It's difficult enough when a loved one is ill, caring for them is often heartbreaking. My mother has had dementia, seizures for years... some bedside manners and decency from the office staff is all we ask. My mother is gentle and kind, and her visits with Dr. Filippi were rude and dismissive. We stayed because we heard he was the best Neurologist in the area. A few weeks ago I flew across the country to be interviewed by Social Security to be my mom's representative, as she is no longer able to manager her own affairs. It went well and all that was needed was for the doctor to sign the form confirming she indeed has these medical issues. Nothing was returned. For weeks we called and were just forwarded to the voicemail of the office manager, and never heard anything back. The ladies at the front desk refused to help or lift a finger other than to transfer our call to the voicemail, mid sentence. Finally, today, a day before the deadline and all our travel/work would be for not, I called and pleaded with the ladies at the office to at least ask the doctor, or reach out to the Office Manager for me, follow up proactively somehow, they refused. They gave every excuse in the book not to at least try and help move this forward: they said it wasn't their job, that usually primary care doctors do this, that they can transfer us to the office manager, that they're not allowed to speak to me about confidential patient information (I didn't ask them for that). Perhaps it is true that primary doctors normally are the ones to sign, but it is not a hard rule they have to never do such forms, especially when the reason on the form is 100% neurology related -- and never getting back to us for weeks put us in a spot where getting this done by her primary is now impossible. All we wanted was someone to ask the doctor, or at least help us get a response from the office manager -- nothing. When I asked why we didn't hear back for weeks they said, I don't know, and hung up. I called back three times and they screened our calls. Just a little bit of care, effort, and empathy could have meant so much to my mom and family. read more

Knowledgeable Doctor but couldn't staff an office properly if a patients life depended on it. My wife has Parkinson's and MS and they never return phone calls. We just want a prescription so she can continue her meds. If it's important, don't count on their Nurse Nathan to call you back. They certainly don't meet their obligation to give at least the basic standard of care. Done don't go here. read more

Thank God he got run out of town. Got a letter stating that he had moved. I wasn't going to him for several months because he was so awful. Hope his great nurse and wonderful staff are still working with the other seemingly nice, accomplished physicians. Buh bye nutball read more

He is the WORST doctor ever!!! He is dismissive, gaslights, and is borderline abusive! He should have NEVER been in the medical field. He ruins patients' lives. He is supposedly a neurologist and he did EVERYTHING wrong--he didn't perform a spinal tap, do brain scans, or any type of testing. He only believes in "textbook" cases. He has absolutely ZERO capacity to think outside the box. Stay away from this man! When you become a doctor, you sign the Hippocratic oath to do no harm to a patient. Just by all these bad reviews, you can tell he's done a LOT of harm to patients! He should NEVER be a doctor! read more

Over the past ten years I have visited many neurologists and rank Dr. Filipino among the best. He is extremely knowledgable, which I found very reassuring. Including a thorough examination, he spent an hour with me going over every detail of my condition. He prescribed a new medication and I left his office with a hope that I hadn't felt in years. Bravo Dr. Filippo! read more

I've worked in Healthcare most of my adult working life. Opened a few private practices, Surgery Centers, Clinics.. Etc. Worked w/great Docs and staff and a few incompetent ones. Filippi and Staff exceed the later. Rude, arrogant and incompetent defines them. They rarely return calls, and communication is horrible. If you must see a Neurologist, go to Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara. Stay away from Filippi at Coast Neuro. If insurance mandates, i suggest to advise them of poor quality care. read more

Doctor Filippi is the best neurologist I've ever been to. He is so full of knowlege and expertise that perhaps there is not room for much else. He's getting the job done. In more cases than one doctors like him are in the habit of giving you the answer to your question only once. I found the staff welcoming and very knowledgeable. Perhaps they have learned from this great platform what his practice needed, if that is the case, thank you my friends. No one needs to be my friend or stroke my ego, I'm not that kind of neurology patient. I told him succinctly everything I could about my condition. He listened, asked a lot of questions and then told me what he recommended I do. If I balked at a suggestion he went on to the next best treatment until I could see the one I wanted. Granted I've only seen him the once. I have some tests coming up, and if there is any problem I will be back on this forum to report. Just remember this: he may be the Doc Martin of neurology, but I'd much rather have his expertise than someone who wants to be my mom but doesn't necessarily know how to heal me. read more

We waited an hour just to be told he was not coming in. Overheard the staff say " of course he won't be in it's Monday. On top of that the staff was rude as well you know. Don't go here. Update my wife passed away waiting for her next appointment. read more

EXCELLENT!! EXCELLENT!! EXCELLENT!!! I've been having problems with my walk, balance and a host of other ailments. This was going on for years and all of the doctors that I had conferred with looked at my legs, hips, and other portions of my lower body and could not figure out what was causing this condition. I've had just about every test and scan known to the medical world performed on my lower extremities. One of my prior doctors after examining me, threw his hands up in the air and asked if I wanted a "Medical Marijuana" card!!!!! All of these prior Doctors were clueless. I was preparing to purchase a wheelchair and just live with the fact that I would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. THEN, I was then referred to Dr. Filippi and within ten minutes of my conference with him, he said he was 99% sure my problem emanated from my my neck region. He ordered an emergency MRI on my neck and yes, it showed that my spinal cord was being pinched off in two places and that by rights, I shouldn't have even had the able to walk. On an urgent and emergency basis, he referred me to Dr. Philip Kissell, a GREAT neurosurgeon who operated on my neck within two days. I am now recuperating from the surgery, but now all of my feeling and sensations are coming back to me!!!! I am truly grateful to these two Doctors for actually giving me back my quality of life!!!!! I shutter to think that if it wasn't for these two doctors, I would have been the senior citizen that you see rolling myself down the street in a wheelchair, smoking a medical marijuana cigarette! I owe everything to these two Doctors!!!!!!!!! I can't give them a high enough Rating!!!!! read more

Dr. Filippi and his staff are the most unprofessional providers I have ever had to visit. Due to my insurance I'm limited to a few providers. I had to wait an hour and a half to get into the exam room and then another forty five minutes in the exam room. I went up to the receptionist a couple of times to ask what was taking so long and she could not give me an answer or offer any empathy. Because I had an appointment with my attorney that afternoon I was tempted to leave several times , however it took three months to get the doctor appointment so I decided to stick it out. At no time did the staff apologize for the wait. Furthermore, when Filippi finally came in he also did not offer any apology or explanation. He looked perplexed when I told him that I had to cancel my appointment with my attorney. Not only does he have the personality of a turnip but he is arrogant and his staff is rude. read more

He was an hour and a half late for a 10 AM appointment when we walked out. His staff had absolutely no concern that my wife and I had been sitting there for 90 minutes and they did not even know if he was in the office. I finally badgered them into going back to his office to see if he was even in the building and turns out he wasn't. No explanations, no apologies. I was a new patient, now I am not. My father was a doctor and successful doctors take the responsibility to keep their office informed if there is an emergency. What a waste of my time. Still no call from his office with an explanation. read more

NOT IF YOU WANT TO SEE A DOCTOR! I have been trying for MONTHS to get in to see him again. I saw him the first day and liked him but then they shuffled appointments around for months like I don't really need to see anyone for my urgent problem even after the hospital urged them to see me ASAP. Once I missed an appointment they treated me disrespectful as if I did something personal to them. I need to see a different doctor and start all over now because they want me to wait 2 more months. I asked to be on waiting list but was told it is 3 PAGES LONG! That tells me I am not the only one with this problem. Find a different doctor or you could die before your next appointment. Maybe better insurance will get you in sooner. read more

I couldn't even get to Dr. Hardesty, with whom I had an appointment, and was so dismissed by the office staff, I cancelled the appointment. So I have no idea if the physician was going to be helpful or not, or courteous or not, or caring or not. Never got the chance. I was simply trying to have some communication with Dr. Hardesty or his medical assistant PRIOR to the appointment to ensure he had the right context for the patient. They were all too busy; said they could not even have the medical assistant call me back, Said was with other patients. God forbid I try to talk to the MD before the appointment. My option was to write a letter and fax it to the office. That is hardly an interactive conversation. When I indicated I no longer have a fax machine, and could I just send an email, they said no, that they don't have secure email, so asked if I couldn't go to a fed ex center to use their fax. They can put me out for an hour, but can't take 5 minutes for a call!!?!? I am POA for a 90 year old woman for whom it is a big deal to get her to Pismo Beach from Los Osos for this appointment. She has serious dementia, and it's not a trivial trip for us to make with her. I personally can not be at this appointment, so wanted to make sure I could provide essential context. Well, no such luck, unless I jumped through hoops on my end. Who do these people think they are?? If God (s) they would be kind and compassionate, and offer alternatives. Gee how about a voice mail??? or... a call at night for 5 min??? Anybody really CARE about who is on the other end of the phone, and what their and the patient's life is like?????? Clearly NOT!!!!!! I'm am disgusted. Dr. Hardesty may be terrific, but he should look closely at the gatekeepers if he wants to develop his practice. The front office and how the business is managed always reflects on the M.D.'s behind them. Big egos and self importance don't serve to help any one on the planet, much less people with serious ailments. Gwen E read more

Filippi did one thing and one thing only for me: stopped my seizures by prescription of Depakote. Aside from that, I have been dealing with a movement disorder since July 2nd, 2016. Since then, he has brushed me off. Each appointment. Mind you, they are far and few. Not because of an emergency. I know this. No way an emergency happens a week in advance every time. The guy gives no SHITS about his patients. He attempts to charge more money than he is allowed. He schedules them far out, and cancels last-minute, so everyone with any sort of actual life-hampering disabilities gets no answers and has to suffer because he's dicking off, God knows where. I've been to the Mayo Clinic, where I was tested on for just about everything. No diagnosis, but actual care and attention from concerned doctors in the field of neurology. This idiot has horrible bedside manner, and his constant cancellations and lack of compassion for his patients shows through his actions as well as his lack of solutions. Don't give him your money. read more

After driving 30 min to a early morning appointment and sitting in the waiting room for 40 min and a total of 2 hours in the office we finally got up and left. We asked a few times how much longer and unfortunately the gals in the office said they didn't even know when he was coming and should have been there by then. When we left at 2 hours exactly after our appointment all they could say was sorry it didn't work out. What a waste of gas and time and my child had to miss school all for nothing. Definitely won't be back or recommend this dr. We should have read the reviews first. read more

The staff is horrible. Kelly is by far the worst. Cold heartless and uncaring on the phone but fakes nice in person. Dr. Filippi talks about other patients which seems very inappropriate to me. I think he is a good doctor but weird. You will wait forever, they cancel apts and don't return calls. These people just don't care. read more

Rude and obnoxious, zero bed side manor, poor diagnostician and poor communicator.... pretty much says it all.

Five stars for Dr. Filippi's patience, compassion, thoroughness, skill, diagnostics, and communication. He made a correct diagnosis which had been missed by other physicians for years. One star for timeliness and staffing. While physicians who are in demand as a result of their skills may be tardy for appointments, it would be helpful if the staff informed patients of the expected wait time. The staff gives the impression that the patient's time is not valuable. We could have been managing our other responsibilities during the 2 hour wait had we been advised of the delay. Common courtesy would have made this review a glowing five stars. read more

Today I went with my husband on his first appointment with Dr. Filippi. His appointment was at 12:30. After waiting for more than 30 minutes, Dr. Filippi came into the exam room and after introducing himself, he asked my husband where his prescription medicine containers were. When my husband said we had not brought them, only listed them on the forms he had filled out, Dr. Filippi raised his voice and said, "We told you 3 times to bring your meds to this appointment". We were stunned! When we protested that we had not even been called to be reminded of the appointment, he called us liars! Needless to say, the next few minutes that we remained in the office did not go well. We walked out and I called him a name...my husband was nicer than me, telling him that he was "arrogant, rude, and obnoxious". I suspect Dr. Filippi would really enjoy research.(4/14/14) read more

I have been diagnosed with Epilepsy for 60+ years, and I have learned more about my condition since I first visited this doctor just a few years. I have had problems with doctors wanting to change my medication, even though the combination I had worked very well. No one ever took the time to exam me and explain this condition to me. I did have a decent understanding, however it was all self learned and some info from doctors had been inaccurate. I recommend him for anyone with neurological problems. read more