specialist in the field and on the first visit at least, I expected a meeting with the doctor I signed up with or his equal to go over my condition and plans for treatment. Now I’m off to an MD in another group. PAs and PNs can be wonderful, but having already spent 9 weeks in PT and still in pain, I want an MD specialist who would review my situation, my scans, go through the options and recommend a course of care. When I looked up the background of the PA with whom I met, I tried contacting Muir Orthopedics by phone and through their survey but no response even though the lady on the phone said she would elevate it.
Also, make sure you understand the practices at Muir Orthopedics. Their policy is to charge you $ 25 for a copy of the records from your visit (which you will need if you have other doctors). For procedures, their forms require a driver to wait with you for 1 ½ to 2 hours though my guess that will run longer too. Other clinics generally provide for calling for the driver when they are nearby for the pickup.
I don’t like this form for providing feedback but a failure to respond indicates to me they believe what they have done is okay, and potential patients should be informed.

I have had excellent care from Dr Chang. He understands my goals to get healthy and manage my pain. My results have surpassed my expectations. When I needed to get some quick pain relief for my daughters hawaii wedding he made room for me. Good guy!

I have been suffering from back pain for approximately two months. The nurse practitioner took a short history and did a brief exam. Dr. Chang came in to the room and told me I would have to have a procedure and then left without explaining the procedure or how it would help me. I had to have the staff ask him to come back to answer my questions.
I ended up having the procedure twice. After the first and second procedure, I had pain that was not managed by the medications given me. I never was able to talk to the doctor and was told to keep taking my meds and add some ibuprofen. My father was a physician and would never let a patient suffer and not speak to them personally. After two days of not being able to get out of bed, I ended up going to the ER and staying for 2 days while they managed my pain enough so I could at least get to the bathroom.
Needless to say, after the poor management of my pain and terrible communication, I am taking my care elsewhere.

I had a severe back and arm problem. I was referred to Dr Chang by a friend. He did a thorough examination with x rays and an MRI and correctly diagnosed the issue. It has been 4 weeks and I feel like a kid at 62 years of age. Outstanding doctor and he is very intelligent

Dr. Chang is with Muir Orthopedics, and was absolutely skilled, professional and has the patients as his first priority. «Having pain» is one of those things that is not so easily treatable right away and it helps to have a skilled doctor figuring things out along with you. I didn’t expect to be miraculously better in one visit, and it was such a breathe of fresh air to have Dr. Chang give me options on how to tackle the problem. He put me first and came up with a plan to address the issue. It also helped that he was straightforward but caring and he was truly skilled. I like that he didn’t «sweet talk» but rather relied on his skills and knowledge.
I’d trust a skilled doctor over one who can «talk» anyday.