I've been following Dr. Sawires for YEARS. She will know who I am if she reads this THE most through doctor. Amal cares not only about your psychical health but also your mental/emotional health. Each time she leaves the practice I find her and reach out or switch. I've referred all of my friends and family to her. Especially the elders in my family & friends group because she specializes in elder care. LOVE HER. read more

Dr. Sawires is my favorite primary care physician of all time. I was so sad to hear that she had decided to leave clinical practice to go into research. read more

If I were writing this review on the day that I saw Dr. Sawires for the first time, it would be completely opposite. She was awesome. She took plenty of time (in fact, the phone rang twice while she was in the exam room with me...it was actually someone calling to tell her to hurry up, which I thought was a bit odd and annoying at the time but blew it off) and she seemed exceptionally caring and professional. And then...I needed her to help me through a painful hip issue and despite the 8 calls to her office and emails sent to the email address she gave me, I've still never heard back from her. It's been three weeks and nothing. No referral to another doctor. No calling in pain medication so I might be able to sleep at night. No apparent regard for the fact that I can barely walk, let alone chase after my 20-month-old son. I suspect that some of the issue may be the way her office is run, which doesn't speak well for Sutter Health but that doesn't excuse the fact that she hasn't called me back. Obviously, I am extremely annoyed that I either have to start the lengthy process of finding a new doctor or go sit in an emergency room in Oakland. Somehow I don't think my bum hip is going to take precedence over the GSWs they see there. read more

There is no better doctor than Dr. Sawires in the world!!! If I could clone this woman and give her to every sick person the world would be a much better place. She is knowledgeable, kind, caring, compassionate and loving. she cares what hurts mentally and phsically.....she wants to help and takes her job seriously...my job switched to Kaiser but if I EVER get the chance to go back I would in a heart beat....its been 3 years now since i've last seen her and im still singing her praise! she is the best hands down and i adore her!!!! I MISS U DR SAWIRES!!! Pam Randall read more

I am partly writing this review because I am sad that my work has changed to Kaiser and I cannot have Dr. Sawires take care of me anymore. It's funny. Working with her office (as Dana L. says below) can at times be a nightmare, but it is definately a front office issue. Dr. S acknowledged that if I needed to get ahold of her, the best way was her private cell phone... who does that? She does. She is amazing. Great doctor, great person, great advice. She is also my mom's doctor. My mom is a double amputee and has some serious health issues - Dr. S always schedules an hour for her, and comes in early to do so. She has a great sense of humor but isn't afraid to tell you the truth. I wish she was still my doctor (but lucky me we still catch up when I take my mom to her appointments! She tends to run behind, but its worth it if you like good service. She openly dismisses the mandated 15 min appt time allocated by the medical group - she takes as long as she needs - she knows 15 minutes cannot provide for excellent service. When you are on the recieving end of this treatment it's great, but if you are waiting in the lobby and she is 30 min behind it can suck. I give her 5 stars anyway because its worth it. I just learned quickly two things: 1) make the first appt of the day or first appt after lunch so you don't get stuck waiting AND 2) call her directly or use the mysutteronline.org email service to email her if you need refills, quick response/emergency. If you do these two things, you get the attention of an awesome doctor and successfully manage the pitfalls of the office she works in. Well worth it. read more

I love this woman. She is the best doctor I've ever had, and insures I am not terrified to go in for check ups and other doctor's appts which in nature may be unpleasant. She always answers my emails within a day or two--sometimes only an hr or so after I've emailed her! Her front office seems to be a roomful of disorganized idiots, so it is best to try to deal as directly with Dr. Sawires as possible. I had a blood test go horribly wrong and she came in and dealt with the incompetent people who ran the blood office. She gave me her own lunch because I was going to pass out. Five stars, despite the administrative people/secretaries/assistants. And despite the fact that she is in Berkeley and I'm in SF. read more

My experience was very horrible. Dr. Sawires is very uncaring, told me my issues was not serious along with my pain I'm having. Because our conversation lingered over 15 minutes she decided to cut me off in mid sentence explaining how I only have 15 minutes to discuss my issues and it's pass that time. read more

Dr. Sawires is, simply, a superb doctor. I understand she has left Sutter East Bay Medical Group. I would like to locate her to see whether she can continue as my physician. Any information about how to contact her would be appreciated. read more

Best Doctor Ever. Because of some complex and serious health issues, I see her at least 12 times a year. She never talks down to me, appreciates and encourages my research and efforts to understand my condition, and spends a very generous amount of time with me when I see her. She really did give me her private cell phone once because of an emergency situation. I never had to use it (and hopefully never will!), but it's profoundly comforting to know that she would make herself so available to me. I strongly urge you NOT to choose her as your Doctor because I want her all to myself! 0 read more

The best doctor I've ever known. The only unfortunate thing is that Dr. Sawires is leaving the Berkeley practice, and may end up leaving California. If she stayed in the East Bay, or even in San Francisco, we'd follow her. She IS that good. She cares about the person, their family, listens, is accessible (yes, she gives out her personal cell and it's best to reach her "live" rather than via a phone message). She's aware of different cultures (think she's from Egypt). And, she has a wealth of medical knowledge and used be in the medical academia. My parents are Russian, and don't speak English fluently, so they used to go to a Russian doctor whose only virtue was that she spoke Russian as well. My father had a stroke, and his neurologist said that he needs to have an internal medicine doctor from her medical group. She recommended Dr. Sawires. My parents say that she understands them better and they have a better rapport with her than with any Russian doctor. And that's my parents who are super critical of everyone! We are all very sad that she's leaving. Hope she's happy with whatever she does next... read more

Initially I thought Dr. Sawires was a good doctor. However, after several visits I learned that she is uncaring and reluctant to listen to her patient's concerns. Prior to my visits, I researched issues and prepared questions. She was surprised at my knowledge and had to do her own research to answer my questions. She apologized for not understanding my health issues - when actually she had not taken the time to read my chart in detail. Her medical assistant is rude and callous. I definitely would not recommend this medical office to anyone that is concerned and involved in patient centered health care. read more

She's truly amazing. So smart and caring and personable. Really knows the community and how to connect you to specialists. She doesn't rush you. Takes the time to really listen. read more

This review is NOT for Dr. Amel Sawires. We respect Dr. Sawires as a physician and her passion for the hard work she provides for each of her patiences. She's not only well established but comes with vast knowledge, also caring with compassion. Unfortunately, we can't say the same about her staff at the front desk. They are bunch of unalert, pretentious and unprofessional morons! My husband and I are new patients establishing care with Dr. Sawires. And at our first appointment, the front desk couldn't find my appointment and I was told they don't have me in their system and almost rescheduled my appointment. It appeared they had me under a different name completely. I brushed it off and pardoned this mistake. After several appointments with Dr. Sawires, I recommended Dr. Sawires to my mother. On the day of my mother's appointment, again the front desk couldn't find her name but checked my mother in anyway sending us in the patient room. From the patient room, the nurse asked us to leave and to have the front desk sort out this appointment because our appointment was given to someone else. After returning back to the front desk, we were told we didn't have the appointment and that we were to reschedule. We were never ever notified about the cancellation and the receptionist made it seem like it was our fault for not getting the cancellation message. Really?!!! First, the receptionist claimed the message was left on the voicemail then she's claiming they couldn't get through any of the voicemail. Hmmm???? We wouldn't just show up for fun and demand to get an appointment on the same day. It doesn't work that way and any person with a brain knows that. Also, my mother wouldn't drive in the traffic for fun of it only to have her time wasted. And I didn't had to leave to bring my mother in when one of my family members is between passing of life and death. That's a valuable time lost. To make the matter even worse, one of the nurses comes out to patch the situation up and to send us on our merry way. She appeared not interested and insincere. At one point she suggested I should take my mother to urgent care. I can't believe we were literally having this conversation with the nurse. Personally, I hate when people say sorry when they don't mean it. It was between a circus and a big joke how things were handled by the front desk and the nurse. They don't have any knowledge how to handle a problem or solution to a problem but instead toss everything around and see where it all ends up. So, to sum it up, Dr. Sawires is a great physician but the team who is supposed to represent her and other doctors who work at this facility (Sutter Health Foundation) will only drive clients away. My mother has to wait for another three weeks to see Dr. Sawires. You will have to be your own receptionist, by confirming your own appointments few days before, otherwise be prepared to wait for weeks to get a new appointment. read more

Dr. Sawires is knowledgeable, open, communicative, and personable. I appreciate that she is open to alternative medicine and shares information about the latest medical evidence pertinent to me. I leave her office feeling I have a much better understanding of my health, which is important to me. read more

I saw Dr Sawires as a new patient this morning. She was genuinely interested in having a dialogue with me about my condition. She really wanted to hear what I had to say: -- she listened, she was thoughtful, she was kind and respectful. Instead of barraging me with a discontinuous set of clinical questions, she invited me to tell my story -- and she took as much time as we needed for both of us to come to clarity about my situation. Clearly she is an expert practitioner, but just as important, she values collaboration and shared decision-making with her patients. Truly, this was one of the best physician visits I've had. Bravo to you, Dr. Sawires! read more

The worst experience I've ever had with a physician. I'll provide a more thorough review when I receive a response from the medical board. Apparently she's "too busy" to provide test results, but not too busy to discuss those results without patient consent. read more

Dr. Sawires was very sympathetic and comprehensive. I am very impressed with the level of care she provided. The Yelp reviews have it right. My only compliant (obviously not a big one as I still gave her 5 stars) was that she ran a bit late. If you're looking for a primary care MD I would strongly recommend her. read more

This by far the worst run primary care office I've ever been to. Doesn't even compare to Mills Peninsula Medical Group, who now are PAMF. I have had but one visit with the doctor and although her direct care when she is finally able to see you is quality, her assistant and the way this office is run is not. First off she's way overbooked. Secondly, her assistant has no people skills. I recently switched and right off the bat she was rude and instead of making me feel welcome as a new patient she said, "let me just tell you that Dr. Sawires is always at least an hour and 1/2 behind so if you want to switch let me know now." What kind of sh** is that? I asked her, "is she not a primary doctor?" She said, " what do you mean? What are you asking?" What do you mean what am I asking? You don't know what a primary doctor is or what? Awful first impression and it gets worse. I go get my labs for the check up and schedule a follow up. I manage to get time off approved from work only to show up and for that same rude assistant to tell me she has gone home sick and will need to call me to discuss my results. 2 weeks pass, no call! Today I finally get the call and from none other than the infamous assistant, not even the doctor. I find this rude and unethical. She starts talking to me in technical terms, because I can really understand that right? I cut her off and asked why she's not explaining things so I can understand why is she the one calling me and not the doctor? She said the doctor asked her to relay the info. Really?! You've gotta be kidding me! I said that I was not happy with this because I have questions about my health that I am SURE she will not be able to answer and to have THE DOCTOR call me. I am switching ASAP, this is bull. read more

Yes, Yelp has it accurate, five stars equals "...as good as it gets". Dr. Sawires is absolutely the best doctor I've ever had. I'm rather critical since, I too am in the healthcare industry. Given my background, I know the pressure that primary care physicians face in today's healthcare environment and Dr. Sawires juggles them wonderfully. She listens to her patients, shows real compassion in difficult times, her follow through is impeccable both via phone and online messaging. From a prevention aspect, which many payers would appreciate, she is tops. She focuses on prevention activities/ methodologies to ensure the patient's whole life (mental, spiritual, and physical) is in order. Sadly she is no longer with Sutter East Bay thus no longer my primary care physician. Sutter will have a difficult time replacing her. What are real loss for their practice. If she is still in the area, I will consider following despite the distance. Yes, she's that good! read more