I had very good care for 2 years while Dr. Lai was practicing there. He left there last fall. Only saw NP after that, one of whom was trying to talk me out of my meds that had been working well for me. Staff is all pretty friendly. read more

i can't believe this place is allowed to operate! I've never seen anything like it before and I'm only at the scheduling an appointment phase of all this !! I've been trying to schedule an appointment for two months. I am in a lot of pain the entire time and still The response I got today is that the scheduling gal is out sick again last week she was on a vacation and the week before I really don't know but I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. They need to shut down. They can't take their work seriously this is a serious work. read more

I was referred by Kaiser to see this doctor. He performed an invasive procedure (Spinal Cord Stimulator Trial), placing electrodes into my spine. I had a very bad allergic reaction to the dressing/device. After numerous calls (Thursday, Friday, & Saturday) to the doctor/office, WITHOUT A RESPONSE, I went to the ER at EMC. I requested the device be removed. As Dr. Lai offers NO ON-CALL services nor does he have anyone covering for him on weekends, they would not remove the electrodes. They changed the dressing which revealed a softball size red/blistering area. The itching and discomfort made it impossible to sleep or find any comfort. It was not until Monday morning that I was able to go into the office where a nurse removed the device. I never heard from or saw Dr. Lai again. As an RN for more than 30 years, I caution anyone from receiving care by this doctor. read more

Stay away! This doctor is just a money mill. I have been trying to get pain management from Dr. Lai as a referal from my plan at Kaiser. After I got my referal, I tried for 2 months to get a return phone call. They never returned calls. Finally they called because they said they just got a referal from Kaiser. I checked with Kaiser and they confirmed the referal had been sent out over 60 days earlier. It took me 2 weeks to get an appointment, but when I arrived all I did was fill out paperwork with medical questions, then. . they gave me an appointment for 2 more weeks. Just before that appointment, I got a call to schedule a Zoom appointment with th edoctor. The day of the appointment they called and apologized the doctor would be out and need to reschedule. This soonest day was 10 days later - for a ZOOM call. So 90 days after my referal I finally talked to the doctor for 5 minutes on a zoom call. He said we needed to schedule a visit for a epidural injection. The soonest we could get time was two more weeks. When I arrived I filled out more forms and they got me ready for theinjection and I had to lay face down on the table. The doctor came in, never said a word to me, made the injection and was out of the room before i got up from the table. So I still have never seen the man. I had a follow up call from an assistant who asked some questions and now they want to do a cecond injection, and the process starts again to get the referal. I asked that they please let me know when they submit the referal request to Kaiser so I can call Kaiser and get it rushed through. 3 days later no one has called so either they haven't done the referal or no one cared enough to call. I first visited my primary care doctor in March because of the really bad pain which was making it difficult to even get out of bed in the AM, and 6 mos later the pain is worse and the extent of my care has been a shot in the back that has done absolutely nothing to help alleviate the issue. read more

I chose Doctor Lai because Savas pain management never let you see the same doctor and it's like starting over every visit you make and most of the time it's on video. So I Went to Doctor Lai. Well, I've had three back surgeries looking at having my fourth in the form of a double fusion plus a left knee replacement so if that doesn't spell out pain, nothing does today Doctor Lai Pulled some kind of legal BS on me and made me feel as though I was a drug addict, drug peddler and refused to refill my pain meds. And started spouting off about all this legal mumbo-jumbo . Owner or not he absolutely sucks. I would never send the worst of enemies to see this guy.. He's more paranoid than the homeless you see on the streets. The gentleman behind the desk, that greets you listens to great music and very personable. He's awesome but when you get past him, look out, your world will change in a bad way so that means stay away from Dr Lai! read more

Worst experience totally incompetent practice the PA/doctor are unable to get insurance approval on basic care. 9 months ago Dr Lai said he could help with my pain through a nerve blocker procedure every month I have a video call and every month I'm told by PA that my insurance denied request which I've had this insurance for over four years and they never denied anything. Every month I'm told that my insurance is difficult and I need to call my insurance company. When I call I'm told by insurance company that requests are denied because of basic information to approve this produce! It's a joke that this Dr office is incapable of taking care of their patient! I've been in terrible pain and nothing but monthly pain medication is giving to me. Over my life of back issues I've had several pain management doctors in the past and this is a horrible experience 100% incompetent don't waste your time or money! I wish my insurance company covered better doctor! read more

Dr. Lai and his P.A., Jeffrey Kohfeld are both very qualified doctors. It is the office staff which is dropping the ball, and continues to drop the ball on every opportunity. Having been a patient of Desert Pain Specialists for more than a year, I have had to experience the lack of professionalism and uncaring attitude of the office staff, repeatedly. On March 12, 2021, I had an 8 hour surgery. I was released from the hospital on March 14, 2021. Due to being on a pain management contract with Desert Pain Specialists, I needed to contact the office to get any pain medicine. I called the office on Monday, March 15th. I was sent to voicemail. Later that day, I was called my my insurance company regarding my recent surgery. I explained how I was in pain and unable to any assistance from Desert Pain Specialists. My insurance company called, and again, off to voicemail. On Tuesday, March 16th, my insurance company and I again called, only to be sent to voicemail. Finally, after two more calls from my insurance company, with the representative informing the operator this matted needed to be addressed did the insurance company received a return call...not myself, the patient. Finally, around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, I was called by Sarah and informed a prescription was being sent to my pharmacy for pain. Sarah immediately called me back and wanted to know how I had gone through my current prescription of pain medicine? I explained to her I had not gone through my current prescription and was in need of additional medicine, due to my surgery. Sarah said, "I assumed you had already taken all of your current prescription. I told Sarah she needed to contact me before she assumed anything and she hung up on me. I called the pharmacy and was getting ready to fill the prescription, only to find out Desert Pain Specialists had not removed the block on my file for any new prescriptions for pain. The pharmacist attempted to contact the office only to find out it had closed for the day. The pharmacist sent a fax and notification to Desert Pain Specialist, but they were ignored. Finally, on Wednesday, March 16th, I was able to get medicine for my pain. The office staff, with the exception of Michael, who works the front desk are uncaring and unprofessional. They refuse to answer their phones, only allowing voicemail to pick up. They act like they are so far above you and you have no value. The staff acts like you are nothing more than a low-life drug addict and you are only contacting them to get a fix. Again, Dr. Lai, Mr. Kohfeld and, Michael are great. I have no complaints with any of them. The office is ran without professionalism or concern or compassion for the patient. If the office staff were to be replaced by trained monkeys the patients would receive better care and treatment. read more

My experience with Dr. Lai's practice is as good as it gets! When he bought the practice from the previous Dr. that I adored I was nervous. That was put to rest within minutes of being wheeled into the room. Both the staff and Dr. Lai were welcoming and generous with their concern and time. I have been under their care for about 7 years now and NEVER HAVE I BEEN TREATED WITH ANYTHING BUT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP! Dr. is empathic and encouraging as well as on his game. I feel blessed to have the privilege to have a place in this practice. read more

Interesting I left a report on Dr.' Lai' s yelp about 6 months. Describing how terrible this facility of humans are. And it seemed to disappear.Exspecially Sara! She doesn't know crap about crap. She thinks she controls who gets meds. Sorry sweetheart, you don't. Doesn't even converse with Dr. Lai. He says one thing and she'll say he didn't tell me that. Lie, Lie, Lie. Sarah was fired from CVS many years ago during her training. She never got along with anyone. Even when they fired her everyone heard. Like the whole store heard it. And we are just customers. Remember, people treat you the way you like to be treated. I even went as above to file on her license! It's the only way to shrink their brain down to be a human. read more

I paid $12,000 for 3 stem cell treatments - which did nothing to help me. However, as soon as the treatment was finished and the money paid, Dr. Lai would never return a phone call, he never followed through on anything to help me. I called many, many times and he obviously had no time for me once he got my money. I would not recommend him to anyone for stem cell treatments. Eddie H. read more

The worst pain management practice! Don't come here if you need help managing pain. First, Michael the receptionist is always rude and it's obvious he doesn't care about the patients. He is the worst person to work in the medical field. Absolutely no help or compassion. Second, they really only work part time. Dr. Lai might be in the office 1 or 2 days a week and Jeffrey the PA isn't available on Thursday or Friday. The whole office is shut down on Fridays and don't bother leaving any messages because no one calls you back! So basically if you need help you might be lucky to get help only Mon-Wed. As a RN I am sickened by the way this office functions. Dr.Lai was once a great physician but I guess he doesn't care anymore. He is constantly getting poor reviews yet nothing changes. Many people have left poor reviews about the staff especially Michael. I'll be calling the Insurance company to complain and I will spread the word in the medical community to not send their patients to this practice. You are fired! read more