MIchael Lai's Online Review Report Card

We have only seen Dr. Lai twice but so far he has been great. He has great bedside manners and and take time to answer all our questions in a thorough way. He has been very supportive of our care and willing to help in any way he can. He is also very encouraging. I had two questions later about lab work and he responded promptly both times. I give him a thumbs up. And I think they did take into consideration others reviews because the staff has always been helpful and kind.

Great doctor! I've been a patient at his Peach St., SLO office since 2019, and he has helped improved my diabetes steadily since. Highly recommend!

Best endo ever!! Knows his stuff. Not long wait times super friendly staff can not say enough good things about this practice

I wanted to write a positive review to balance out the negative reviews here. I met with Dr. Lai for the first time today. Yes, I did have to wait a few minutes but once I got into Dr. Lai's office, he was fully attentive and very thorough. Best of all, he was very positive about my lab results and didn't feel that I needed the intrusive and rather scary needle biopsy that another physician had suggested. He has set me up with annual reviews on one test and semi-annual reviews on another. He also explained how the thyroid interacts with other functions and I left the office feeling educated and positive. His receptionist/nurse was also very pleasant and helpful.

I wanted to write a positive review to balance out the negative reviews here.I met with Dr. Lai for the first time today. Yes, I did have to wait a few minutes but once I got into Dr. Lai's office, he was fully attentive and very thorough. Best of all, he was very positive about my lab results and didn't feel that I needed the intrusive and rather scary needle biopsy that another physician had suggested. He has set me up with annual reviews on one test and semi-annual reviews on another. He also explained how the thyroid interacts with other functions and I left the office feeling educated and positive. His receptionist/nurse was also very pleasant and helpful.

I am sad to say, even though I am in the middle of thyroid cancer treatment possibly including surgery, radiation or both, we are leaving the care of Dr. Lai, right in the middle of it all, because we don't need or want to deal with this repetitive, on-going stress from his office staff/ receptionist anymore. We have appreciated his care but due to his ignorant ( that is saying it nicely) staff worker, namely C....., we will not return! Even if we have to drive three hours away to find a new Dr, we are not going back! We have put up with her inability and her personal irresponsibility in getting Drs orders done in a timely manner. This has happened over and over and over again, and finally to the point, that we have had enough. I guess we could say, "To the point of "no return"." Dr. Lai, you need to straighten out your office and give your staff some direct training in how to run your business in a professional manner, including talking respectfully to your patients. Dr. Lai, your office negligence is wrecking your business and your name! Notice your rating!! One of the last times I talked to C....., she was absolutely rude to me! I have seen hundreds of receptionists over the yrs and have never yet had one rude to me like C....... I had missed her call, and my voicemail 'spell checker' had it all messed up. Because my husband could not quite relay the message, I returned C.......'s call. She informed me, "She didn't need to tell me the message as she had just talked to my husband and if I wanted to know, then I could just go talk to him." She also told me, if he ever calls again, "I will no longer talk to your husband, but only to me." I told her,"I believe that is against the law because he is authorized, with my consent, to 'get' or 'give' any medical information on my behalf.I have been under Dr. Lai's care for thyroid cancer treatment since 2013. Each time I need thyrogen injections for radioactive scans, C...... can never get what i need done in a timely manner which is required for the scan. We have to call her, and stay on top of her, for her to get what I need done, done. She recently called and told me, I didn't need pre-authorization for the meds. Weeks pass, with no word from C....... She finally calls and tells me, I need pre-authorization for the meds___ after I have been waiting for weeks!! So do I need authorization or not?? Make up your mind C.....!The office staff will not answer the phone, either. It always goes to a message, saying they will return your call, and, which can take up to 72 hours. It is this office's normal practice to ignore your calls of which they never return anyway. We have left several messages with C...... to have Dr Lai call us, but there is no return call. I personally, don't know if he is even getting the message in the first place. C.....'s delays in doing her job causes my scans and treatment to get put-off thus causing me to wait months to get anything done. Because of this type of radioactive Thyroid scan, it is required that I go on a low-iodine diet which is extremely difficult. What should take a few weeks, runs into months. After doing these scans numerous times over the past eight years, we have learned that one thing is for sure, C....... is habitual, she still cannot do her job right! I personally do not understand how any Dr. would keep an employee such as her working there?If you are looking for a new doctor, I like Dr Lai as a doctor, he has really helped me, and I appreciate his service, but I cannot handle dealing with his incompetent staff and their inability to do their job correctly, anymore. If you are a patient looking for a doctor or if you are Dr Lai reading this, don't just think this is made- up or exaggerated, read the other reviews, look at the rating!

It is very unfortunate to have to say I have had many, many, many problems with this office! Dr. Lai is great but his staff is horrible! When you call there is an answering machine saying to leave a message! I have left at least 20 messages and never received a call back! Been trying to get my Insulin supplies, for my pump, since Dec 2020 and just now they are shipped! I hate leaving Dr. Lai but can’t handle the staff anymore! So I am going to a new Endocrinologist!

If you’ve read the reviews you know that the business side of things may not be Dr. Lai’s strong suit. Yes the offices are unimpressive to say the least and the staff is hit or miss at best. However where it matters most Dr. Lai is a shining star. He is one heck of an endocrinologist. He is very knowledgeable, listens well and really makes a connection. On February 24th of 2020 my A1C was 11.3 (yikes!), my last reading was 5.6. The regimen that he set up for me is nothing less than a miracle. Since the change I’ve lost 44 lbs and my daily insulin dose is down 30%. Form follows function. Ignore the office trappings and go for the results.

I have been a patient of Dr Michael Lai in Santa Maria , Pismo Beach, and San Luis Obispo, for many years now. Dr. Michael Lai is one of the finest, most reliable, considerate, thorough, and compassionate doctors I've ever met.a paragraph. I am well taken care of by his office staff, especially with the own personal encounters I have had with Eduardo and Victoria. They have helped me in so many ways to take care of medical necessities in a timely matter, or discuss with the doctor my immediate concerns which I seem to regularly encounter, with my health. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a doctor like Dr. Michael Lai, as well as the office staff for support and encouragement to help me with my medical needs and necessities. I thank God everyday that I have the privilege of having such a wonderful doctor with a such a loving and caring staff. Each time I have an office visit with the doctor, I count my blessings that I have such a qualified expert to care for my health, and feel very blessed to have such a loyal and caring docter zI can always rely on, as Dr.Michael Lai.Lorraine APismo Beach, CA

Due to severe lack of other endo docs in region, I gave Dr. Lai's office a try and would NOT recommend it. Type 1 diabetic on pump & CGM. Dr. Lai seems mellow, friendly, not overly outgoing but office seems understaffed, poorly managed, dirty and foul-smelling. Yep. It's stale & stinky. Took multiple phone calls and e-mails to get my pump & CGM prescrips completed. Insurance would contact Dr. Lai's office re. various issues & get no response time after time. I repeatedly told Dr. Lai that I was running low on insulin & needed a prescrip for more bottles but he insisted that no, I didn't need more. I finally bailed and found another doc. Not sure how Dr. Lai's office stays in business; maybe they make more $ from the shady weight loss products they peddle in the front office. Very disappointing experience--STAY AWAY!